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The life of an immigrant in america essay essay
The life of an immigrant in america essay essay
Latinos and assimilation
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Just like every individual in the U.S., the desire to provide a better life for their families is a driving force for the Latino population. The Latino immigrants not only face discrimination upon their arrival, but also deal with the emotions of being away from their home country, the security of their families, friends, culture, and traditions. The reception that they experience on arrival is far from welcoming. “The negativity towards immigration, be it warranted or not, is not good for our country. It fuels segregation, racism, prejudice, and discrimination” (Lopez, 2010). Illegal immigration has become such a hot topic for many that even when immigrants arrive legally they are still met with suspicion. I think one of the most offensive titles given to a group of people is illegal “aliens”. These individuals are not aliens; they are human beings with dreams of a better life just like everyone else. Today, Latinos are proud of their culture and heritage and even though they attempt to assimilate into the American culture, through pluralism they are retaining their own, as well. They continue to converse in their native languages within their families, listen to music and watch Spanish television programs. Where in the past the melting pot theory led many to discard their native language and culture in order to fit in, today many are embracing these ideals, which may be a contributing factor in the continued discrimination (Lopez, 2010). African Americans have for the most part suffered from the highest unemployment, but Latinos are not far behind. Many are paid much less for the same work as others. There are few Latinos in management positions and many feel there is very little chance for career advancements. Latinos are one... ... middle of paper ... ...e Latino presence is leading to greater political representation and the needs of their communities can no longer be ignored. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have come to recognize the growing involvement of the Latino community because of assimilation, as well as pluralism (Schaefer, 2012). Although many improvements have been made in terms of education, healthcare, political representation and job opportunities, there is a long way to go in closing the gaps that are so apparent in our society. Works Cited Cardenas, V., Kerby, S. (2012). The state of Latinos in the United States. Retrieved from www.americanprogress.org Lopez, R. (2010). A collection of Latino opinions. Retrieved from www.latinoopinion.com/category/prejudice-and-discrimination Schaefer, R. (Ed.). (2012). Racial and ethnic groups. (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Roberto Suro, the author of “Strangers Among Us”, wrote arguably one of the most sincere and informative immigration related narratives. Suro’s analysis and observations of the emergence of social and economic immigrant contribution go into great depth and explanation of exactly how Latino Immigration is slowly but surely transforming America. Suro’s narrative gives an in depth look at various Latino groups and how each group adapted and intertwined with American societies around the nation. Each Latino group regardless of immigrating location had its own separate story and journey as they each have immigrated to an American generation that is seeing economic changes with an overall unsympathetic American attitude towards immigrants. Immigrating to another nation forms
Immigration has always been an issue in the United States, which is often portrayed as harmful and as major threat to American culture. As a result, various anti immigration policies have been aimed against immigrants in order to prevent and preserve the miscegenation of American culture, such as English only policies. Among the largest minority groups in the U.S, are Latinos who currently compose of 15% of the U.S population (Delgado and Stefancic 3). Unfortunately, Latinos have been accused of taking American benefits, jobs, and have wrongfully been depicted as a result of not assimilating to American culture. Latinos are often accused of resisting assimilation, but what has failed to be acknowledged is that there are obstacles set in place that are preventing Latinos from completely assimilating. Among those greatest obstacles there is discrimination. Institutional as well as individual discrimination have prevented many Latinos from feeling a sense of belonging. As a result Latinos have been reluctant to assimilate. Another major component is proximity. Many Latinos are native to nearby countries which allows for easy communication with family members as well as their culture. Moreover, it also allows for a constant influx of immigrants that replenish and preserve Latino cultures and traditions in the U.S. Lastly, Latino movements are working diligently to promote unity among communities for the purpose of creating a sense of identity and pride amongst Latinos, such as the Chicano movement.
Macionis, John J.. "Race and Ethnicity." Society: the basics. 12th ed., Annotated instructor's ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2013. 279,280,282,293. Print.
America… the Great Melting Pot of the world where people of all cultures and nationalities are free to find refuge and call their home. People as long as the North American Continent has been known have been flocking to this refuge for a better opportunity. As a result, many of the second generation immigrants have lost their previous sense of national identity. Maria Barrientos, in Se Habla Espanol gives a short autobiography as an immigrant in the United States and the struggles of finding her identity. Latinos are not defined by their ability to speak Spanish, cook tamales, or even celebrating local quincinieras, rather latinos all share the common ancestral blood and heritage of their homelands that remain with you regardless of your language, food, or customs.
Jaffe, A. J., R.M. Cullen, and T.D. Boswell. 1990. The Changing Demography of Spanish Americans. New York: Academic Press.
The Latino community is not a monolith and to endorse the idea that there is a Latino
In conclusion, we can see how the inflow of immigrant population has shaped America as a nation. This shows that the power to vote and the ability to stand for elections and seek seats in the congress has empowered the immigrants to make decisions about the future of America’s political scene. Nevertheless the Latinos are a dominant future workforce of the US economy. A lot of the Hispanics have joined the Military. Lastly, it is projected that the business community, military, political system, and the education institutions of the United States will be reliant on the Latinos in the near future.
What is the vision of the “American Dream” Hispanic immigrants believe is waiting across the border? What kind of discrimination does the Hispanic public face in their daily lives in the U.S? What kinds of social mobility do Hispanics have in store after crossing the borders of the U.S? These questions define the lives of Hispanic immigrants. The importance of finding out how exactly these topics influence their lives however, is pertinent to finding the hardships and daily boundaries Hispanics face in their day-to-day routines in the United States.
This generation is very proud of their Hispanic heritage, 67% of them want to be recognized as Hispanic; however they prefer to focus on Latino heritage rather than the specific ethnicities that may alienate those with roots in other countries. Although they are American born, they celebrate holidays and festivals from their countries of heritage with their families, and often keep up with Latin music, news, and
Acording to Juan Gonzales, the Latino culture in US growth is unstoppable and the natural consequences of higher impact in the US life, is already noticible. For this reason, the political participation and influence in US policies can not be stopped. “This political revolution will not be halted by the rise of anti-Hispanic sentiment among black Americans, nor by the federal government… It will not be trned back by Supreme Court decisions…” (JG pp 168) Today, there are some Latinos already participating on the
Latinos, which reside in the United States, have become crucial assets to this country. They bring culture and diversity, they help create jobs, they are doctors, heroes, teachers and form a big part of our community which can have potential impact in elections. Whether from Bolivia or Cuba, these people give more than they receive; thus that attitude should be respected.
born parents, there are several aspects to look into. In general, Latino immigrant families experience more poverty, loneliness, isolation, language difficulties, fear, and hopelessness (Dettlaff & Johnson, 2011). Other than that, Latino immigrant families also face more difficulties regarding acculturation. This is due to the changing of cultural context (Dettlaff & Johnson, 2011). As Latino families move to the U.S., they face the loss of established support systems; they are under the stress of seeking new support systems while experiencing difficulties to gain access to supportive services in the United States (Dettlaff & Johnson, 2011). On the other hand, children who are born in the families with U.S. born parents faces difference challenges. They tend to experience more discriminations towards them, more segregation, and the minority status in the United states (Dettlaff & Johnson, 2011). Children in U.S. born Latino families have a greater involvement in risky sexual behavior, and also show signs of decreasing in academic performance and increasing in school dropout rates (Dettlaff & Johnson, 2011). At the same time, U.S. born Latino children also encounter higher intergenerational-intercultural conflict (Dettlaff & Johnson, 2011). This could be due to the fact that the parents still hold some traditional values while their children are developing U.S. values from school and their peers. Conflict develops when there are disagreements regarding
Here in the United States many would like to believe that there is only one main group and a lot of minorities. Well those people are wrong and here is the reason why. A once major minority group known as the Hispanics have come up as not only a large part of the United States population but a huge economic help as well. “Hispanics now make up eighteen percent of the total population” as said by nbcnews.com and even cnn.com. They have also stated that, “Hispanics will contribute over two trillion dollars to the U.S. economy.”
Gutteridge, T. (2005). Latino culture: A dynamic force in the changing american workplace. Choice, 43(3), 535. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/
Brubaker, Rogers. Ethnicity Without Groups. United States of America: President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2004. Print.