New panel recognizes Latinos' presence in state

The emergence of bodegas and restaurants serving Brazilian, Colombian, and Mexican food in Nashua is evidence of the city's growing Latino community. Catholic churches say Mass in Spanish and Portuguese, and at Nashua High School North, flags of all the students' native countries hang in the hallways, giving the school an international flavor.

With more than 5,400 Latinos in the city, Nashua has the largest number of Latinos of all communities in the state, just edging out Manchester by a few hundred. But Latinos also are moving into the suburbs. Derry has the third-largest concentration of Latinos with 643, according to the 2000 US Census. In all, the state has more than 20,000 Latinos, making them the largest and the fastest-growing minority group in the state.

In recognition of the Latino community's growing presence, Governor John Lynch last week created an Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. It is being chaired by Hector Velez, a state representative from Manchester. Seven of the 19 members come from communities south of Manchester, such as Nashua, Amherst, and Bedford.

The commission will help the governor, state agencies, and the Legislature understand the needs of the Latino community. The group will recommend policies to promote and advance economic, social, and political equality for Latinos, and policies to enhance the health, safety, and welfare of Latinos in New Hampshire.

Several activists in the state's Latino community said the creation of such a commission has been long overdue.

''We feel we are contributing a great deal," said Eileen Phinney, who is originally from Uruguay and is cofounder of the Latin American Center in Manchester.

Some members of the Latino community have been on edge since earlier this year when police departments in New Ipswich and Hudson started citing illegal immigrants for trespassing. Several of the immigrants were from Mexico. Advocates around the country who want tighter restrictions on US immigration policy rallied behind the two departments. Some members of the Latino community felt the citations fostered a hostile atmosphere toward all immigrants, regardless of their residency status.

Last month, a judge in Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court threw out the trespassing charges against eight of the undocumented immigrants, essentially saying the two departments overstepped their authority in what is a federal enforcement matter.

Pamela Walsh, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the trespassing cases had nothing to do with the governor's decision to create an advisory commission.

''It was something in the works well before that," she said.

Immigration rights advocates say a host of issues confront the Latino community, especially those who are new to the country. Limited public transportation makes it difficult for new arrivals to get to their jobs or find jobs. Their limited ability to speak English also creates difficulty in obtaining state driver's licenses.

New immigrants also need help navigating their way through the red tape of health care and education. Phinney said parents who speak limited English often request the assistance of an interpreter when meeting with school officials as they enroll their children in the public schools.

''Even if they speak a little English, they feel a little intimidated," she said.

Then there are issues that arise in adjusting to the culture, traditions, and climate of northern New England. Some immigrants arrive in the state unaware of how harsh a New England winter can be.

For the most part, though, Phinney and other advocates say that new immigrants receive a warm welcome in New Hampshire, where 96 percent of the residents classify themselves as white on federal census data. Many businesses, they say, have hired Spanish-speaking employees to assist the new arrivals. It's not uncommon at large retail stores and at the malls for at least one sales clerk to speak Spanish.

Lourdes Ulloa, who moved to Nashua 12 years ago, said she is amazed at the number of Latinos in the city now. From 1990 to 2000, the city's Latino population grew by 124 percent. At St. Louis de Gonzague, where Ulloa works with the Hispanic community as a pastoral associate, she said the church nearly fills up on Saturday evenings when Mass is said in Spanish. The church also offers Spanish language services on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Many of the new arrivals, she said, come from Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Others move up from Massachusetts cities such as Lawrence. Latinos like moving to New Hampshire, she said, because urban life in the state's small cities is ''calm, peaceful, and safe."

''It's growing a lot," she said. ''Almost nobody was able to speak Spanish when I came."