In the mid 2000s, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was in a steep economic decline, with jobs dwindling and solid incomes scarce. Local lawmakers put the blame on a newly arriving population of Latino immigrants.
They were pushing through a series of ordinances that would make English the town’s official language, and ban landlords from renting to the undocumented. Those ordinances never came into effect. Yet, ten years later, the town of 25,000 people are fifty percent Latino and seems to be on the rebound.
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This segment originally appeared on VICE NEWS Tonight on HBO.