Charleroi, Pennsylvania, a small Pennsylvania town has been thrown into the national conversation about immigration to the United States after former President Donald Trump singled out the town as a victim of mass Haitian immigration. . Some residents have said they believe the town is now supporting immigrants, including the former president in November.
“Have you ever heard of this little town of 4,000 people called Charleroi, Pennsylvania?” President Trump said in Tucson, Arizona, in September. “What a beautiful name. But it's not so beautiful now. Under Kamala Harris, the Haitian immigrant population has increased by 2,000 percent.”
Charleroi, in Washington County, is a small town on the Monongahela River that has seen a large influx of immigrants in recent years, particularly from Haiti. However, there is debate about the extent of the influx.
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Town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania. (Adam Shaw/Fox News Digital)
Some officials and residents say stories that they are overwhelmed are exaggerated. They say the number is increasing, but it's not the 2,000% Trump said. Officials said the last census found there were about 700 Haitians in the town of 4,000. They are said to be working at nearby food processing factories and contributing to the revitalization of the town.
“This has been happening since about 2015,” Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning told FOX News Digital. “This is being portrayed as an unexpected surge in illegal immigration, but that's not really the case. First of all, they all came here legally and there was no disruption to the community or anything like that. ”. ”
“We all think that our lives have somehow changed because of what we've been told, but that's not the reality,” he says.
He acknowledged that some people are upset about the change, but said, “But by and large, the community is just getting on with life.”
Others disagreed.
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“It's a Haitian invasion,” said Kevin Armstrong, a resident whose home had a giant pro-Trump banner. “It's sad, they took over our town.”
Armstrong said his car insurance was increased because of the high number of uninsured motorists in the area. He also said he was pleased that former President Trump mentioned Charleroi.
“That was amazing. I mean, for the president of the United States to recognize such a small town and what's going on, it's bigger than me or you. It's at the highest level in this country. .And for the president to realize that,' and for him to hear that and bring it into his speech, that's a huge deal.”
But Janine Motycki told Fox News Digital that Trump “exaggerated just a little bit.”
Charleroi is experiencing an influx of Haitian immigrants. (Adam Shaw/Fox News Digital)
“If we had an influx of 2,000%, the streets would be lined. We don't have that many houses, we don't have that much land.”
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But she said there was a problem: “We have a clash of very diverse cultures. This is not a Haiti problem, it's a culture problem in my opinion.”
“Do you think it destroyed the town? No, personally, I think it further destroyed the mindset of the locals in the town. They don't conform to our culture, that's a fact. “They have their own culture and they still live according to their culture,” she said.
“There is so much hate here and so much racism,” she added.
Another woman pointed to the number of local businesses opened by immigrants and said Trump's comments are dividing the city. ” he said.
Many of the people who spoke to Fox News Digital were willing to detail their grievances, but were not prepared to give their full names for fear of being targeted by neighbors or employers.
But some of the complaints are similar to those in Springfield, Ohio, which was also hit hard by the mass migration in September. Residents Fox spoke to cited the prevalence of bad driving in their town and the pressure on social services, including schools.
“They're probably more than half the population here at this point,” said one resident with Trump paraphernalia outside his home. “I mean, if any town only has a very large number of houses or resources, of course it will be affected. So that's another thing… There are multiple robberies, robberies, accidents happening all the time, and there are always sirens. ” , people get into traffic accidents, drive the wrong way, or drive the wrong way on one-way streets. ”
Another resident described it as “chaotic.”
Charleroi is a small town in Pennsylvania. (Adam Shaw/Fox News Digital)
“It's like playing dodgeball with your car every day, because you don't know if a car will stop when it comes to the road, so you don't know where you have to stop. On one-way streets, look both ways. Yo, because I don’t know.”
However, the number of 911 calls and traffic accident reports has not increased in recent years, and both numbers have remained relatively stable, according to town police.
“I have to say that based on the call volume, but [immigrants] Police Chief Chad Zelinsky told FOX News Digital that it might be 10 to 15 percent of the call volume, but the rest is just, you know, the home Americans that you're dealing with.
“Wisely speaking, they are no different than anyone else, and our numbers are not up because of them,” he said.
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The town's political leanings now clearly lean toward the former president. Although there were a few Harris and Walz signs, there were far more Trump and Vance signs, including a mock-up of Trump dressed as Rambo and anti-Biden signs containing expletives.
Manning said the entire county is becoming more Republican.
“In terms of the tilt of the town, most of the City Council members are Democrats, I think there are maybe three Republicans, but Washington County itself is very Republican, so the November vote will be taken. I fully expect that,” the Republican said. ”
Others said they believed the town was firmly in Trump's camp.
When asked who she thought the town was voting for, Motycki, a former ward councillor, laughed: “Oh, definitely Trump.” She said the town traditionally leans Democratic. “I don't see many Harris supporters. Not many.”
Another local resident named Dave believes the immigration issue is having an impact, saying, “There's definitely a political influence at play. I haven't seen too many Waltz Harris signs anywhere. No. Actually, I've seen a few.” It's all over the place, but every time I see a sign for Harris, I see 10 to 15 signs for Trump. ”
