NYTimes Highlights Immigrant Impact on Port Chester

The New York Times’ Nelson D. Schwartz used Port Chester as an example of how an immigrant population can transform a community.

In an article published May 5, Schwartz describes an unnamed Port Chester business owner, who is living and working in the United States illegally, but is prospering in the village.

He writes:
While the estimated 11 million immigrants here illegally are often portrayed as dishwashers, farmhands, gardeners and other low-paid service workers, increasingly they are also business owners and employers. That is one reason economists say opening the door to entrepreneurs like Moises — whose last name is being withheld because of the risk of deportation — could give the American economy a shot in the arm.

Schwartz uses “Moises” and Port Chester’s growing population of immigrants (59 percent of the village is of Hispanic origin) as an example of who could be effected by a proposed immigration bill introduced by a bipartisan group of senators in April. The bill would allow those with expired visas or who arrived illegally before Dec. 31, 2011, a path to citizenship. Schwartz writes that the legislation would also offer people like Moises “more immediate provisional status, enabling them to work and travel legally.”

The article explains that some supporters of the legislation say that allowing more immigrants and giving them more legal rights helps communities like Port Chester grow economically and prosper.  Opponents say increased immigration drives down wages for low skilled native-born workers, and strains the school system and social services.  

What do you think of the proposed legislation?  Tell us in the comments.