Immigrants Fuel Economic Growth in the Valley
By ANTHONY BOOTZ
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Alejandra Arce, 37, is walking along the produce section in BBB Supermarket at 1061 S High St. Her cart is piled with beans, chicken and cornhusks for tamales, as well as other traditional Latino foods. Her son Manuel, 4, keeps time with her steady stride.
A native of El Salvador, Arce immigrated nine years ago to Harrisonburg with her husband, Ernesto.
“We came primarily because we can find work here,” Arce explained in a fluid Spanish accent. “But our family lives here too, so that was also a big reason.”
Arce is part of a large group of immigrants who have come to the Shenandoah Valley in search of jobs and economic advancement in recent years. At the same time, the city economy has grown dramatically, and immigrant labor and purchasing power appear to have played an important role in the expansion.
In a decade, the city has seen tremendous economic growth, said Brian Shull, director of the Harrisonburg Economic Development Department. “It’s not just one thing,” Shull said about the reasons for growth. “Our geographic location, proximity to I-81, a major university and Washington, D.C., plus the good work ethic of the local workforce all contribute.”
Retail sales in Harrisonburg are the highest in the Shenandoah Valley, as stores raked in $1.2 billion last year, said Shull.
Immigration in the Valley has seen a comparable jump in roughly this same time period.
“In the early- to mid-90s, [the immigrant population] was close to 2 percent in Virginia, now it’s in the latter teens,” said filmmaker Brent Finnegan, whose documentary, “Virginia Reports: The Latino Underground,” was recently aired on WVPT. At least half of the people of Harrisonburg are immigrants, said Finnegan. However, he noted that no person he had interviewed seemed to have precise statistics.
JMU cultural anthropologist Dr. Laura Zarrugh, who teaches the course Immigrants in American Society, agrees. “The census figures usually under-represent the immigrant population,” said Zarrugh.
But the economic impact of the immigrant population is evident in the shops along the south end of High Street.
The Oriental Food Market, which opened its doors in 1990 and carries both Latin and Oriental foods, bustles with immigrant business on the weekends, but especially on Sundays.
Two registers with lines three customers deep were the standard on Nov. 18.
“Sundays are our busiest day,” one cashier said when asked for an interview during a rare lull in activity in the store.
The average purchase ranges from $10 to $15, said Cy Kohchereun, who helps manage the store with his family.
“Mostly, they [immigrants] shop at Wal-Mart before they buy here,” said Kohchereun. “We’re more of a specialty shop.”
“[It’s] just so hard to predict these things, but we can speculate,” Finnegan said, in regards to the contribution immigrants have on the local economy.
“Most of these immigrants are young and starting families,” said Zarrugh. “They’ve got a lot of purchasing power.”
“It’s hard to say how much they contribute until they’re gone for several months,” said Finnegan.