Whither the Brazilian criminals of Riverside, NJ?

The AmericaLast media monopoly in Philadelphia strikes again!

Our moral and intellectual superiors pine for the days when people here illegally from Brazil roamed the streets of South Jersey at will.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Immigrants gone, but at what cost?
In the darkened space still labeled Classroom 2, the desks are gone.

All that's left are a few forgotten pens, some abandoned posters. One titled "Antonyms" contrasts day and night using cartoon illustrations of a sun and moon. Another sign reminds students, in Portuguese, that they are lucky to be studying in one of Riverside's most treasured historic buildings, so please don't write on the walls.

Just a few months ago, there were students in class to read them. Every week, hundreds flocked here, to the second floor of the old Watch Case Tower, to take English lessons at the Harvest Institute.

But a lot has changed in Riverside since local officials passed a controversial ordinance last summer to help deal with - some say crack down on - the thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Brazilians, who have flooded in and around this Burlington County town of 8,000 over the last six or seven years.

Because the law, which bans hiring or renting housing to illegals, is being challenged in state and federal court, it is not being enforced. But even so, the sentiment behind it and uproar surrounding it have been enough to chase out many of the Brazilians.

"They're scared," said Ricelle Martins, a Brazilian who manages the Race Track Cafe in Riverside. "They're moving... anywhere they can."

They should be scared, moron. They are criminals.

Many Brazilians, those close to the immigrant community say, have scattered to neighboring towns or crossed the river to Northeast Philadelphia, home to a burgeoning Brazilian community. Others have followed construction work to Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts or Florida.

Of the 2,000 to 3,000 Brazilians that officials once estimated lived within the town, many locals guess about half - some say just hundreds - remain. And those who stayed are laying low.

Quantifying the exodus is hard. Feeling its effect is not.

"For Rent" signs dot the town. Downtown sidewalks that once were filled with immigrant shoppers have emptied. Stores have shuttered, and many of those left are suffering.

Many in Riverside, like Paulette Stoer, are thrilled the Brazilians have, as she said, "cleared out."

"If you can come over here and be legal and learn English, fine," she said, "but don't come over here illegally and take money out of my pockets."

Others say the town got what it wished for - and is now paying a hefty price.

"This town is dying without the Brazilians, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying," said Marge Brown, who works at R&B Laundromat on Pavilion Avenue.

"I feel for them," said Jackie Burke, who waits tables at the Golden River restaurant on Scott Street and lives in nearby Beverly. "Obviously, they came from a place where times were tough and they came here for a better life."

As they have scattered, they have taken their business with them, leaving the struggling downtown they had helped to revive struggling once more.

"The Brazilians said they were too afraid to be in Riverside, so we had to move or we had to close," said Ronaldo Empke, a Brazilian who teaches at the Harvest Institute.

The school moved, but several other businesses have closed their doors.

True American capitalists would move their businesses to where the indispensable Brazilian invaders are.