...Illegal Immigration and Border Policy In recent years, Illegal immigration has been a contemporary political and social debate. It has been the platform of many politicians, especially in the southwest, and it is often a popular subject in news media. People in favor of strict immigration policy often claim that illegal immigrants are costly to the American economy and that they take American jobs. The border control policy is ineffective, it is often too costly for its effectiveness. Border policies have increased the number of immigrant deaths in the deserts of border states. Not only that but the US/Mexico border is harmful to the environment. The anti-immigration policy that's currently in effect goes against a rich cultural history in North America. Lastly, popular arguments made for strict immigration will be brought to light. In 2006, George W. Bush signed H.R. 6061, also known as the Secure Fence Act, in an attempt to increase border security and expand the US/Mexico Border. Prompted by heightened national security measures after 9/11, the bill was designed to "help protect the American people" and marked " an important step toward immigration reform" (Bush 2006). The bill doubled funding for border security, increasing expenditures from $4.6 billion in 2001 to $10.4 billion in 2006. This money went to "[authorize] the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our Southern border" and to "[deploy] thousands of National Guard members to assist...
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...We need immigration reform in America. The current system protects neither the immigrant from unlawful work practices, nor the American worker from lower wages. Donald Trump focuses on the American worker’s side, and he would be the first to say that we have a tremendous problem. His website states that Americans have lost countless jobs, our infrastructure is falling apart, and we continue to support illegal immigrants and send foreign aid to Mexico (“Immigration Reform”). While almost everyone in America agrees that immigration reform needs to happen, experts are united in the belief that Donald Trump’s plan is not the best way to do that, and there are several reasons. Donald Trump’s proposal is fight back against the Mexican government....
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...Huntington showed his strong worries with the American identity. According to this book, Huntington thought because of lack of common enemies and opposites, the cohesion power and common identity of American people diminished in the past twenty years. He also blamed the Latino immigrants, especially the Mexican immigrants for threatening the American political foundation with the impact on American culture and language they brought. Under this circumstance, he called on a more concrete American identity, which not only includes the “American creed”, but also embodies a core culture. Different with many people, he argued United States is fundamentally a “settler” nation rather than an “immigration” nation. And the initial settlers, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP), had a dominating effect on the subsequent values and direction of the country. So the Anglo-Protestantism culture, which includes Protestant work ethic and centrality of the religion to personal life, should be re-affirmed as the American core culture, and United States, which he believe ought to be a nation-state, should be built upon this base. And he implied that American government should take measures to limit Latino immigration and take Islam as a national enemy. Huntington’s view has a clear conservative and Republican color. Huntington himself probably views himself as a firm patriot, however what I read is that he is not really confident in American culture and spirit. A successful and vigorous...
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...In the chapter, “Goodbye to Aztlan,” Gonzales explores the shifting political and social nature of the Mexican American community from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s by highlighting the lack of political, social, and economic gains that characterized this period, which was distinguished by a resurgence of immigration and extensive cultural advancements. Through his examination, Gonzales argues that the massive influx of Mexican immigrants was both a boon and a bane to the status of Mexican American community. Gonzales highlights the degree of immigration from Mexico with Hispanics seeing an increase of 61% between 1970 and 1980. These immigrants provided the ethnic community a supply of vigorous individuals who ensured the survival and creation...
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...Caught Between Cultures Gloria Anzaldúa’s The Homeland, Aztlán / El Otro México, explores the political and social impact of creating borders between places and their residents. Through use of her unique and diverse writing style, Anzaldúa is able to capture the struggle faced by displaced Mexicans and their posterity. Not only is she able to accurately portray their hardships, but she is also able to alienate her white audience by using both English and Spanish. This is done in a way that provides some insight into the cultural barriers that Mexican-Americans encounter. Her use of historical context illuminates the injustice that these people were subject to, while her incorporation of firsthand experiences and family history give the reader a more personal view of the trials and tribulations of a typical Mexican family. The combination of these different writing techniques make the reader empathize with the Mexican people’s struggle, by providing a new perspective on the conflict between Mexico and the United States and its impact. Anzaldúa uses a substantial amount of background information and history to provide context for her audience. She begins by explaining that the oldest evidence of human existence in the United States, is from the ancestors of the Chicanos, who settled there in 35,000 B.C. (Anzaldúa 41). This initial piece of history is important because it shows that the ancestors of the Chicanos were the first inhabitants of the land that is now modern day...
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...LA Born in East LA is a story of Mexican descent that accidentally gets caught up in an Immigration raid at the factory that his brother works at. While we were watching the movie there was some components of Chicanos studies being perpetrated. Those components are how Mexicans are treated as second-class citizens, racial profiling and getting low pay work. This movie points out the problems caused by an immigration policy that makes everyone of Hispanic origin suspicious until proved otherwise. In the movie, Rudy pick up his cousin Javier at a factory. Rudy arrives shortly before immigration officials raid the factory looking for undocumented workers. But once they got there they was racial profiling everybody that was a Mexican, including Rudy who is an American citizen; Because he is carrying no identification, and his mother and sister are not available to verify he is a US citizen. Do to this Rudy is deported with the undocumented workers to Mexico. This issue is still going on today with Arizona. They are living in the past by discriminating against everyone that is Mexican descent as illegal immigrates, regardless if they are U.S documented citizens. President of Mexico, Calderón said “Arizona new immigration law, gives the police the right to stop anyone they suspect is an illegal immigrant, "opens the door to intolerance, hate, discrimination and abuse in law enforcement” (Arizona Immigration Law Encourages Police Abuse, Says Mexican President). Rudy meet jimmy outside...
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...Mexican-Americans throughout history has never been told truthfully and many people don’t know the history of Chicana/o’s. It all started with Manifest Destiny and the expansion of the United States into Mexico, which cause a huge fraud between them. Then turned into a war where Mexico lost the land and that’s how the creation of Mexican-Americans can to be. Chicana/o comes from a person of Mexican decent or origin but was born in the United States. Over the many heartbreaking years of history between the U.S and Mexico, it created a lot of conflict and difficulties of people who were second generation Mexican. With these difficulties created, Mexican–Americans had to work extra hard for fight for the rights that they have today. Chicana/o’s...
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...Diversity in Hispanic Americans Ethics 125 October 30, 2011 Kimberly Long Diversity in Hispanic Americans The first group that I researched was Cuban Americans. They rank third in the immigration of Hispanic Americans. An estimated 1.4 million strong today, they immigrated or were refuges from their native Cuba to escape Fidel Castro’s reign. They settled first in Florida and one of the largest manufactures of cigars, even to this day. They primarily speak Spanish, and most when they came here on the first wave of immigration were well educated. They were twice as likely to complete college and most held professional backgrounds. They consider themselves a generous group and full of hospitality and loath conflict, although most belonged to the communist party, here in the united states they prefer not to be a part of politics. They educated their children highly in agriculture and social economics. Unlike a lot of Hispanics, they prefer baseball to soccer. Their domestic units consist of multigenerational groups and are centered primarily on women and are of Catholic faith. They are one of the hardest groups to obtain diplomatic status due to the conflict in their home Cuba. The next group the Puerto Ricans, are of United States Territories. They also speak Spanish, but also very fluent in English. They are a Caribbean people with African, Indian and Spanish descents. Although they are a part of US territory, they cannot vote in the United States Presidential...
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...living in fear because the Mexican soldiers are trying to kill all the Guatemalans. Enrique and his family are Maya Indians and they are very traditional Indians. Mexicans soldiers killed Enrique’s father after meeting with his friends; his head was cut off and was hanging of a tree. A soldier was still at the place where his dad was killed and also tries to kill Enrique. But Enrique manage to kill him first, once that happened Enrique runs away and was hiding because they were out to get him. Rosa was sad because she thought Enrique was dead as well but they meet up again. Enrique was talking with fear to his sister Rosa saying he needs to leave because it’s not safe for him to be in the village. Enrique said to Rosa, “Me voy a Norte.” Rosa said she will go with him but Enrique said no at first but after awhile he said ok. Enrique and Rosa had a long journey to reach the board of the United States and Mexico because they wanted a better life for themselves and also to show the viewers it’s not easy to be a immigrate. The journey that Enrique and Rosa took from their village to the board of the United States was a very long trip. They had little money to start off with and they were lucky to have found some good people on their way there. The first thing they had to do was to Parades 2 pretend they were Mexicans and talk like them as well in order to cross to Mexico because there Spanish was more different then the way Mexicans talked. So they crossed the...
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...given to all persons which lead to this act. Since its establishment it has been expanded to include the disabled, women in collegiate athletics and the elderly within its definitions. (History.com, 2010) Various views examined: Timothy Minchin During the 1960s and 1970s the textile industry moved through a major change out of which the visible change was seen in the increased number of black Americans in the workforce. According to the Timothy Minchin this all happened due to the occurrence of civil act 1964. Before the presence of that act the number of black Americans working in the workforce was as low as 3.3% but after the act was launched the percentage increased to the 25%. (Minchin, 1999) Although the discrimination reduced to a little extent and due to the inserted pressures by the government at textile industry black men were hired at jobs but they were paid the low incentives for their works as compared to the whites. Whites were offered the premium wages and were provided on job trainings that were the central qualifications for the performance at the jobs. Black Americans were ignored at these trainings as well and they were rejected systematically. The blame was given...
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...United States of America, are similar. The population of the United States exceeds 313 million people and this statistic results in America as the third largest country in the world. The diverse population of the United States is 64 percent Caucasian, 16 percent Hispanic, 13 percent Black, five percent Asian and Pacific Islander, and one percent Native American. One could state that the United States of America consists of a plethora of cultures. The population of Mexico is 113.7 million people and increasing 1.10 percent annually (Huntington, 2005). Mexico’s population is an estimated 60 percent mixture of with indigenous heritage and Spanish. The multiple indigenous groups are approximately 30 percent, and the European ancestry is approximately nine percent. The largest city in Mexico is Mexico City and New York is the largest city in the United States of America. The two cities are over 17 million, another similarity between the two countries (Rosenberg, 2013). The United States of America and Mexico differ in values, patterns in language, beliefs, and values. The average American generally speaks English and the average Mexican generally speaks Spanish. Throughout areas in both countries, various individuals speak both English and Spanish. The knowledge of both languages assists in communication among international relationships, between the two...
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...Hispanic groups contribute to the United States in several aspects of life: linguistics, politics, social interaction, the economy, religion, and familial structure. Hispanic groups include several, of those are four prominent races of which are Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Colombian Americans. Hispanic groups entail a diverse population apparent by various similarities and differences. Mexican Americans are the most significant Hispanic group in size within the United States, creating nine percent of the population. The majority of Mexicans reside within the South Western part of the U.S.. The Spanish speaking group often refer to their physical appearance as similar or close to that of the Caucasian race. Mexicans have contributed to the American economy by working low wage jobs as the result of illegal immigration. The increase in illegal immigration to the United States and possibility of deportation only allows Mexican workers employment in low paying jobs, lower class housing, and limited freedoms. Social interaction between Mexican Americans and other racial/ethnic groups is hindered by stereotyping and discrimination. Discrimination towards racial/ethnic groups is generally based on race, ethnicity, cultural practices, and social class. The segregation or separation of racial/ethnic groups is a present issue within Hispanic communities. An area exhibiting a large percentage of Hispanic individuals is referred to as a Barrio. Barrios are...
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...Hispanic Americans for centuries have a significant role of contribution to society in the United States bringing diversity to the customs and cultures of Americans. Hispanic Americans impacted areas such as politics, public service, scientific, cultural foods and entertainment. Most historians have no knowledge or will acknowledged these impacts Hispanic Americans made on United States history therefore has entrenched anti-Hispanic racism in America. Mexican Americans have the largest population title of Hispanic groups here in the United States and for more than four centuries they have been a major part of history. In the past 30 years the population of Hispanic Americans grew dramatically within the United States. Hispanic Americans include 11% of the U.S. population of which 3.6 million reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Dioceses 2012). Many may say that there is racism towards Hispanics but truth is Hispanic is actually not a race but an ethnic classification. Hispanics are individuals that have been in the United States for a long time dating back when settlers where taking over the land of native Indians. Hispanic Americans have different features of their heritage there are distinct differences of Hispanic cultures depending from the country of origin. There are unique immigration waves from each part of the countries of origin that Mexican Americans have the most unique pattern of them all. In the mid 1800s the result of the Mexican War in 1846 to 1848 this...
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...Hispanic-Americans make up a large ethnic group in the United States. Many Americans believe Hispanics are much the same and group them together (panethnicity) but, in fact, the groups are very diverse. Hispanics come from a variety of different cultures and include Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Central Americans. Each of these groups vary in their customs, religious beliefs, political views, family views, and other conventions that make them similar in some ways, and very different in others (Franklin, 2009). This paper will discuss the various cultures of Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Venezuelan-Americans in America. Mexican-Americans As a result of the Mexican-American war, about 80,000 Mexicans resided in the United States due to the accumulation of New Mexico and California. Even though many returned to Mexico, the majority stayed in the United States and gained their citizenship after two years (Englekirk and Martin, 2009). Since then, Mexican immigration to the United States has grown significantly and for various reasons. Today, Mexican-Americans make up about two thirds of the Hispanic population in the United States (Schaefer, 2006). The first indigenous Mexican people were various Indians such as Mixtec, Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, Toltec, Zapotec, and Teotihuacan who assimilated with Spaniards after Spain invaded Mexico. Mexican families were typically male dominated but close-knit due to respect...
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...Hispanic American Diversity For many people, it is a frequent misunderstanding that all Hispanics are the same. Instead, there are many different groups that make up the Hispanic group. While many similarities do exist among the Hispanic groups, it is their dissimilarities that set them apart from one another. The compilation of data in this paper will demonstrate the linguistic, social, economic, religious and familial conventions and statuses among Mexican Americans, Cubans, Guatemalans and Puerto Ricans residing in America. Mexican Americans could possibly be one of the most universally known groups of Hispanic origin residing in the United States. According to the Encarta Encyclopedia (2008), “The Mexican American population includes Whites, Native Americans, Mestizos and Mulattos.” No matter what part of the population, a Mexican American is a descendent of, they all share the same interest for the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, it is the church that Mexican Americans base their opinions on sexual, education and politics. If Roman Catholicism is not the religion of preference, one will find Mexican Americans practicing Protestantism. As with the majority of Hispanics, Mexican Americans If Roman Catholicism is not the religion of preference, one will find Mexican Americans practicing Protestantism. As with the majority of Hispanics, Mexican Americans use Spanish as their central language. Spanish is spoken at home for religious occasions, amongst family, and...
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