The Survival of former mining town in the US

A decade ago, the small city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, came into the national spotlight for its tough laws aimed at cracking down on “illegal immigrants.” The city threatened steep fines and penalties for anyone renting a room or employing someone who was undocumented. But things have changed dramatically since that time. These days, Latinos are Hazleton’s driving economic force. Since 2000, the town’s Latino population has exploded from 4% to more than 40% and dozens of Latino-owned businesses have opened, providing thousands of much needed jobs. Spanish is the prevailing language spoken on Hazleton’s streets, and Bachata music plays from passing cars’ windows. “Before we arrived, this town was dead,” said Demetrio Juarez, a chef and owner of El Mariachi, a Mexican restaurant who has lived in Hazleton for 21 years. “We gave this town life.” Not so long ago, Hazleton was on the edge of extinction. The coal mines were shutting down, the older generation was dying off and younger residents were leaving town to find better paying jobs. Local lawmakers started offering generous tax incentives to attract local manufacturing companies. Slowly, warehouses, distribution centers and other plants began to set up shop in or near town. However, these companies weren’t offering the type of high-quality jobs with good pay, upward mobility and pensions that residents had grown accustomed to, said Jamie Longazel, an assistant professor at Dayton University’s Human Rights Center in Dayton, Ohio. And now, the city has got new blood and would be better day after day!