by Dante Chinni 

EL MIRAGE, ARIZ. - The divide between Hispanic and Anglo America is usually talked about in metaphoric terms, but in this bedroom community on the far outskirts of western Phoenix, it's present in concrete forms, too.

El Mirage was founded in 1937 as a migrant worker community when the area around Phoenix was open, undeveloped farmland. All that existed was a small patch of land in the middle of the fields, where the workers built homes and cantinas. But through the decades it has slowly grown.

As recently as 2000, El Mirage was a town of about 7,600 residents, and more than two-thirds were Hispanic. Then came the housing boom, transforming this community, or at least parts of it.

In the past eight years, the population has more than quadrupled, and the cotton fields and citrus groves have been turned into beige and brown three- and four-bedroom homes with attached garages. More roads were paved. A Super Wal-Mart arrived.

Still the original site of El Mirage remains unchanged – Hispanic and relatively poor compared with its new neighbors. This poor area abuts the new growth, creating odd visual juxtapositions.

The Latino population here remains high at roughly 35 to 40 percent compared with the national county average of under 8 percent (though precise numbers will not be available until the 2010 Census). In surrounding Maricopa County, Latinos make up 36 percent of the population.

Everyone seems to agree that little or no overt hostility exists between El Mirage's historic population and its new residents, but not much mingling goes on between the groups. Many people even speak of an "old El Mirage" and "new El Mirage."

A push to attract businesses

Rachel Gomez, who with her husband owns the Rio Mirage Cafe, says that as the city has pushed ahead with development, the "old town" has largely been forgotten. "I get the feeling the city manager is not interested in old town," Ms. Gomez says. "But there's no way they are going to change the demographics here. They've been this way for 50 years."

The city is encouraging more change. City Manager B.J. Cornwall points out that in Arizona the majority of a city's income comes from sales taxes, not property taxes. For the small city to thrive, he says, it needs to attract retail outlets and revamp its image of being a poor Latino enclave.

The city has hired a public relations firm and an economic development director.

"I don't believe at this present time I can bring Neiman Marcus to El Mirage, but I sure as hell can bring in JCPenney," Mr. Cornwall says. "But the retail world still believes the only thing El Mirage can support are payday loans, Mexican restaurants, storage, and pawnshops." He shakes his head and says, "No, no, no."

While some of these types of businesses can be found in "old El Mirage," million-dollar homes can be found here in the newer section. Space constraints are limiting the area's growth. Unlike neighboring communities, El Mirage did not annex land for future use, so there isn't much room for big box stores.

Roy Delgado, a former mayor and current city councilman, says the biggest problem for El Mirage historically was that it was treated poorly or ignored by county and state officials because of its high Latino population. That's changed, he says, but the long-term damage was done.

Will "old El Mirage" disappear as the city looks to draw in new businesses? That is still a ways off, Cornwall says. "People say 'old town' will be redeveloped. I don't know. But we need to develop first."

Immigration matters

All the growth has made immigration a significant issue in El Mirage. Many Latinos who live here are longtime residents, including some whose families have been here for generations. Many others are newcomers and include some illegal immigrants who came here to work in construction.

Many Latinos are leery of talking to strangers and refuse to give their names, or will provide them only with the understanding that the names won't be printed.

Lupe Mercado, a waitress at the Rio Mirage Restaurant, says a fellow waitress, who is a longtime resident, was stopped on her way home from work by police who wanted to see her identification. "They said it was because they were looking for someone who looked like her, but they just wanted to check her ID," says Ms. Mercado. "You want to see how different it is for Hispanics, dress like a Mexican for a while."

Others say the police tend to target owners of older, beat-up cars for infractions and leave owners of newer cars alone. Some say the combination of a crackdown on illegal immigrants and a slowdown in construction has led some undocumented workers to head back to their home countries.

For sure, the housing crunch has taken its toll on residents here. A drive down the streets reveals many "for sale" signs – and foreclosure notices. There are 545 foreclosures in El Mirage out of 914 total homes available, according to AOL's real estate listing.

Because of the population growth in the past four years, voter preferences are difficult to discern. In 2004, this city was evenly split between Sen. John Kerry and President Bush, but Mr. Bush carried the county by a big margin, partly as a result of low turnout among Hispanics. People here say this city may be up for grabs in 2008.