An interpreter conveyed the message and the men exchanged startled glances. Two bearded agents wearing blue jeans, with pistols poking from their jackets, appeared. Nearly all the residents were black in 1993. Then a few immigrants from the little Mexican town of Ejido Modelo moved in. Now most of the almost 200 residents at Chastain Hills are from Ejido Modelo.
Some black neighbors resent the suddenness with which the community changed.
At Park Street Elementary School in Marietta, in a neighborhood favored by immigrants from Villa Juarez, Mexico, Hispanic enrollment has soared from 14 percent to 41 percent since 1994. This year the school began printing newsletters in English and Spanish. Parents of some American-born students have complained that their children lose out because teachers spend too much time helping Hispanic students learn English. This really should be borne by the nation at large. It's a federal policy that causes these additional costs.