YORK SPRINGS — This tiny borough in the northeast corner of Adams County is enviably located smack dab amid a fertile valley ideal for cultivating apples, peaches and cherries. For generations, white, followed by Black and then Hispanic migrant farmworkers have provided the backbone of the vast orchard industry in York Springs, contributing to Pennsylvania’s position as the fourth-highest apple-producing region in the country. In more recent years, the workforce has been fueled by waves of Mexican migrant workers.
Many come and go with the seasons; others decide to stay, transforming what was once a predominantly white area. Latinos now make up half the population of York Springs, census data show. Amid the contentious national rhetoric over immigration, York Springs offers a unique response to the ongoing — and baseless — portrayal by many Republican leaders from Donald Trump on down, that immigrants are ruining the country, bringing with them a surge in crime, gang violence, disease and are taxing local services.
The diverse population is reflected in the signs on Main Street: Lua’s Mexican store, El Rancho Mexican restaurant, Javi’s taco truck and Luz, Allegria y Esperanza Church, which tends to the spiritual life of many of the new residents. But it’s the nuances of everyday life in the borough that attest to its dramatic transformation: The borough prints its notices in Spanish. The school district has fast-tracked bilingual services and ESL education to me.