Mexicans in the state of New Jersey hope that the new government, lead by Republican Christopher J. Christie, will bring prosperity to this state beaten down by the budget deficit, lowering the high costs of paying off a mortgage, and generating more support for the immigrant community.

Mexicans who reside in New Jersey have stressed that the state has been screaming for change.

"With so many corruption scandals, what it costs to pay a mortgage on a house, with taxes, there was no life here," said Juan Zamudio, a Mexican immigrant living in the city of Dover, where there is a thriving Mexican business community. Members of this community said they have also felt the impact of the economy here. Others only hope that things will improve for New Jersey, one of the states most affected by the economic crisis.

"Many people have gone back to Mexico, the jobs were drying up and it's expensive to live here. It wasn't like that some years ago, at least not when I arrived here in 1999," said Karla Casarín, a Mexican woman who spends her time focusing on her home and family-owned business in the city of New Brunswick, where she sells Mexican products and groceries.