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Two thousand miles from the border,

Syracuse fnds itself in immigration


debate
Patricia Donovan, right, was among those voicing their concerns Thursday at a town-
hall meeting in Syracuse, N.Y., about the mayors !ro!osal to allow young,
undocumented immigrants to be brought to Syracuse tem!orarily. "#ichael
$%oniews%i&'or The (ashington Post)
*y #onica +esse ,uly -. at /012 P#
SYRACUSE, N.Y. The immigration rallies the protesters and the buses of
undocumented immigrants that upended Southern California in earl !ul had
alread been on the ne"s for a "ee# "hen, $,%%% miles from the U.S.&'e(ico border,
Sracuse 'aor Stephanie 'iner got an e&mail)
*ear 'aor 'iner,+ began the letter sent !ul , from a federal official. -.e "anted to
alert ou that the U.S. *epartment of /ealth and /uman Ser0ices and 1eneral
Ser0ices Administration is conducting an assessment of $2%% 1rant 3l0d. to determine
"hether it ma be used as a facilit for temporaril housing children "ho ha0e come
into the United States "ithout an adult guardian.+
The address belonged to a con0ent. A former campus of the Sisters of St. 4rancis, a
bundle of bric# buildings behind "ooden fences. The nuns had decided to relocate to
the suburbs, ta#ing "ith them their sister&run chocolate shop and listing the propert
on a go0ernment real estate site. The final residents mo0ed out in !une. All that "as
left "as $$5,%%% feet of usable space in the center of a neighborhood that had seen
better das.
And no" a discussion about an immigration crisis ta#ing place so far a"a had landed
tangibl and specificall in the Northside neighborhood of Sracuse.
1o0ernment officials could not tell 'iner ho" man children might be arri0ing, or
"hen, or e0en "hether the "ould come at all. The arrangement depended on building
inspections and on reaching an agreement "ith the nuns. .hat 'iner #ne" "as that a
surge of 2$,%%% unaccompanied minors had come into the United States. She #ne"
that on tele0ision she sa" stories of oung girls "ho had been raped, and oung bos
fleeing gang 0iolence, and after consulting "ith cit officials she came to belie0e there
"as onl one response an e&mail of her o"n)
*ear 6resident 7bama,+ began 'iner8s
letter dated !ul 9:. She told the president
that her cit "anted some of those children.
She cited Ne" Yor#8s long tradition of
"elcoming immigrants. -.e stand read,+
she "rote, -to e(pedite this process and "or#
through an issues so "e can accomplish the
goal of pro0iding a safe and "elcoming site.+ Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, right, talks
with Patricia Donovan during the town-hall
meeting. Donovan is against the idea of housing
undocumented immigrants at former convent in
her neighborhood. Michael !koniewski"#or $he
%ashington Post&
$!!osite reactions
7n a Thursda e0ening in late !ul, the line into Northside8s 6astime Athletic Club
bulged out the door.
The maor #ne" her letter might cause a reaction, but the si;e of it surprised her)
supporti0e phone calls, angr phone calls, ne"scasts, rumors. So she called for this, a
to"n&hall meeting, a chance to tal# about it.
The linoleum&floored communit space had seats for 9%%, "ith a fire&code limit of 92%.
3 the 5 p.m. start time, e0er 0inl chair "as occupied. Along the bac# "all, people
hunched t"o&deep and shoulder to shoulder more crunched than the had been
since the $%%, to"n halls on the health&care la". A decision "as made) The maor
announced the "ould meet in shifts, t"o to"n halls, and she as#ed the cro"d still
"aiting outside to return in an hour.
As a "a to start, let me tell ou about e(actl ho" "e got to "here "e are and "here
that is,+ she said to the first group. -This ear, the Sisters of St. 4rancis decided to
finali;e their mo0e out of the con0ent.+
According to go0ernment officials, the refugee children "ould each ha0e an a0erage
sta of <2 das, she said. The "ould mostl come from 1uatemala, /onduras and El
Sal0ador. =n other facilities li#e this across the countr, there had ne0er been an
public safet incidents.
That8s a lie>+ A man leaning against the bac# "all ?olted upright at the last statement.
-=t8s a lie>+
/is friends muttered agreement. That8s not
"hat the had heard. =f these children had
managed to get all the "a to the U.S.
border, "hat "as to stop them from scaling
'atino youngsters, from left, (orshua Mende),
'isani *avarroa, +aaren *avarroa, and ,ngel
*avarroa, wait to enter the town-hall meeting in
Syracuse, *.-. Michael !koniewski"#or $he
%ashington Post&
the con0ent8s fence@
To some residents, the maor8s public letter "as a testament to Sracuse8s long
immigrant histor) refugees from places such as 3hutan, Sudan and Aietnam had
made homes in the cit, commemorating their nati0e countries8 cultures "ith festi0als
or foreign flag&raising ceremonies. To others, the letter "as a ?arring in0itation for the
problems of someone else8s fara"a bac# ard to be deposited on their o"n front
la"ns.
7ne "ee# before the open forum, dueling protests "ere staged in front of the con0ent.
Neighbors "ho shopped at the same grocer met on opposite sides of the same street,
"a0ing signs that read either -Send Aliens 3ac#+ or -'i Casa Es Tu Casa.+
No", at the forum, 'iner pic#ed up the first notecard from a thic# stac# of audience
comments collected b her staff. She read it aloud) -You said the entire to"n supports
this. You don8t spea# for me.+
Another) -=f ou8re so for this, "h don8t ou let them mo0e in "ith ou@+
Another) -=n 0ie" of the fact that "e alread ha0e a ?u0enile&delinBuent problem in
this area that the police ha0e not addressed, e(actl "hat standards and rules "ill be in
effect in regards to these children@+
A "oman carring a pro&immigration sign too# a photograph of an opposing hec#ler
"ith her cellphone. -You ha0e no right to ta#e m picture,+ he called. She snapped
another one. -You ta#e a picture of m face, =8ll ha0e ou arrested.+
Another) -.h is Sracuse going to accept illegal aliens@+
The children "ere not illegal immigrants, the maor said. The "ere refugees "ho had
tra0eled hundreds of miles searching for a better life.
3ut "h do the ha0e to come so far, maor@+ cried a "oman sitting "ith her mother&
in&la". The t"o "omen had brought "ith them a poster co0ered in pictures of 'S&9<
gang members the tpes of ouths the feared the facilit "ould hold. -.h do the
ha0e to come all the "a to Sracuse@+
After an hour, the first forum "hich had some 0ocal immigration supporters but a
largel negati0e tone ended. The ne(t 92% people flooded in. 'iner8s 0oice "as
hoarse as she started the second round "ith the same introduction)
Cet me ?ust start "ith some of the basics. The con0ent propert "as put up for sale
earlier this ear.+
She too# up a notecard.
.h,+ the Buestioner "ondered, -are "e going to be afraid of children@+
Another) -= came here. = learned English. =8m a retired teacher. =8d li#e to 0olunteer to
teach the children.+
An older man rose and said he "as saddened b the mean&spiritedness that had
defined some interactions. Remember "hat !esus said, the spea#er urged. -.hat "e
do for the least of our brethren, "e do unto /im.+
Another) -/o" can "e help these children@+
Another) -.ithin human rights, there are no borders.+
7ne man stood up to tell 'iner that he "as proud of her for sending the
letter. This "as the Sracuse that 'iner #ne". This "as the compassionate place she
lo0ed. The nasaers "ho opposed the center "ere loud, but she trul belie0ed the
"ere a minorit that did not reflect the "hole cit.
The second session ended.
Than# ou for coming,+ she said as participants streamed out of the building, se0en
bloc#s a"a from a con0ent that might soon house the un#no"n.
#ore than an address
6atricia *ono0an "as one of those nasaers, one of those "ith opinions the maor
belie0ed to be in the minorit. She had brought the 'S&9< posters "ith her daughter&
in&la".
Cath 'iddles"orth "as one of the supporters "ho had spent the to"n hall nodding in
agreement "ith the maor.
3oth "omen had li0ed in the neighborhood for a long time. Neither had e0er thought
much about immigrant holding centers. Neither had imagined it "ould e0er affect her.
To "hiche0er go0ernment officials had pluc#ed the Sisters of St. 4rancis campus from
a real estate listing, the space "as ?ust an address. 3ut to *ono0an, 5<, it "as the place
"here her grandchildren attended the 1ingerbread da care, "here friends had
attended 'aria Regina, the "omen8s ?unior college once on the premises.
'iddles"orth, D,, had #no"n the con0ent since she "as a girlE it "as the central
landmar# she and her neighborhood friends used as a meeting place after school.
Across the countr, the immigration debate o0er these migrant children "as a
speculati0e ideological bac#&and&forth in "hich "ords such as -racist+ and -anti&
American+ "ere used casuall. =n Northside, immigration had become this one
con0ent. These streets. This struggling neighborhood. =mmigration had landed in their
"orld, and *ono0an and 'iddles"orth had arri0ed at completel different conclusions
as to "hat that meant.
7n the morning after the public forum, *ono0an sat on the front porch of the house
she "as born in, the house her grandfather the son of =rish immigrants li0ed in
"hen he opened an ice&cream shop do"n the road. She used to #no" e0erone on this
bloc#, and the ne(t one. As a girl, she sold lemonade to the rich guests at the e(clusi0e
Tuppert8s hotel nearb.
3ut no" the hotel "as torn do"n, replaced b apartments filled "ith people "ho spo#e
languages *ono0an didn8t understand "ho, she felt, glared at her "hen she tried to
pic# up trash around the .orld .ar == monument across the street. She tried not to
ma#e ee contact "ith them and instructed her grandchildren to do the same. There
"ere three strip clubs "ithin t"o bloc#s. There "ere boarded&up "indo"s, graffiti and
po0ert among children of all races that bro#e her heart "hen she dro0e past it.
=t8s ?ust "h do the ha0e to open it in Northside@+ she as#ed her neighbor, 3ill,
"hen he stopped b for a 0isit.
= #no" it,+ 3ill said.
.h can8t the be spread out@ .h can8t some of them go to Tipperar /ill, or
S#aneateles@+
.hen she thought of the shelter opening, she pictured those 'S&9< gang members
from the photos her daughter&in&la" sho"ed her on the =nternet, and she didn8t
belie0e it "hen the maor said that "asn8t "ho "ould be coming. She thought of her
propert 0alues plummeting further. .hen the issue is right in the neighborhood ou
lo0e, she thought, it8s so much more complicated than the ne"s e0er ma#es it out to be.
.(ho could say no to that3
7n that same morning, about si( bloc#s a"a, 'iddles"orth sat at the picnic table in
her side ard, plaing "ith her cat, Trouble. She "as feeling unsettled. As she left the
forum the night before, an angr man "hose face she slightl recogni;ed told her that
she better not #eep coming out in support of the shelter he #ne" "here she li0ed.
To 'iddles"orth, Northside "as the communit that had "elcomed her as a oung
mother <% ears ago. A communit "ith neighbors "ho offered to "atch her #ids "hen
her shift changed une(pectedl at a local ba#er.
/er street had become a place "here she could ta#e her dog in the ard and hear three
or four different languages, and she li#ed that.
There "as an =ndian famil ne(t door, and t"o Asian families, and though nobod
could understand each other, the still sho0eled each other8s dri0e"as "hen it
sno"ed. She still made sure to smile and "a0e at e0erone she passed.
.hen 'iddles"orth thought of the shelter, she thought of the "as it could rebuild
Northside, not the "as it could harm. -The8ll need ?obs filled, =8m sure.+ Coo#s,
house#eepers, maintenance "or#ers, school nurses the tpes of ?obs people in the
neighborhood might ha0e the s#ills to fill. -= mean, the building has ?ust been sitting
there, empt.+
She pictured the children in it, frightened and alone, and "ondered ho" she could
0olunteer to help them. -The8re children. The8re #ids. The as#ed for our help "ho
could sa no to that@+
Sracuse might be $,%%% miles from the border, but in the end, she didn8t thin# that
mattered "hen the "ere tal#ing about children. =f the funds to care for them "ere
federal, 'iddles"orth reasoned, her ta( dollars "ould be helping pro0ide that care
"here0er in the countr the shelters ended up being located. .h not her cit@ .h
shouldn8t the immigration discussion land here@
Alread around the Northside area, some residents had noticed "or#men near the
grounds of the con0ent, dri0ing truc#s, loo#ing at things. .ere the "ith the
go0ernment@ .ere plans going for"ard@ .ere the children coming@
'iddles"orth hoped so. She leaned o0er to pet Trouble, "ho rubbed against her legs
for attention. -= lo0e this neighborhood,+ she said.
#onica +esse is a sta4 writer for the Post Style section. She
fre5uently writes about culture, the (eb and the intersection of
the two.
6osted b Tha0am

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