Wealthy, business-savvy Mexican immigrants transform Texas city

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Wealthy, business-savvy Mexican immigrants transform Texas city

Settling in San Antonio with private jets and Porsches, their influence has been compared to that of well-heeled Cubans who took refuge in Miami decades ago.

SAN ANTONIO — The Mexican businessmen in Rolexes and Burberry ties meet on the north side of town, at Cielito Lindo Restaurant, or at new neighboring country clubs. Their wives frequent Neiman Marcus, Tiffany's and Brooks Brothers at the nearby mall. Their children park Porsches with Mexican license plates in the student lots at Reagan High School.

They are part of a wave of legal Mexican immigrants who have been overlooked in the national debate over how to deal with their largely impoverished illegal compatriots. Propelled north by drug cartel violence, they paid thousands of dollars to hire attorneys and obtain investors' visas for themselves and their families (including maids). They have regrouped in gated developments in several Texas cities, where their growing influence has been compared to the impact of well-heeled Cuban refugees who arrived in Miami decades ago.

Nowhere is the evidence more striking than in San Antonio, Texas' second-largest city and a short private-jet hop from Monterrey, Mexico, where many of the new immigrants built their wealth. They have poured into developments with names like the Dominion, Stone Oak and Sonterra that were cut into the rocky hills and oak groves north of the Loop 1604 highway that rings the city.

More than 50,000 Mexican nationals now live permanently in San Antonio, city officials say, turning an upscale enclave known as "Sonterrey" or "Little Monterrey" into the city's second-fastest growing ZIP code.

Real estate agent Ana Sarabia caters to the new arrivals — finding them immigration lawyers, new schools, banks and office space — and sees them reshaping her hometown.

"I can see it transitioning," said Sarabia, 45, who lived for a time in Mexico City. "This has always been a bicultural city. Parts of it have now become a new Mexico."

There's Lorena Canales, 40, who moved from Monterrey with her two youngest children two and a half years ago to start a bilingual day care after witnessing a gun battle outside her local Wal-Mart.

Uriel Arnaiz, 40, relocated with his wife and 3-year-old son from Mexico City four years ago to open a high-end tequila import business after some of his son's friends were kidnapped.

José Ramos, 55, moved two years ago from Monterrey to open a restaurant, Vida Mia, after a relative was kidnapped and killed.

It's not clear whether new immigration policies being contemplated in Washington would affect this group of wealthy immigrants, who skip long immigration lines by hiring attorneys in Mexico to apply for business-related visas at U.S. consulates.

Most had to prove they were either employed by a multinational company or had a valid business plan and enough money to start their own. Some had to show American investments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many moved in a matter of weeks, though some said the process had become more difficult in recent years, with tougher screening by U.S. consulates.

Costs vary depending on the type of visa. In many cases, it is cheaper than what a smuggler would charge for an illegal crossing. Attorney fees can range from $1,500 to $6,500, compared with coyote payments of $6,000 or more.

Arnaiz's initial visa allowed him to stay in the U.S. for up to a year. He was able to renew the visa, which is required every two years for up to seven years if he wants to stay. His wife and son were eligible for visas for the same time period (children under age 21 are eligible). While staying in the U.S. on those visas, they were allowed to pursue permanent residency, or green cards, which they got in recent months.

"There's a lot of requirements," Arnaiz said. "You need to have a real, sustainable project."

The visa for professions listed in the North American Free Trade Agreement is relatively quick and cheap to obtain, some said, with attorney fees ranging from $1,500 to $3,000.

During the last decade, the number of such visas issued to Mexicans annually skyrocketed from 686 to 7,601, according to the State Department.

The newcomers — nicknamed "migrantes fresas," or rich migrants — are conspicuous even in this largely Latino city. Sociologists compare the "Mexodus" of professionals to the wave of exiles who fled to Texas after the Mexican Revolution in 1910, or wealthy Cubans who decamped to South Florida after the revolution in 1959.

Former San Antonio Mayor and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros, whose grandfather was exiled to San Antonio during the Mexican Revolution, calls them a "new diaspora with the potential to rival the impact Cubans had on Miami."

Harriett Romo, a sociology professor and director of the Mexico Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio, has been studying a dozen Mexican families who immigrated through investor visas.

"What we're seeing is that they move into kind of a new Mexican enclave — it's not a barrio like you would see on the east side of L.A. or west side of San Antonio. It's an upscale Mexican neighborhood with parties at the country club," she said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sonterrey-20130324,0,4269186.story

[Darnell 8,478]

It's not clear whether new immigration policies being contemplated in Washington would affect this group of wealthy immigrants, who skip long immigration lines by hiring attorneys in Mexico to apply for business-related visas at U.S. consulates.

huh? that writer refuse to do research?

EB-5 visa always superfast, once 1 mil usd is proved up and the business plan is approved.

You need to have a real, sustainable project. No Sh|t - it's part of the Visa Requirements.

####### ? come on.

that eb-5 is never going away. We Likes Yer Monies!

FWIW, the enclave idea was the best thing to hit San Antonio - everyone makes money.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Darnell

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

It's not clear whether new immigration policies being contemplated in Washington would affect this group of wealthy immigrants, who skip long immigration lines by hiring attorneys in Mexico to apply for business-related visas at U.S. consulates.

huh? that writer refuse to do research?

EB-5 visa always superfast, once 1 mil usd is proved up and the business plan is approved.

####### ? come on.

that eb-5 is never going away. We Likes Yer Monies!

FWIW, the enclave idea was the best thing to hit San Antonio - everyone makes money.

I agree - millionaires are always going to get the easy fast track into just about anywhere.

"Enclave idea" ?

[Darnell 8,478]

No, I'm not gonna explain "enclave idea" la.

[Darnell 8,478]

I am happy they are settling in Texas and not California.

I'm sure they are also, as we've different tax structures than California does. Houses are cheaper, land is cheaper, price of construction is cheaper..

See, 1 million dollars buys about 490 percent more, in Texas, than in California, all the way round.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Darnell

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

No, I'm not gonna explain "enclave idea" la.

Er... ok.

Anyway, despite this real estate agent's use of the term "enclave," Sonterra, the Dominion, etc. were there long before this new wave of Mexican immigrants started arriving, and they are not exclusively "Mexican enclaves" - lots of people live in those neighborhoods. Yes, we do notice how many rich folks from Mexico are turning up, but it's not like they took over those whole neighborhoods (at least not yet.)

[Darnell 8,478]

no, at least not yet.

But it's interesting, once it becomes a gated community, aye?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I am happy they are settling in Texas and not California.

I'm sure they are also, as we've different tax structures than California does. Houses are cheaper, land is cheaper, price of construction is cheaper..

See, 1 million dollars buys about 490 percent more, in Texas, than in California, all the way round.

San Antonio is much closer to the city a lot of these folks are from - Monterrey. Wealthy Mexicans have been doing their shopping here for decades - they prefer San Antonio over Dallas or Houston. Every year during Holy Week, the upscale malls here are packed with well-heeled shoppers from Mexico dropping huge wads of cold cash. So they are already very familiar with the city.

Also, remember that San Antonio's population is more than 60% Hispanic, and of those, the vast majority are of Mexican heritage. The culture here is even more predominantly "Mexican" than in most California cities. So they probably feel even more at home here than in Cali.

We always joke that San Antonio is just like Mexico, except cleaner and you can drink the water.

[Darnell 8,478]

Yup. I'm a SA fan, lived there in my youth and early adult years.

I know the city, mostly (and quite well)

but I'd only move back to join the retirement community, maybe, in another 20 years or so.

It's a great Military Retirement City, as the VA hospital there is 1 gazillion times better than the one in Houston.

re: Shopping during Easter Week - ain't that the truth ! I've put together 5 or 6 of these shopping extravaganzas, in my time... Biggest week? My 'group' dropped about 1.6 mil and that didn't include the cars.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Darnell

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

no, at least not yet.

But it's interesting, once it becomes a gated community, aye?

The wealthy Mexicans don't mind the wealthy non-Mexican residents of Sonterra, etc. The gate was already there before the wealthy Mexicans arrived - it's to help keep out criminals (of both the Mexican and non-Mexican variety.) The wealthy Mexicans tend to like gated communities because they got used to living behind security walls and gates in Mexico.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Yup. I'm a SA fan, lived there in my youth and early adult years.

I know the city, mostly (and quite well)

but I'd only move back to join the retirement community, maybe, in another 20 years or so.

It's a great Military Retirement City, as the VA hospital there is 1 gazillion times better than the one in Houston.

re: Shopping during Easter Week - ain't that the truth ! I've put together 5 or 6 of these shopping extravaganzas, in my time... Biggest week? My 'group' dropped about 1.6 mil and that didn't include the cars.

SA is indeed a great city for retirees Plus we have Donkey Lady, the Ghost Tracks, the Chupacabra and the Midget Mansion.

Go Spurs !

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Viva la Texico!

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Viva la Texico!

[^_^ 5,021]

You and your details.

Yup. I'm a SA fan, lived there in my youth and early adult years.

I know the city, mostly (and quite well)

I was in SA for two weeks once. For work. I recall it being nice. But I didn't much care for the drive between Austin and SA. It was ugly.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

[quote name=' timestamp='1364306260' post='6080971]

You and your details.

I was in SA for two weeks once. For work. I recall it being nice. But I didn't much care for the drive between Austin and SA. It was ugly.

I-35 is horrific between SA and Georgetown (just north of Austin.) The state just put in a toll road to bypass the whole stretch, which I have not tried yet.

San Antonio traffic is not nearly as awful as in Austin - we're a much more spread-out city, we have two major interstates criss-crossing, and we have a much better system of loops,etc. Austin is a long thin city mostly built on a north-south axis along I-35, and they use it as their main local artery. Just terrible planning... and it's the capital !