Baltimore County’s population is shrinking. Immigrants are filling in the gap.

Izzy Patoka was only 8 years old when he became his parents’ interpreter. Like many Jewish refugees who fled Europe during the Holocaust, the Patokas didn’t speak English. So whenever an official-looking document came in the mail, they would ask their son to translate and to explain. “I always felt that I did not live up to what my parents expected because I was not a lawyer or a doctor at eight years old,” said Patoka, who is now chair of the Baltimore County Council.