Odd Migration Indicators

Foreign born migration to Pittsburgh is picking up. The first clue came in March and the boom of Hispanic population in Washington County. The numbers are small, but doubling over the decade. Today, I have another story for the odd indicators file:

Two illegal Mexican immigrants are set for sentencing before a federal judge in Pittsburgh for possessing nearly $39,000 worth of high quality counterfeit $100 bills.

Federal investigators have said they may never determine where the men got the bills before they were arrested for passing about $1,500 worth of fake money at a Macy's department store near Washington, Pa. in October.

Thirty-one-year-old Alejandro Vargas Ceron and 23-year-old Israel Leyva Sanchez, both gave New York City addresses, but also had Mexican identification cards and were in the country illegally. They'll automatically be deported after serving the sentences scheduled to be imposed Wednesday afternoon.

When discovered, illegal activity serves as a migration map. Local law enforcement must deal with a new problem. Telling are the NYC addresses. Hispanics are leaving in droves, seeking geographic arbitrage opportunities in the Rust Belt. The demographic bulge has crossed the watershed divide.

Keep in mind that this is immigration via secondary migration. Canonsburg isn't a gateway, yet. The upside is largely statistical and will bolster Pittsburgh's image. Shrinking city no more.