Attacks on immigrants expose Erie revival in danger

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In an office with a view of the Erie Saeed Taraky center, he pulls a pen from a box next to his desk. Presses the stylus, and the miniature lightweight illuminates the feather barrel. The message is:

The pens will go to fresh American citizens after the Naturalization ceremony led by Taraky. A miniature gift is a kind of earnest and bullish gesture that says a lot about how this city in Pennsylvania is approaching fresh newcomers.

Taraky, once a refugee from Afghanistan, is now an Erie refugee and immigrant liaison. He and his family arrived in 2022, after escaping the Taliban back to power and found a warm community in Erie. Today, trying to ensure the welcome he once received, helps the novices reset and coordinate the Council of Immigrants and Refugees, which offers immigrants’ prospects for the city’s policy.

But for city officials in Erie, creating a warm atmosphere for immigrants does not apply to generosity. It is a path that the city leaders say they have chosen out of necessity. After decades of the industrial fall, Erie became a case study in how some cities of the rust belt are experiencing, welcoming newcomers. Once home for over 138,000 people, the city now has a population that floats at 90,000. Erie’s ailments lasted a long time in this century. Over the past two decades, they have factories and production works stayed departure Erie south and Mexico. A earnest blow occurred in 2018, when General Electric, the main employer of the city Over 100 yearsHe sold his branch Erie.

In the face of the fall of industries and population, the city leaders erected a plant: What if their city became the target of immigrants and refugees?

“Immigration can be a kind of panacea for a decline in the population,” said Elizabeth Jones from the center center, which promotes immigration as a catalyst for economic development in the area of ​​Philadelphia. Immigrants are more likely to work, start companies and files – key economic growth factors.

»Read more: Philly Immigrants received a surprise on the occasion of Father’s Day: orders to report to ice

Erie adopted this philosophy. His mayor, Joe Schember, made the city a priority “friendly community”. This included promoting English language classes, making sure that immigrants have pipelines to enter work force and launch a fresh American council in order to collect the access to immigrants and refugees themselves. Studies confirm their efforts: According to the Economic Research Institute of Erie report at Pennsylvania State University in Erie, The Behrend College, immigrants contribute $ 253 million For the poviat’s economy each year, and thanks to immigration, the population stabilized after years of fall.

While many local leaders attribute to newcomers to strengthen tax basics, filling out necessary jobs and revitalization of schools, not all politicians representing this area are equally hospitable. And the progress that the region has made in the integration of fresh arrivals is currently threatened with the revival of the federal anti-immigrant policy-breaking the frail revival of Erie.

Federal financing cuts shocked refugee agencies. Three agencies in Erie, which provide resettlement services, including housing assistance, English language classes and facilitate in the healthcare system, receive a significant part of their budgets from the federal government. Despite many court orders of Trump’s administration, in order to freeze financing, their subsidies remain detained.

“Considering what has happened so far, we almost have to accept the worst script,” said Katie Kretz, executive director of the Multicultural Center of Community Resources.

Kretz and leaders of two other agencies appealed to the ERIE Foundation in March for emergency financing. Since then, the Foundation has Set the Fast Response Fund. But other ERIE agencies, Erie Field immigrants and Catholic charity organizations, have already dismissed employees and the future is uncertain.

While the United States – and thus Erie – has not accepted any fresh refugees since the beginning of Trump’s administration, the service providers facilitate the recent arrival in string budgets.

“Let’s hope [the anti-immigrant mood] It is a short-term Blip, and the long-term trend is that we are still aware of the value of inviting new people to your community, “said Chris Groner, Erie Development Service Director.

The Erie’s Erie is represented by the Republican Republican Mike Kelly, who made immigration one of his key problems. “Open border policy of President Biden turned every country into a border state,” Kelly He said on the floor of the house last year. In particular, he spoke about the passages on the northern border, taking into account that Lake Erie is part of the US border with Canada. “If [immigrants] They were at the uniform of a foreign country, we would think we were invaded and we would say, my God, who is watching the border? “Kelly he said at the trial On the northern border in 2023

Erie, which consists of a more progressive city surrounded by more rural, conservative areas, is known for the fact that it is the Finging and Bellwether of National of National. Since 2008, most voters in Erie chose the winner of the presidential race. This includes the selection of Trump in 2024.

Immigration was one of the main problems for voters during the presidential election, and Trump promised to enhance arrests and immigrants during office. Pewa Research probe September 2024 was found 56% of registered voters Mass deportations of undocumented immigrants supported.

Trump has chosen his promises, and immigration and enforcement of goals Over 66,000 people In the first 100 days of the fresh administration.

»Read more: The deportations increased by 80% in Pennsylvania and Jersey among Trump’s aggressive tactics

However, people’s views are refined as 64% of Americans He believed that undocumented immigrants should remain in the United States “if certain requirements were met”, according to the PEP survey of November 2024.

For Jim Wertz, a democrat, who currently leads to the Council of Erie, anti -immigrant moods were not a noticeable problem in the city of Erie or the Fun. “Regardless of political [identity]People recognize the value of these communities, “he said, suggesting that this may result from the real experience of residents with immigrants.” People here go to the grocery store and meet people actually affected by “anti-immigrant policy, added Wertz, who is a professor of transmitting journalism and digital media at Pennsylvania Western.

This includes the repression of Trump’s administration in the face of undocumented immigrants.

Although officials in the city of Erie said that they do not expect that the Police Department would cooperate with immigration and customs enforcement (ICE), the office of the Erie Sheriff Erie has detained immigrants in the prison of Erie on behalf of the Federal Agency. At the end of February, nine immigrants were detained in prison According to Erie News nowBefore some were moved to the middle of Pennsylvania.

Against this background, Taraky said that the city is planning to facilitate “remove this gate” between immigrants and residents born in the US, inviting non -immigrants “see the culture of immigrants [and] What they bring to the table “, which includes the aspect of” food and play “of cultural integration: fresh kitchen, cultural performances and meetings.

One of the fresh arrivals who utilize this approach in practice is Karim Hanif, a doctor in Afghanistan, before he and his family escaped from the Taliban and moved to the north -western Pennsylvania. In February, he opened Ariana Halal Kitchen – the first Afghan restaurant in Erie. His son, Mohammad Abid, translated when Hanif explained that he wanted to work for himself and also give the Erie community.

Afghans Erie love known food. “The restaurant will grow quickly because many Afghans come to Erie,” said Hanif. But Hanif’s clients are diverse: they serve other Muslims who are looking for halal food, such as Somalis and Syrians, as well as born Americans who broaden their palate.

They are there at least 6,000 Immigrants of the first generation in the city of Erie, and more than half are refugees who were forced to escape in risky conditions in their countries. In addition to Afghanistan, refugees eie come from countries, including Bhutan, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Burundi, Ukraine, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Eritrea, Kosovo and Congo.

Metropolitan areas in the rust belt were the famed enclages of immigrants at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But today, residents born abroad of these cities usually represent a relatively miniature percentage of the general population compared to the US average. Less than 7% residents of the city of Erie are born abroad compared to about 14% in the USA

Despite this, these immigrants bring a job and companies and inject money to the local economy, Researchers throughout the country to talk. The city actively supports miniature companies belonging to immigrants and refugees micrograndswhich provided many of them the initial infusion of capital. Immigrants’ entrepreneurs run at least 100 projects in the city, from kindergarten centers and grocery stores to art galleries and car repairs stores.

For his part, Taraky remains obliged to emphasize the benefits of immigration – both through his words and the wardrobe – because he supports newcomers in integration with the community. On March, he wore a obscure three -piece suit with a patterned red pocket. He said that dressing well allows people in the community to perceive immigrant as a professional.

Hope, added Taraky, is that instead of clash, immigrants and non -immigrants “gathered together [and] understand each other. “