Thread: Hispanics Making Indianapolis Home in Large Numbers

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By Deanna Dewberry
News 8 @ 5:30

Some new Hoosiers, Hispanics, are making the Circle City home in staggering numbers. Indianapolis' Latino population is now one of the fastest growing in the country. On news stands now, Indianapolis Monthly dedicates an entire issue to the topic of Hispanics in this Hoosier heartland.

Immigrants who become citizens represent the American rainbow, white, black, brown, who with raised right hand take an oath to protect and defend their adopted homeland. And upon doing so, their lives change. And beginning new lives are immigrants from Mexico, South and Central America, and they are settling in Indianapolis in astounding numbers.

The Brookings Institution says the number of Latinos in the Circle City grew 44 percent from 2000 to 2004. But the preceding decade was truly staggering with growth of 263 percent from 1990 to 2000. Indy's Hispanic population now ranks as the fifth fastest growing in the country.

"In some parts of Mexico, Indianapolis is very well known as a destination, as a good place to live, a good place to raise a family. A place with good jobs and good wages. We were surprised to find that Indianapolis is well-known in Mexico," said David Zivan of Indianapolis Monthly.

It is a phenomenon changing the face of our state's capital city. The special edition of Indianapolis Monthly currently on news stands examines the impact of Indy's immigrant influx.

"1,200 Hispanic owned businesses in the metro area. And they've been growing at a rate that far exceeds the national growth rate for Hispanic owned businesses," said Evan West of Indianapolis Monthly.

Ildefonso Carbajal owns one of those businesses. He publishes La Ola Latino-Americana, a bilingual newspaper and provides tax preparation services. But his journey from an undocumented 20-year-old to an American citizen and small business owner has been far from easy.

"You have to go after whatever you need, whatever you want. Whatever you want to do or accomplish. Nobody's going to give it to you. So you have to do whatever it takes to go past that obstacle," Ildefonso said.

A comfortable home is the embodiment of the American dream. A 7,600 square foot $2 million Carmel home is being built by men for whom home is now a newfound land far from the familiar. Every one of the construction workers is from Mexico, forming the framework of someone else's dream while laying the foundation for dreams of their own.

"They come here and they learn a trade and they get good out of it because they put every effort that they have towards it," business owner Epifanio Carbajal said.

Two decades ago Epifanio came to America armed with a college degree in philosophy looking for a chance. He found it on construction sites and now owns his own company employing other immigrants. His take on it all is philosophical.

"As time goes by, you start developing more ideas, looking for something better. I don't think I would have done it or accomplished it in Mexico or any other place. But I have done it here," Epifanio said.

Epifanio's story is not unique. It is repeated again and again along Washington Street where Hispanic immigrants have not only found jobs, but also created them in a community of commerce affectionately called Little Mexico.

But Evan West writes in this month's special issue of Indianapolis Monthly that not even the experts can agree on the actual economic impact of Indianapolis' immigrant influx.

"You had one saying that the overall economic impact was positive, others saying that American workers were suffering. And I think reasonable people disagree at this point," West said.

Cheree Calabro is the founder of Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement or I-FIRE. She believes the cost of undocumented immigrants outweighs the benefits of their labor. She points to hospital costs for the uninsured, language assistance and public school resources for their children and systematic wage depression she believes is caused by cheap immigrant labor.

"They are competing with my relatives who work in the trades, my relatives who do construction, who build houses, who paint homes and things like that. They are in direct competition with them," said Calabro.

To that, Hispanics point again to what they say is microcosmic symbolism of the west Washington revival. There, the Latino dollar is giving the struggling area new life as immigrants began life anew in America's heartland.

Vouch for that. And our city government admires Indy wanting us to go their way.
I drive I-65 and pass through Indianapolis. South of Indy in Southport there are numerous soccer fields. I bet ICE could have their own field day there.

Amazing how bold these illegals are.

Originally Posted by GFC

Amazing how bold these illegals are.

Amazing how bold our local governments are. They have provided cities that are not fit for Americans to live in anymore, lose population, and growth. Rather than do something to make it better they work with churches to import illegal aliens from the Third World that will be satisfied with little. The bonds will come due one day though. Our city has been using Indy as a model city, illegals outnumber legal immigrants almost 2 to 1 here, I imagine it's similiar or worse in Indy with their head start.

Really shocked by this.

How do you stop this? I think of Indiana as America's heartland. I read this and shake my head asking mysefl "WTF is going on?!?!?"