PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona's employer-sanctions law is having the desired effect as illegal immigrants leave the state.

Migrant departures were first felt at stores and businesses where migrants shopped.

Now, it's affecting apartment complexes, especially those with affordable rents in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.

Single residents and entire families are moving, leaving behind empty apartments that can't be filled.

Landlords are being handed keys from renters because they've lost their jobs due to the sanctions law and can't pay the rent.

Many immigrants have also lost their jobs because of a slowdown in the economy especially in housing construction.

Some renters are simply skipping out in the middle of the night. "Most folks aren't even telling us; they are just leaving," said Estela Bojorquez, manager of the Villa de Sonora apartments in west Phoenix, which is trying to fill 59 vacant apartments out of a total of 156.

Bojorquez attributes half of the vacancies to illegal immigrants moving out of the state because of the sanctions law.

As vacancies rise in the Phoenix area, some apartment managers are taking steps to make sure immigrants know they are welcome at their complexes.

The managers of Mountain Springs Terrace Apartments in north Phoenix have been handing out fliers on the street that say in Spanish: "We don't question your immigration status. Come rent an apartment from us today. It's easy to do and we don't have problems with the sheriff."

The last sentence refers to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's crackdown on illegal immigration.

The new sanctions law is aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration in Arizona, which has the highest share of illegal immigrants of any state, by threatening to yank the business licenses of employers caught knowingly employing such workers. The law also requires businesses to electronically verify the work eligibility of all new hires as of the first of this year.

---

Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.