January 11, 2024
BERGENFIELD, NJ — When Arvin Amatorio left the Philippines in 2002, he arrived in the United States as a 30-year-old immigrant, wondering at times how he would start a new chapter of his life in a foreign country.
Now, 22 years later, he is serving his second term as mayor of Bergenfield, a town of more than 28,000 people in the northeastern corner of New Jersey.
“I arrived in the US with no plans to run for public office or dreams that I will become a mayor someday. Like most immigrants, we come here to work, follow our families or go to school,” said Amatorio.