Calm returns to Riverside, but tensions still high
Toni Callas
philly Inquirer
Aug 22, 2006
On the surface, everything appeared routine in Riverside yesterday.
Government functioned. Trains rolled. Commerce flowed. It was as though the hundreds of protesters who filled the small downtown on Sunday were never there, rallying for and against a ban on hiring and housing illegal immigrants.
But they were there, shouting and furious, reacting to long-held tensions that some say are now changing the fabric of this Burlington County river town of 8,000.
"We didn't think there would be so many angry people," said Luis Ordonez, a landlord and owner of a music and electronics store who marched against the ban.
"I used to think it was just the kids who had that attitude, but to see mothers and elderly people there shouting hatred. They are showing a side that was not there before. It's uncomfortable."
Riverside is one of several towns across the nation that have taken it upon themselves to deal with illegal immigration issues.
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