Immigrant population in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, is "benefit to the town," borough manager says
CHARLEROI, Pa. (KDKA) — Charleroi, Pennsylvania, has been thrust into the national conversation around Haitian immigrants.
Former President Donald Trump recently mentioned the Washington County borough's growing immigrant population days after making false claims about Haitian immigrants and pets in Springfield, Ohio.
But while the borough and its school district have experienced some growing pains, the town and the immigrants say they've been a much-needed economic shot in the arm.
Immigrant population swells in Charleroi
When the steel mills packed up and left, workers and families vacated Charleroi and the other Mon River towns, leaving behind a valley marked with blight and unemployment. Five years ago, Augusta Goll -- known as Queen -- arrived with the first wave of immigrants from the African nation of Liberia.
"When we came here, the city was a ghost town," Goll said. "Houses were falling down. Most businesses falling dead."
Since then, the immigrant population has swelled in Charleroi, most recently joined by several hundred refugees from Haiti. Most all are legal and under protected status from the United States Department of Homeland Security for having fled their troubled homelands. Many have renovated vacant houses and opened businesses in empty storefronts.
Like others, Goll has made the most of her opportunity with her own grocery.
"We came here, we open businesses. We paying taxes, we contributed to the good of this city," Goll said.
"It hasn't been a drain on borough resources," borough manager Jim Manning said. "We haven't seen a spike in crime. We haven't seen any major problems."
How many immigrants are in Charleroi?
There are now roughly 1,000 immigrants in Charleroi, about a 20 percent increase to a population of 4,200. But despite some claims that the town has been overrun with crime and other problems, Manning says the immigrants are helping to rejuvenate Charleroi, stemming population loss that has plagued the valley for decades.
"They have been a benefit to the town," Manning said. "Charleroi is about the only community in the Mon Valley that is seeing a population increase."
"They come here. They buy property. They open businesses. They work here. They pay taxes. So for us, at the end of the day, it has been a benefit," Manning said.
There have been some growing pains. The school district now has 125 immigrant K-5 students, which requires some special attention and the hiring of additional English Language Learning instructors. But while it would like more aid from the state and federal governments, the district said the immigrant kids have proved to be quick learners.
"They're great," said Mark Killinger, the K-2 principal at Charleroi Elementary Center. "They come off the bus, they're all smiles. They hug the staff. They work well with each other. They've been assimilating pretty well. And as they start to learn English, it's really cool to see that growth."
And the immigrants who shop on Fallowfield Avenue are proud of their impact here.
"When the African and other people came, they open a lot of businesses here," Liberian immigrant James Jarrett said.
