Until a few months ago, Ben's Barber shop in central Phoenix was filled with Mexican, Salvadoran and Guatemalan clients seeking haircuts, tints and highlights.
Now barber Benjamin Portillo and his hairdresser wife Guadalupe stand behind the cash register in the empty shop waiting for customers to walk through the door.
"A lot of clients are saying their farewells, taking their kids out of school and leaving the state," said Portillo. "If it carries on like this we will definitely have to shut up shop and leave."
The barber shop is among many Hispanic businesses in Phoenix feeling the pinch ahead of a looming crackdown on companies employing undocumented workers in Arizona.
Under the measure that takes effect in January, first offenders can have their business licenses temporarily revoked, while second-time violators would lose them for good.
The measure seeks to make life difficult for an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants living in the border state. Latino activists say many have already returned to Mexico, or packed up and left for neighboring states including Utah and New Mexico since the measure was signed into law in June.
Hispanic business owners say the exodus is already hurting many who depend on illegal immigrants, from Spanish-speaking barbers like Portillo to Mexican supermarkets and firms offering financial services to Hispanics.
"Everyone is feeling the pinch; there is a real slowdown. People are not spending money ... as they don't know what's going to happen," said Steve Gallardo, an insurance agent offering coverage to drivers with Mexican licenses who's seen a 30 percent drop in business since the law was signed in June.
Shutting down the ride
Enforcing immigration law has historically been the role of the federal government. But Congress has deadlocked on efforts at immigration reform, frustrating those outside Washington who say an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the shadows place a strain on services.
Arizona is among more than 40 states that have enacted more than 180 immigration-related laws this year, according to the Conference of State Legislatures. In addition, more than two dozen cities have introduced measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration.
"Disneyland learned a long time ago that if you want the crowd to go home, you shut down the ride and turn off the lights. That's what we're doing," said Russell Pearce, a Republican state representative who wrote the law.
Pearce and supporters say the law will create savings for "law-abiding taxpayers" in terms of recovered costs in areas such as health and education. However, opponents say it will hurt competitiveness and will lead to confusion.
"The preferable way to deal with immigration is from the national level, not from the local level, as it creates the possibility of creating 50 different policies on immigration from 50 different jurisdictions," said state Rep. Ben Miranda, a Democrat.
Larger downturn feared
Meanwhile, some warn that while a stark downturn is now being felt among firms catering to immigrants, it is just the prelude to a more general decline that will be felt when employer sanctions bite early next year.
"Right now we are feeling the loss of customers, but come January other businesses are going to feel the loss of their employees," said Veronica Cardenas, the owner of La Tolteca, a popular Mexican bakery, cafe and butcher's shop on Phoenix's central Van Buren Street strip. "It's not just Hispanic businesses that will feel the pain."
