Immigrants Feel Less Welcome in Frederick

Last month, at a meeting organized by the NAACP, several black pastors spoke emotionally of what their community had endured in the days when the Ku Klux Klan operated openly in Frederick and black children were banned from public playgrounds. They vowed not to let Hispanic immigrants be victimized by a new wave of discrimination and called for better communication among all local ethnic groups.

Another moderating factor is the practical approach taken by many officials in Frederick. At a county commission meeting last month, several members pointed out that if translation was barred for county documents and events, it would prevent non-English-speaking residents from learning about health hazards, new laws or even English literacy classes.

Frederick Police Chief Kim Dine, who is white, spent years in Washington's Latino neighborhoods and is an advocate of police outreach in the community. County Board of Education Chairman Daryl Boffman, who is black, has worked to promote the kind of educational boosts for immigrant students that once helped him get ahead.

"When I first came to Frederick, the Klan was still putting leaflets on windshields, but we've come a long way since then," said Boffman, 45. "Some people still want to keep Frederick the way it once was, but we can't let these issues pull the county apart. We have to break down barriers, not build them."

One example is the Even Start class at Hillcrest Elementary School, a federally funded program in which mothers from Mexico and Central America and their preschool children learn English together. They sing songs, read and do art projects in an atmosphere designed to help the mothers become more comfortable with the school system and better prepared to help their children.

Outside institutional settings, interactions between longtime residents and Hispanic newcomers seem to be mostly friction-free. One local radio host has complained that the county spent $2,000 to paint signs in Spanish on school buses, but many businesses and churches advertise in Spanish, and several of Frederick's most popular restaurants are owned by Hispanics who have developed loyal clients and good community relations.

"I like the people here. They are conservative but friendly," said Jose Hernandez, an immigrant from El Salvador who co-owns the Mexicali Cantina in downtown Frederick. Hernandez, who said 95 percent of his customers are non-Hispanic, paused to greet two women finishing a birthday lunch.

"I just love the chimichangas," one of them said. "And I love this place. They treat you like they expect you."

Some leaders of Frederick's new movement against illegal immigration defy stereotyping. County Commissioner John L. "Lennie" Thompson Jr., who proposed the measure to identify all illegal students, comes from a long line of dairy farmers and holds degrees in law and business. He said he hated to see his beloved pastures being carved up by developers but had no problem with legal immigrants coming to Frederick to participate in the boom.

"We are all immigrants here, one way or another. My concern is strictly with the people who are not in the country lawfully," Thompson said. "We need to get a better handle on the size of the problem; we need to do something about people who drive without licenses and overcrowd houses. But eventually there will be a grand compromise in Congress, the borders will be secured and the problem will solve itself. We will all survive."