BELOW: Paula Olive of Chile carries home-made empanadas at her boyfriend's home in Fredericksburg. Olive left Santiago to be with her boyfriend, who has lived in Fredericksburg for many years. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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Debate Hits Home; Area's Hispanic population growing rapidly

Fredericksburg-area residents weigh in on the national debate about immigration reform

Date published: 5/7/2006

By CATHY DYSON

KRISTI SHEPARD'S attitudes about Hispanic immigrants have nothing to do with politics, international treaties or humanitarian ideals.

They pertain to her pocketbook.

The Spotsylvania County resident believes people who live in the United States should pay their own way, regardless of their color, race or national origin. Illegal immigrants who work "under the table" and don't pay taxes or Social Security are cheating the government, she said.

So are employers who pay Hispanics in cash so they won't have to take out deductions, she added.

And that makes her mad.

"I don't want to pay taxes for them to live here for free," she said. "You figure how much better the economy would be if they were paying taxes, and their employers were. [The government] would be able to fix the roads and do everything like that."

Shepard's opinion is one of many in the ongoing debate about how the nation should deal with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America.

The Hispanic community in the Fredericksburg area is booming, just as it's doing in communities across America. Many Hispanics have migrated to this region from the Northeast--as well as from Northern Virginia--for the same reasons non-immigrants come: cheaper housing and quieter communities.

Work is another lure.

"It's where the jobs are," said Alex Levay, president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Virginia in Arlington. "Where there's a need for employees, there are Latinos looking for work."

There are at least five Hispanic supermarkets in the Fredericksburg area, and easily twice that many restaurants offering Mexican or Central American cuisine.

Signs announcing "Se habla español"--which means Spanish is spoken there--are posted at car dealerships and real estate agencies across the area.

There's even a Spanish-language radio station. Union Radio started broadcasting in Fredericksburg eight months ago. The station leases an AM signal and office space in the Free Lance-Star building, but is not affiliated with the newspaper.

Given the signs of the times, it may come as no surprise that the local Hispanic population has more than doubled in recent years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Date published: 5/7/2006