Silent Invasion: A Resident's Take on the Take-Over of His Community
The following was received in an e-mail to BorderWatch (edited for grammar & clarity):
I live in a moderate-sized town in New England near a large city. I was born here & am still here 40 years later. The town was always a quiet place, considering we are in a mutli-cultural metropolitan area. The town was of predominantly European stock. About fifteen years ago that all began to change.
First let me say that most of the people I describe here are hard workers & I have no grudge with the individual, except the cheats & illegals, but that doesn't mean we should allow 6 billion hard workers into the country. We can't take them all. It is the government that has allowed this situation to occur & the grudge is with them.
We began to get a movement of Portugese citizens & non-citizens who came from, or fled more appropriately, the nearby city. They bought existing homes, usually with low-interest Portugese association mortgages, & remodeled them. I give them credit for that. More & more Portuguese followed. On the heels of them we began to see Hispanics moving into town. Some bought homes, but most rented. We began to see some Spanish & Portugese stores & eateries open in town.
As the years quickly progressed, so did the influx of Hispanics & Portugese, exponentially. The new residents were now more likely Brazilian, Peruvian & Mexican with representation from every Central & South American country to some point. Along with this, a fair amount of Chinese from the Communist Mainland began moving in, as well as Pakistani, Indian, Ethiopean & Kenyian.
Needless to say, they opened or bought out stores & gas stations in town. Their children were enrolled into the schools. In fact, the schools began bi-lingual education to accomodate them & reached the point that they were sending out report cards in 5 languages. Cultural centers opened for some of the nationalities & candidates for local office ran & in some cases won.
The town has now changed drastically within 15 years. The steady stream of people from these cultures continues unabated. Eighty percent of students moving into town are Hispanic or Brazilian, about the same percent are Hispanic or Portugese new home buyers or renters; half of those 80%'s are on visa or have a "green card". The other half are predominantly born out of country, though citizens now. Half of our schools now have Hispanic majorities, where years earlier the Hispanic student population was 1 percent. More than half the stores & gas stations are now minority owned. These stores sell Brazilian-only products or Peruvian-only products, etc., etc. Needless to say, their store signs & advertisements are in their languages.
The cultural change in town has been too soon, too fast. There has been no assimulation. It has been more of a swallowing whole of the established European culture.
As a mid-level manager employed by the town, I have a better view of things then the general town public. What I have seen is, frankly, disturbing. First, there is no attempt at assimulation as I said earlier. The Hispanics & Brazilians especially fly their countries flags from their homes with the notable absence of the American flag. I am asked almost every day by someone who comes to the town hall if I speak Spanish or Portugese. When I say no, some are shocked; "No speak Spanish?!" Being told no, they continue speaking their language until I'm forced to usher them out or they leave & come back with an interpreter or speak in barely understandable English. When I explain why something can't be done I get, "But in my country...". Well you know what? You're not in your country, pal, you're in the USA. Accept our laws or go back to "my country." I am sick to death of the phrase, "but in my country."
The town population has increased 7,000 in these 15 years. A large jump. The schools are now overcrowded. The school board asks constantly for a larger budget. Property taxes have kept going up to keep pace with the school budget & town services, especially social services.
What is more alarming is the economic culture they bring. It is especially true with Portugese & Spanish homeowners that they illegally rent out attics & basements. Not all, but many. The renters, Brazilian or South American mostly, pay cash. Of course, the renters are paid cash at their jobs, so no taxes for them or their employer; this is common around here. Naturally, rent collected is under the table thus tax-free. Wouldn't it be nice to collect $15,000-$18,000 a year on 2 illegal apts tax free? Even renters in a 3 bedroom apartment "rent" out one of the bedrooms to a someone, which is illegal. The cliche about packing them into an apartment is true. Family & extended family add up to more than legally should be there. Walk down any street & you will see 3 doorbells or 3 mailboxes on a 2-family house or 5 last names on a single mailbox. When we contact an owner about his property, we are told often that he is in Portugal or Brazil for 6 months on vacation. Naturally, back to "my country", thanks to the tax-free illegal rents collected & the under-the-table salaries. There are more people in town, thanks to illegal apts, but the town does not see the greater income from it. Instead, town services are more strained.
Remember the "The Name Game" song - banana-fana-fo Phil? The Spanish & Portugese have that beat. We may put Maria Diaz on the property list. We send out mail & it comes back "unknown". It turns out that Maria Diaz's full name is Maria Elvira Correjo Diaz. However, She uses Elivra Correjo on the mailbox. Half her identifaction uses one name & the other half the other name. I have even seen third names used. I don't know if this is a "cultural" thing, but it is more than common & confusing as hell for our databases & files. If this is how they operate in their country, then it must be a nightmare. But it also opens the door to fraud & I wonder how often someone has taken advantage of it for exactly that purpose.
I don't know what the illegal population is in town. I know we have many. Most people think that illegals sneak across the border. It has been my experience that most illegals here have come into the country legally. The scam is to get in legally on a tourist or worker visa then just don't leave when it expires. I have seen people on 30-day tourist visas with social security cards, 1 year rental leases & other documentation that indicates they are not going anywhere soon. I have had illegals show me their forged identifications. I know of one who illegally crossed the border & is now making very good money as a Teamster Union member. So much for the image of the low waged apple picker.
Our government consciously opened & allowed a floodgate of legal immigration. Compounded with that is the huge number of illegals coming into the country. We cannot absorb the volume. Towns like mine are being overwhelmed cuturally & government services wise. I don't know what the hell the government was thinking to approve this open door immigration policy. But my town isn't the only one. It is being repeated elsewere in the country countless times, especially on the west coast. This is nothing but a seachange in society & nothing is being done about it. I wonder sometimes if I can make it until retirement & then get the hell out of here. The hell with New England, Montana looks better every day.
Note: If anyone has similar stories on how their town changed through immigration, legal or illegal, post them in the comments section or if especially long e-mail to me for posting on this page: BrokenBorders@aol.com
I live in a moderate-sized town in New England near a large city. I was born here & am still here 40 years later. The town was always a quiet place, considering we are in a mutli-cultural metropolitan area. The town was of predominantly European stock. About fifteen years ago that all began to change.
First let me say that most of the people I describe here are hard workers & I have no grudge with the individual, except the cheats & illegals, but that doesn't mean we should allow 6 billion hard workers into the country. We can't take them all. It is the government that has allowed this situation to occur & the grudge is with them.
We began to get a movement of Portugese citizens & non-citizens who came from, or fled more appropriately, the nearby city. They bought existing homes, usually with low-interest Portugese association mortgages, & remodeled them. I give them credit for that. More & more Portuguese followed. On the heels of them we began to see Hispanics moving into town. Some bought homes, but most rented. We began to see some Spanish & Portugese stores & eateries open in town.
As the years quickly progressed, so did the influx of Hispanics & Portugese, exponentially. The new residents were now more likely Brazilian, Peruvian & Mexican with representation from every Central & South American country to some point. Along with this, a fair amount of Chinese from the Communist Mainland began moving in, as well as Pakistani, Indian, Ethiopean & Kenyian.
Needless to say, they opened or bought out stores & gas stations in town. Their children were enrolled into the schools. In fact, the schools began bi-lingual education to accomodate them & reached the point that they were sending out report cards in 5 languages. Cultural centers opened for some of the nationalities & candidates for local office ran & in some cases won.
The town has now changed drastically within 15 years. The steady stream of people from these cultures continues unabated. Eighty percent of students moving into town are Hispanic or Brazilian, about the same percent are Hispanic or Portugese new home buyers or renters; half of those 80%'s are on visa or have a "green card". The other half are predominantly born out of country, though citizens now. Half of our schools now have Hispanic majorities, where years earlier the Hispanic student population was 1 percent. More than half the stores & gas stations are now minority owned. These stores sell Brazilian-only products or Peruvian-only products, etc., etc. Needless to say, their store signs & advertisements are in their languages.
The cultural change in town has been too soon, too fast. There has been no assimulation. It has been more of a swallowing whole of the established European culture.
As a mid-level manager employed by the town, I have a better view of things then the general town public. What I have seen is, frankly, disturbing. First, there is no attempt at assimulation as I said earlier. The Hispanics & Brazilians especially fly their countries flags from their homes with the notable absence of the American flag. I am asked almost every day by someone who comes to the town hall if I speak Spanish or Portugese. When I say no, some are shocked; "No speak Spanish?!" Being told no, they continue speaking their language until I'm forced to usher them out or they leave & come back with an interpreter or speak in barely understandable English. When I explain why something can't be done I get, "But in my country...". Well you know what? You're not in your country, pal, you're in the USA. Accept our laws or go back to "my country." I am sick to death of the phrase, "but in my country."
The town population has increased 7,000 in these 15 years. A large jump. The schools are now overcrowded. The school board asks constantly for a larger budget. Property taxes have kept going up to keep pace with the school budget & town services, especially social services.
What is more alarming is the economic culture they bring. It is especially true with Portugese & Spanish homeowners that they illegally rent out attics & basements. Not all, but many. The renters, Brazilian or South American mostly, pay cash. Of course, the renters are paid cash at their jobs, so no taxes for them or their employer; this is common around here. Naturally, rent collected is under the table thus tax-free. Wouldn't it be nice to collect $15,000-$18,000 a year on 2 illegal apts tax free? Even renters in a 3 bedroom apartment "rent" out one of the bedrooms to a someone, which is illegal. The cliche about packing them into an apartment is true. Family & extended family add up to more than legally should be there. Walk down any street & you will see 3 doorbells or 3 mailboxes on a 2-family house or 5 last names on a single mailbox. When we contact an owner about his property, we are told often that he is in Portugal or Brazil for 6 months on vacation. Naturally, back to "my country", thanks to the tax-free illegal rents collected & the under-the-table salaries. There are more people in town, thanks to illegal apts, but the town does not see the greater income from it. Instead, town services are more strained.
Remember the "The Name Game" song - banana-fana-fo Phil? The Spanish & Portugese have that beat. We may put Maria Diaz on the property list. We send out mail & it comes back "unknown". It turns out that Maria Diaz's full name is Maria Elvira Correjo Diaz. However, She uses Elivra Correjo on the mailbox. Half her identifaction uses one name & the other half the other name. I have even seen third names used. I don't know if this is a "cultural" thing, but it is more than common & confusing as hell for our databases & files. If this is how they operate in their country, then it must be a nightmare. But it also opens the door to fraud & I wonder how often someone has taken advantage of it for exactly that purpose.
I don't know what the illegal population is in town. I know we have many. Most people think that illegals sneak across the border. It has been my experience that most illegals here have come into the country legally. The scam is to get in legally on a tourist or worker visa then just don't leave when it expires. I have seen people on 30-day tourist visas with social security cards, 1 year rental leases & other documentation that indicates they are not going anywhere soon. I have had illegals show me their forged identifications. I know of one who illegally crossed the border & is now making very good money as a Teamster Union member. So much for the image of the low waged apple picker.
Our government consciously opened & allowed a floodgate of legal immigration. Compounded with that is the huge number of illegals coming into the country. We cannot absorb the volume. Towns like mine are being overwhelmed cuturally & government services wise. I don't know what the hell the government was thinking to approve this open door immigration policy. But my town isn't the only one. It is being repeated elsewere in the country countless times, especially on the west coast. This is nothing but a seachange in society & nothing is being done about it. I wonder sometimes if I can make it until retirement & then get the hell out of here. The hell with New England, Montana looks better every day.
Note: If anyone has similar stories on how their town changed through immigration, legal or illegal, post them in the comments section or if especially long e-mail to me for posting on this page: BrokenBorders@aol.com
posted by Francis Lynn at 12:05 AM
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