Immigrant impact on town transformation underscores US visa reform

The impact of immigration on one small town in New York State is being seen as an encouragement to the Senate to pass the immigration reform bill.

Two decades since he arrived from Mexico as an illegal immigrant, one entrepreneur in this one small town now owns two restaurants, is starting a third, has five employees and is known for his tasty food. His personal life has also seen changes, as he is now married to an American citizen and has a stepdaughter.

This hardworking resident doesn’t have a green card or citizenship, in spite of his own success and the positive effect he’s had on his town. He lives in a grey world, travelling by bus and taxi as he can’t get a driver’s license and dealing only in cash as he can’t get a bank account or credit cards.

The small, working class town is also home to many more Hispanic immigrants, all of whom have played a part in the town’s regeneration after its mills and factories closed 30-plus years ago. The immigrant influx became the town’s lifeblood, with its centre now crammed with restaurants, stores and other community services.

Immigrants are often seen as just labourers on the lowest rung of American society, a perception all but destroyed by the example set in this one town and many others. Economists involved in the prospective new law believe an open door should be the entrance portal to others like this man, all of whom could help reconstruct the country’s economy in places which need it most.

The most controversial feature of the new bill gives overstayers or illegals who entered before the end of 2011 the chance to tread the road to citizenship, a process estimated to take around 10 years. The good news is that immediate provisional residential status would be given, allowing immigrants to legally work and travel.