MARCH 2011

Immigration Challenges and
Opportunities Focus of Local Summit

Over one hundred years before the court case involving Hispanic day laborers in Columbus Park, another Mamaroneck park was the scene of immigrant hostility. On August 13, 1870, Irish immigrants clashed with newly-arrived Italian laborers, rioting and leaving several killed. And well before that, an area founding father, John Jay, advocated erecting “a wall of brass around the country for the exclusion of Catholics.”

Intolerance, is nothing new, speakers told the Local Summit at its February 15th meeting at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck. As panelist John Gitlitz, Associate Professor of Political Science at SUNY Purchase, expressed it, every immigrant group has a history of prejudice. The names change, but the accusations remain the same. Another panelist, Mayor Norman Rosenblum, of the Village of Mamaroneck, added that “if you don’t know your history, you are doomed to repeat your mistakes.”

The panel was rounded out by Dr. Robert Shaps, Superintendent of Schools for Mamaroneck, Martha Lopez-Hanratty, former Director of the Westchester County Office of Hispanic Affairs, and moderator Reverend Richard Allen of the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church.

Estimates put the Hispanic population of Westchester at just under 20% in 2009, up from just under 10% in 1990. Most are here legally, with the National Institute for Public Policy estimating that one-fifth in our county are undocumented. Historically, large cities have attracted new immigrants. Why the increase in immigration to the suburbs now?

Professor Gitlitz explained that he believes it is due to two things: third and fourth generation Italian immigrants abandoning the classic suburban niche of unskilled trades like gardening, landscaping and construction labor, and the increase in dual-income families which has caused a greater demand for domestic services and restaurant-prepared meals. Both of these changes have opened up new jobs for unskilled labor.

After the speakers provided an overview of the topic, Reverend Allen charged the panel with these questions, “How can we and others stand together on immigration issues? As neighbors, friends, and citizens, what sort of response would you like us to have?”

Mayor Rosenblum advocated for open communication and a continuing dialogue on immigration, saying that the way to neutralize extremists and prejudice was through the involvement of the general public. In his view, the majority of the community believes in fairness and equity and, when engaged, will rise up against prejudice and work to right wrongs. He emphasized that people, not politicians, are the real power, although elected officials can provide public forums for the discussion, and can listen. Mariana Boneo, a Summit Board Member, asked the mayor if the Village would be allowing any of its officers to be trained and deputized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce immigration law locally. Mayor Rosenblum answered that he did not believe in it, since he finds it neither pragmatic nor realistic.

Ms. Lopez-Hanratty urged community members to take a stand on immigration reform and to lobby their legislators, saying that the millions of immigrant children here in the United States are not going to go back. She argued, “We need to help these kids and help these families. They are one of us now.” Professor Gitlitz added that immigration reform is needed to give the children of immigrants the chance to succeed through access to higher education.

Zóe Colón, Executive Director of the Hispanic Resource Center of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, and a member of the audience, picked up where the speakers left off, saying that tolerance is not enough. She said the community should embrace diversity and support the fact that people are choosing to keep and preserve their culture by integrating, rather than assimilating. Mayor Rosenblum observed that this is something we all benefit from, saying that this sense of diversity is what makes Mamaroneck great, and adding that he would hate to see a country where everyone’s goal is to become a homogenous “white.”

The meeting was sponsored by the Larchmont Mamaroneck Local Summit, a non-partisan citizen’s group, as part of its monthly discussion series. All are invited to meetings of the Local Summit, which are intended to inform and encourage an exchange of ideas and possible solutions. You will find the group at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:45 a.m.

 

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