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  1. #1
    Senior Member greyparrot's Avatar
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    Georgetown DE welcomes hispanics (illegals)

    Georgetown, immigrants settle into relationship.

    Unlike in other towns, Hispanics find acceptance


    By SUMMER HARLOW, The News Journal

    Posted Tuesday, November 28, 2006

    GEORGETOWN -- In San Marcos, Guatemala, some 1,918 miles southwest of Georgetown, 15-year-old Oseas Ovalle decided to leave behind his family, his home and his country to head for Sussex County.

    His head was filled with stories about the money to be made working in the Delmarva-area chicken plants.

    "All of my friends told me to come here," said Ovalle, now 23. "I came here to work."

    Nearly eight years after he left, Ovalle, like so many of his fellow immigrants, has made his home in Georgetown, and has no plans to return to Guatemala.

    "I like Georgetown," he said in Spanish, while shopping recently in one of the town's numerous stores catering to Latino customers. "They accept us here. They understand that we came here to work."

    While elsewhere, such as in Elsmere, Hazleton, Pa., or Riverside, N.J., undocumented immigrants have found themselves the focus of the country's growing frustration with the government's inability to handle an estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants, those in Georgetown have come to be tolerated, if not accepted and even welcomed.

    "You can't deny the economic impact from the tax base, from retail, from restaurants," said David Jones, an area human resources manager for Perdue Farms Inc., Delaware's second-largest producer of broiler chickens with plants in Georgetown and Milford. "The face of America is changing. It's no different than the early 1900s, when we had immigrants coming to this country from Europe. ... I think individuals in Georgetown see that immigrants who are working hard want the quality of life that everyone else wants."

    Some Georgetown residents attribute this acceptance to a longer history of dealing with immigrants -- the mostly Guatemalan influx began 10-15 years ago -- so there's been more time for the immigrant and nonimmigrant communities to grow accustomed to one another.

    Others believe local advocacy organizations, such as La Esperanza, have played a large role in facilitating immigrants' acceptance by the community.

    Mostly, though, Georgetown residents cite the importance of the poultry industry to southern Delaware's economy. In 2005, the payrolls for Delmarva-area poultry companies totaled $348.5 million, excluding benefits. Those companies produced 3.3 billion pounds of broiler chickens for a wholesale value of $1.65 billion.

    About 75 percent of the 1,700 employees at Perdue's Georgetown plant are Guatemalan. [And what percentage is Mexican?] Spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said employees must present proper documentation to be hired. However, the company is not in a position to say whether the documents are valid, she said.

    Regardless of whether they're accepted, like Ovalle, they're no longer seasonal migrant workers planning to leave after a few months.

    "They're here because they want to stay," said Zaida Guajardo, executive director of La Esperanza. "They're seeking that American dream. They want to provide a better life for their family."

    A growing population

    Due in part to job opportunities in the poultry industry, Delaware saw the country's third highest growth in its foreign-born population from 2000 to 2004, up 38 percent to 56,000 persons, or 8 percent of the state's total population, according to Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of U.S. Census data.

    The Census pegs Georgetown's 2000 Hispanic population at 1,473, or about 32 percent of the town's 4,643 residents.

    Based on the number of immigrants La Esperanza serves each year, though, Guajardo estimates that between 8,500 and 9,000 Hispanics live in the Georgetown area. (Yeah right! Just like there are only 9-12 million illegals in the US.)

    And at North Georgetown Elementary School, half of the school's 621 students are Hispanic, and 218 are enrolled in the school's English language learners program, said Principal Jim Hudson.

    That's a staggering increase since 2001, when 16 percent of students were Hispanic, and 30 students were English language learners.

    Shops and restaurants targeting the Latino population are popping up and thriving.

    "They're establishing businesses, raising families, their kids are in school," said Mike Wyatt, Georgetown's mayor. "Local restaurants are doing very well with the Hispanic population. The grocery stores and dollar stores all are doing very well, and a lot of them will tell you it's because the Hispanic customer base is pretty high. They are putting their money back into the town."

    Money issues

    Hudson said he believes the town's acceptance of immigrants is related to the realization that immigrants are hard workers.

    Still, though, the skyrocketing number of English language learners is straining the National Blue Ribbon school's ability to maintain its superior rating from the U.S. Department of Education, Hudson said.

    "These kids deserve an education, but there needs to be a funding mechanism," he said.

    For 2007, the Indian River School District, which includes Georgetown schools, is receiving $98,000 in state funding for its English language learners program, Hudson said.

    That means schools must pull funding from other areas and increase class sizes to pay for the Spanish-speaking students, he said.

    The high number of Spanish speakers and undocumented immigrants also causes problems for the police department, said Georgetown Chief Bill Topping.

    He estimated officers spend 70 percent of their time dealing with the Hispanic community.

    "The illegal or undocumented population does give us more work than the rest of the community," Topping said. "We're talking about drunk drivers and illegal drivers and uninsured motorists. It generates a lot of paperwork."

    Alden Murray, 74, a lifelong Georgetown resident and former code enforcement officer, said he often responded to calls of a dozen immigrants living in the same house.

    "Our lifestyle is a lot different than theirs is," he said. "They'll sleep almost anywhere they can find."

    Topping said he's a realist when it comes to the immigration debate.

    "I understand these people are here, and I understand they are a drain on my department and, to a certain extent, a drain on the taxpayers as far as medical treatment, but I also see the other side where they are very hard-working, very conscientious about work, and they pay Social Security taxes and pay local taxes and do contribute to the economy," he said.

    "There has to be a balance, a trade-off, because a lot of the Hispanics we deal with do jobs that I'm not going to do, and you're not going to do them, either."

    Topping said immigrants who receive $8 an hour working at the poultry plant are what keep chicken breast prices acceptable to consumers. (What is NOT acceptable is the fact that, because they only make 8.00 and hour, many of these employees are getting their food for free, via food stamps, on the taxpayer's dime!)

    "If you're paying someone $15 an hour to work at a poultry plant, you and I are going to pay more for poultry," Topping said. (So we pay more..no big deal.) "And you can pay me $30 an hour, and I'm still not going to work on the evisceration line at Perdue."(You might not pink fingers, but many, many Americans and legal citizens would beat a path to Purdue for 30.00 and hour!)

    'They're here to stay'

    Five years ago, the Georgetown Perdue plant created a community relations position, in part to help immigrant employees integrate into the community, said Marta Velez, who has been in that position since January.

    La Esperanza, which also helps with immigrants' transition to the United States, offering transportation, English and financial literacy classes and help with job and housing applications, serves to bring the immigrant and nonimmigrant communities together, Guajardo said.

    "Our main purpose is to be a bridge," she said. "We're building a bridge between mainstream Sussex County and the Hispanic community."

    There always will be those who complain about the influx of immigrants but, for the most part, the different communities have accepted one another, she said.

    "The American community is not going to bend over backward for you, so you have to learn to fit in," Guajardo said. "We're trying to help them so they can have a smooth transition and integrate into the community without losing their culture or roots."

    There was a time when immigrants were coming to earn money before heading back to their home country.

    "Now, for the most part, they're here to stay," she said. "I see a genuine interest in making a life here in the United States."

    Sister Rosa Alvarez, a community activist and founder of La Esperanza, said in the 10 years since La Esperanza opened, the organization has seen 40 or 50 immigrant families purchase homes.

    Perdue also works with employees to encourage home ownership, DeYoung said.

    "They're becoming a permanent part of the community," she said.

    More interaction needed

    Of course, not everyone in Georgetown welcomes immigrants with open arms.

    Carmen Garcia, 19, a cashier at the Hispanic grocery store El Mercado, said she sometimes has felt discriminated against since she emigrated from Guatemala to Georgetown.

    "Sometimes when you go into a store, they'll insult you if you don't know English," said Garcia, who understands only a little English. "Or they'll insult your clothing."

    Nidia Gerardo Prado, 27, came to Georgetown from southern Mexico four years ago.

    The problem, she said, is many Americans haven't had the chance to interact with immigrants.

    "They don't understand why we come," she said. "They don't understand the great poverty in other countries. And they have the mistaken idea that we don't have any education."

    Ovalle said it's also a form of discrimination when employers pay immigrants lower wages.

    Susan Shehan, 44, who has lived in Georgetown 16 years, said a lot of nonimmigrants resent immigrants for taking jobs.

    The chicken plants existed before the abundance of immigrant labor, and would continue fine if the borders were sealed, she said.


    Georgetown is not to the point it needs to enforce laws like in Hazleton or Riverside, but that time will come soon, she said.

    "Things are still under control here, but we can't let it get worse," Shehan said.

    Cheyenne Staten, 18, said she's irritated with the immigrants who isolate themselves and don't learn English.

    "They can't communicate with us," she said. "If you're on the street, you can't tell if they're talking about you or not, so it causes problems."

    'It is a problem'

    John Jaremchuk, the Republican councilman from Elsmere who unsuccessfully ran for the 13th House District on an anti-illegal immigration platform, said he's not sure why the issue hasn't become more of a flashpoint in Georgetown, but it has something to do with Perdue.

    "The existence of the plant down there, with the jobs employing the illegals, helps their economy, and they decide to ignore the various laws these people are breaking," he said.

    Fed up with the federal government's lack of enforcement of immigration laws, Jaremchuk in 2005 proposed an ordinance that would have fined landlords and employers $1,000 for each undocumented immigrant. Earlier this month, council defeated Jaremchuk's resolution that would have required all town contractors to certify their employees were in the country legally.

    Jaremchuk maintains that voters -- especially in Elsmere -- are concerned about illegal immigration.

    "It is a problem because of the quality-of-life issues that result from the illegals being here," he said. "We're talking about everything from parking on lawns to gang activity."

    Georgetown's Mayor Wyatt said he can't foresee the town pursuing laws like those currently being legally challenged in Hazleton and Riverside, or the one proposed by Jaremchuk.

    "I know some people are upset," he said, "but weren't we all immigrants at one time, one way or another?"

    Contact Summer Harlow at 324-2794 or sharlow@delawareonline.com.

    http://delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /1006/NEWS

  2. #2
    Senior Member Dixie's Avatar
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    And at North Georgetown Elementary School, half of the school's 621 students are Hispanic, and 218 are enrolled in the school's English language learners program, said Principal Jim Hudson.
    There just here getting a job. More business welfare at work. Socalized day care for the illegal alien children.

    Dixie
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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