Talk to many Latinos, and they point to Goshen as a case study in what leaders should do to make Hispanics feel part of the community.
Elkhart? Not so much. They don’t bad-mouth the city, exactly, it just doesn’t generate the sort of accolades from Latino leaders that Goshen does.
“Never have I seen the dynamic like there is here in Goshen,” said Goshen immigration attorney Felipe Merino.
Goshen leaders, including as former Mayor Allan Kauffman and current Mayor Jeremy Stutsman, have reached out to the community, Merino said, and non-Hispanics have asked ”how they can be a bridge” to encourage integration, among other things.
That said, Merino notes that Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese and Elkhart Police Chief Ed Windbigler — both in their posts just since Jan. 1 — attended a gathering in Elkhart organized by Latinos in February to let community members air their concerns. Both Goshen and Elkhart have seen steady Latino increases since the 1990s, and the segment accounts for more than 20 percent of the population in each locale.
“We’ve gotten good signs from Mayor Tim Neese,” said Ignacio “Nacho” Zepeda, who’s active in the Latino community and runs Goshen-based Spanish-language radio station WKAM. “He’s shown his interest in getting to know us and doing what he can so there’s better integration.”