Forum: Let's welcome Latinos to Pittsburgh
The region would benefit from concrete steps to bring more working-class Latino immigrants here, say Richard Delgado and Jean Stefanic
Sunday, September 18, 2005

Pittsburgh needs more Latinos. Pious, industrious, roll-up your-sleeve immigrants from Mexico and Central America, raring to work at jobs like construction, food processing, restaurants and old age homes, save their money, send their kids to school, move up the ladder and relive the American dream.






Richard Delgado is university distinguished professor of law and Derrick Bell fellow and Jean Stefancic is research professor of law and Derrick Bell scholar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where they teach courses on race and civil rights (delgado@law.pitt.edu). They are editors of "The Latino Condition: A Critical Reader."







Many American cities (not Pittsburgh -- we rank dead last of the 30 largest) have welcomed working-class Latino immigrants. What would we gain if we did, too? And what would it take to get them here?

Consider: Pittsburgh is losing population, while cities that have encouraged Latino immigration are gaining it. Pittsburgh is closing cherished neighborhood schools for lack of children. Latino families have lots of children. Pittsburgh boasts a fine stock of older houses, many needing remodeling. Latinos love working in the construction industry. Pittsburgh's acres of parks and gardens need tending. Latinos enjoy and understand caring for plants. Pittsburgh's economy is unbalanced toward high technology. A vibrant low-tech sector fueled by immigrants can complement the area's strengths in computers, law and medical services, much as cities such as Los Angeles and Raleigh, N.C., have done.

Imagine what it would do for this region if you could remodel your house for $23,000, not $30,000; or eat a fine restaurant meal for $14, not $18; if your kids could go to a neighborhood school instead of one a mile away because the local one closed.


Anita Dufalla, Post-Gazette
Click illustration for larger version.

A young population -- median age 27 -- Latinos are also the nation's largest ethnic minority group. Latinos settling in, say, Pittsburgh's Beechview neighborhood, would not suffer long from isolation or lack of self-help organizations. Latinos love work, indeed exhibit the highest rate of participation in the U.S. work force of any group. Many hold two, or even three, fulltime jobs. Construction foremen, restaurant owners and hotel managers love Latinos, who enjoy a reputation for working hard, not complaining and showing up on time.

Wouldn't Latinos just be a drain on public services? Like most immigrant groups, they could use a helping hand in getting their first apartment and job. But Latinos on the whole consume fewer social services than others, and contribute to the economy through their taxes.

What about crime? As with any group, an increase in membership could cause the absolute number of crimes to go up. But the crime rate is apt to go down. About 15 percent of the U.S. prison population is currently Latino, while their share of the population at large is 14 percent. But the group is predominantly young, in the very age range that produces the most crime. When you consider their relative youth and the high degree of suspicion and police surveillance they endure, that low rate is pretty remarkable. If the nation increased Latino immigration and reduced it for everybody else, the overall crime rate would likely drop slightly.

In sum, Pittsburgh would reap rich dividends from Latino immigration and incur few costs. Programs to increase it would build on the city's historic embrace of immigrants and of a multiracial, multiethnic, polyglot society with many languages, backgrounds, and cuisines. Years ago, immigrants from Poland, Italy, Ireland, and Greece built Pittsburgh into the vibrant city it is. Immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala can do the same for it today.

What steps might we take? City and county governments could direct agencies to encourage immigration and fund NGOs such as churches, settlement houses and immigration law clinics working with new arrivals. Schools could offer courses in English as a second language. Neighbors could offer a helping hand.

Where would the jobs come from? In many cases, the immigrants would create new jobs themselves, opening small restaurants, shops, and offering services such as gardening, house cleaning and auto repairs. With an enlarged labor pool, entrepreneurs of all sorts might decide to open businesses such as dry wall installation, carpet laying, or food processing.

We could tap the experience of cities like Knoxville, Tenn., or Raleigh, N.C., that have enjoyed heavy Latino immigration. In some parts of the country, every work site features Latino and non-Latino workers working together to build houses, repair roads, and make things grow. Wouldn't it be nice if Pittsburgh had more of this?

Within 10 years about one-quarter of the U.S. population will retire, and, a few years later, start needing nursing and retirement care. The Social Security system currently has about five workers supporting one retiree; soon, the figure will be three, then two to one. But the U.S. population is growing slowly, and the working population even more so. Who will keep Social Security afloat and take care of Grandma and Grandpa when they retire?

Latinos, with their strong work ethic and traditional respect for elders, are the logical choice, both nationally and here.


Wonder what Koolaid these idiots are drinking