Among the best antidotes for stereotypes and exaggerated fears are faces and names.

Take Pradip Upreti, who came to Erie in 2009 as a refugee from Bhutan and began pursuing the American dream. Now he's living it.

Upreti, who's 28 and married with two young children, became a U.S. citizen in 2015. He runs a thriving market near East 11th and Parade streets, and counts many from Erie's refugee community among his customers.

As Erie Times-News reporter Gerry Weiss detailed last week, these are uncertain days for refugees and other immigrants in Erie and throughout the country, and for people abroad who harbor American dreams of their own. The source of the uncertainty, of course, is President-elect Donald Trump.

As a candidate, Trump made harsh rhetoric and stoking fears about refugees a fixture of his campaign. The question now is whether his policies as president will match those words.

“What he said about refugees was really disturbing to hear,” Upreti told Weiss.

Officials with agencies that help refugees build new lives in Erie expressed optimism that what Trump said will turn out to be just words. They also pointed out that resettling refugees in this country historically has had bipartisan support.

Whether Trump will govern as he campaigned is anyone's guess at this point. But here in Erie we have more reason than most to hope the new president will take a more nuanced and humane view.

Erie is one of the largest destinations for resettling refugees in Pennsylvania, in part because of its relatively low cost of living and affordable housing. The two agencies that aid refugees resettling here — the International Institute of Erie and Catholic Charities and Adoption Services — typically resettle hundreds of refugees each year.

Providing haven for people fleeing injustice, violence and hardship in their native lands reflects America's, and Erie's, core values. Offering them access to our freedoms and opportunities stays true to and enriches the American experience.

But the case for welcoming refugees goes beyond values and the vitality and dreams they add to our community. It's sound policy as well.

Erie's refugee population of about 10,000 is a major factor in stabilizing the city of Erie's declining population. And as Ken Louie, director of the Economic Research Institute of Erie, noted, refugees are good for Erie in other ways.

“Immigrants definitely have a positive effect on Erie's economy,” Louie said. “They start businesses and generate jobs once they get settled. They buy cars, groceries, day-to-day essentials.”

Those realities can get drowned out amid the noise of the presidential campaign and the jitters that come with dangerous, unsettled times. Just ask a good American like Pradip Upreti.