Two Pa. mayors asking for more immigrants
Erie, Pittsburgh pols see influx as part of fix to population loss
Unlike his colleagues in some larger U.S. cities, a Pennsylvania mayor is welcoming immigrants with open arms. And he’s not the only one.
Erie Mayor Joe Schember said Wednesday on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition that attracting immigrants was part of his vision when first elected seven years ago.
“Having new Americans come in and settle here is very, very important,” said Schember, a Democrat.
That idea is being put to the limit in Democratic cities such as New York and Chicago, where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has bused illegal immigrants from his border state to make a political statement about President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Over the last 10 years in Erie, more than 3,330 new U.S. citizens from 110 countries have been sworn in, Schember said.
“We’re very, very proud of that,” he said.
Schember said his pro-immigration stance ties into his plan to take advantage of Erie’s rich cultural diversity; “welcoming, vibrant neighborhoods;” “world-class” downtown area and Lake Erie bayfront; educational offerings and an “abundance of good, family-sustaining jobs.”
Asked by host Michel Martin about those jobs, Schember replied that, “There are a lot of possibilities.”
Schember told Martin that there are available resources, such as nonprofits and government agencies, to find housing for immigrants and help them settle permanently in Erie.
Championing immigration is nothing new for Schember, who offered Erie as a landing spot for Mexican children separated from their parents during the border crisis in April 2021.
More recently, he created the position of immigrant and refugee liaison in 2018 and celebrated the state’s first Afghan community center, which opened last month in Erie.
Erie long ago lost its factory jobs and took a downturn, said Schember, losing more than 40,000 residents over the last 50 years. “Now, it’s turning
around and we’re moving forward,” he said.
Two hours south in Pittsburgh, Mayor Ed Gainey has a similar Rust Belt story to tell with the city and surrounding counties hemorrhaging residents since the demise of the steel industry decades ago. The result is one of the older populations in the country.
“We are not here to reject any immigration,” Gainey, a Democrat, told the Washington Post last month. “As a matter of fact, we want to make this the most safe, welcoming, thriving place in America, and you can’t do that without immigration.”
The Post reported that Pittsburgh, under former Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto, was certified in 2021 by the Georgia nonprofit Welcoming America as a place for immigrants to settle, and it has an Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to attract residents.
“We are a city of good people,” Gainey said. “How much more good would it be if we had a more diverse population?”
In August, both Schember and Gainey signed a letter from six Democratic Pennsylvania mayors to Biden asking him to extend legal protections to illegal immigrants, according to cityandstatepa.com. Other signees included York Mayor Michael Helfrich, Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
“The threats to immigrant families continue to grow as extremist politicians propose policies that could ultimately upend their lives and impact the stability of our local communities and economy,” the letter read.