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Posted on Fri, Oct. 06, 2006



Rural immigration can work

By Leif Jensen and Cynthia M. Duncan


In July, Hazleton, Pa., a former coal-mining town, passed an emotion-charged ordinance that sent a clear message to illegal immigrants: Stay away.

The ordinance, which calls for fining employers and landlords who hire or rent to undocumented workers and makes English the town's official language, states that illegal immigration burdens public services and "destroys our neighborhoods and diminishes our overall quality of life." The debate was so intense that the mayor wore a bulletproof vest on the day of the vote.

Hazleton's response to undocumented immigration may seem over the top, but it underscores an often overlooked element of the debate. As a study to be released this month by the Carsey Institute for Families and Communities suggests, many small towns are feeling the effects of immigration as acutely as any big city. And although big cities can absorb immigrants with little disruption, in rural America an increase of 500 people can double the population.

Consider Dawson County, Neb. In the 1990s, the population of recent immigrants grew from 38 to about 3,800, or 15 percent of the town's 1990 population. The number of immigrants in Colfax County, Neb., home of a Cargill meatpacking plant, grew from 196 to 1,893.

Of course, these population gains can also be a boon to local economies and stem the population drain in rural areas. In fact, during the 1990s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hispanics alone accounted for more than one-quarter of the population growth in rural areas. They moved to rural areas in all parts of the country, but particularly in the South, Southeast, and Midwest, attracted by, if not outright recruited for, jobs in agriculture, meatpacking and manufacturing.

A community leader in the Midwest said: "Immigrants are revitalizing the community and having a very positive impact. There is a feeling of vibrancy that you don't see in other small towns in this region."

The profile of immigrants in rural America also differs in important ways from immigrants in cities. Rural immigrants are more likely to be Hispanic (and Mexican, in particular), they are less educated, and they are poorer. However, they are also less likely to receive food stamps, more likely to be married, more likely to be working, and more likely to own their home - all indications of a stable, and contributing, population.

Many have correctly argued that immigrants burden local services, especially schools. But another way of looking at the "burden" is as an investment. Reopening shuttered schools, closed in waves of district consolidations, and recruiting new teachers can reinvigorate a slumping economy.

The Hispanic population in Marshalltown, Iowa, as in Hazleton, rapidly increased during the 1990s, drawn mainly by the new Swift & Co. pork-processing plant. Researchers Mark Grey and Anne Woodrick, who have been documenting the impact on Marshalltown, found that as the Latino population grew, small businesses emerged, including restaurants, ethnic groceries, roofing companies, and auto shops, helping to rejuvenate an aging population and economy.

As in Hazleton, natives of Marshalltown differ in their opinions of immigration. Marshalltown sought to address the antagonism in a productive way. Though the adjustment has not been easy, the long-term prospects are positive because community leaders are committed to making it work.

Of course, small cities and towns should not be expected to shoulder the full cost of these efforts. Rural localities bearing the brunt of immigrant settlement patterns need relief in the form of grants or special budget allocations from state and federal coffers. Above all, local control and planning must remain front and center. Critical to this planning is the voice of all residents, not just the community elite, but new and old residents, business owners and workers, new immigrants and native-born. Building community capacity and buy-in is not easy, but as Marshalltown shows, it is possible.

The long-term fiscal impact of immigrants on rural areas will depend on the economic fortunes of their children, the second generation. If rural areas hope to continue to grow and thrive, they must think seriously about how to fold these new residents into the community, and they must receive support for their efforts so the second generation of residents will find a welcome and thriving home to raise the third generation.

Leif Jensen is a professor at Pennsylvania State University and author of the Carsey Institute report, "New Immigrant Settlements in Rural America: Problems, Prospects, and Policies." Cynthia M. Duncan is director of the Carsey Institute (www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu) at the University of New Hampshire.






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