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Immigrants flee Arizona and controversial immigration bill

Las Vegas, NV- Some say the immigration picture was already changing in the Southwest with movement toward states that are viewed as "friendlier."

Ismael Esper is a Mexican by birth just moved to Las Vegas from Arizona.

"I've been here 45 days," he says.

Ismael says he is a documented immigrant who has created and started several businesses.

His last one, a carpet cleaning company, was doing well until the recession hit.

"My principal marketing was in the Hispanic area," says Esper.

He says once the Arizona immigration bill came to light, his customers started packing up and leaving the state for fear of them or their families being deported.

"I have a lot of big names of customers and I call, and they almost all moved, to different states, or go back to Mexico."

That was the final straw that broke his business for good. He joined the exodus and moved his family to the Valley.

"Undocumented immigrants and others who are really fed up with that kind of attitude from Arizona. So they're leaving for New Mexico, California, and Nevada," Fernando Romero with the Hispanic in Politics.

While Ismael brings his family and business to the Las Vegas economy, immigrants coming from Arizona looking for work may not have the best time doing so.

"The proximity may be convenient; the unemployment rate is not," Romero.

Hispanic leaders say they don't expect to see many undocumented immigrants return to Arizona for Ismael.

"Do you want to return to Arizona again one day.

Yeah. Yeah. I like Arizona."

But only he says if Arizona likes him back.

Leaders in the Hispanic community say most people leaving Arizona are headed to states like New Mexico and California. The reason those states are more lenient with illegal immigrants, and they have jobs something Nevada doesn't.