Charleroi leaders say most Haitian immigrants have already left as Supreme Court weighs protection status
The U.S. Supreme Court will rule this summer on whether Haitians and other immigrants can continue to enjoy protected legal status and stay in communities like Charleroi, but borough officials say since the town became the focus of national attention, most of them have already left.
The immigrants fled Haiti and other troubled nations like Liberia and Nepal, finding legal status and new homes in Charleroi. While other Mon Valley towns continued to lose population, the borough grew with an influx of immigrants.
"We come here, we're doing business, we're raising families, we're doing all this stuff that the regular citizens are doing and we're doing our part to be part of the community," said Jimmy Alexandre with the Haitian Resource Center. "We are part of the community."
Since their arrival over the past decade, immigrants have met resistance from some in town. But now many or most have left. Unlike a year ago, when Fallowfield and McKean avenues bustled with immigrant shoppers, the sidewalks are empty and newly vacated stores now line those streets. The immigrants have left Charleroi for other states or gone back to Haiti.
"I do believe they have been an asset," said former mayor and current Councilwoman Nancy Ellis. "I feel bad that so many of them have left."
Former mayor and now Councilwoman Nancy Ellis says many left after the town became a target of President Trump, who singled out Charleroi by name in his administration's quest to lift the protected status of Haitians, even before the Supreme Court rules.
"Some of them were afraid because of the fact that Charleroi had been mentioned," Ellis said. "They were afraid that it was going to be targeted."
Ellis estimates that of 1,200 Haitians, only a few hundred have remained. And while at least some of that has been driven by fear, others say it's been mostly economic. Anchor Hocking closed last year, while Fourth Street Foods, which had employed 700 immigrants, laid off 400 and is now under new ownership. But whether it's a lack of jobs or fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the borough says the immigrant exodus is Charleroi's loss.
"Anytime any community, whether it be immigrant or native born people, you see the population decrease, it's not a good sign of health for that community," said Charleroi borough manager Joe Manning. "If you want a robust community, you have to have a robust population."
