Immigration issues have been prevalent in Central Pennsylvania’s economy for decades due to its dependence on agriculture.
PA, USA — Immigration has pervaded Central Pennsylvania’s economy for decades due to its dependence on agriculture, but a recent national backlash has brought the issue into the spotlight during the presidential election. Masu.
FOX43 viewers selected these issues as among the most important issues in this year’s election as part of FOX43’s Pennsylvania’s Choice series.
Communities like York Springs in Adams County rely on immigrants to fill nearby jobs on farms and orchards in one of the nation’s largest apple producing regions.
York Springs Mayor Nina Tipler said immigrants make up about half of the borough’s population and they are treated like other people.
“It’s been around since we had orchards and farmland all around us,” Tipler said. “The people who come here are literally feeding the world. We have apple orchards and farms and wheat crops and soybeans all around us. If people are not willing to do these jobs, The food chain stops.”
This incident comes as communities with large immigrant populations are under attack across the country. That includes Springfield, Ohio, where Haitian immigrants have been the subject of online conspiracy theories and numerous threats against local schools.
Mayor Tipler said that in York Springs, immigrants, both old and new, are no different than anyone else who lives in the borough.
“This is their home,” Tipler said. “And I hate to say, ‘They and we,’ because we’re all us. This is where we all live, and this is where we’re all comfortable.” We should all feel entitled to all the comforts that everyone else has. ”
Voting date is set for November 5th.
