People’s Democratic and Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Larbi Ben M'Hidi University -Oum El Bouaghi-
Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages Department of Letters and English Language
Hispanic Minority’s Threat to American Identity: Fact or Fiction
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Master’s Degree in English Literature and Civilization
Submitted by: Alligui Amina Bouzid Safia
Board of Examiners: Supervisor: Ms. Badi Rima Chairman: Mr. Dalichaouch Abderrahmane Examiner: Ms. Merah Fahima
2019/2020 DEDICATION
I dedicate this work:
To my beloved mother and my dear father for their love, devotion, and unlimited sacrifice.
To my sisters, my brothers, and my friends for their support and encouragement.
To my friend Safia, who shared this thesis with me.
May Allah bless you all.
Amina
My successes are because of her and my failures are because of me, to my biggest
supporter, to my mother.
Also I would like to thank my little family especially my father for his engorgement,
patience and assistance over the years, he always kept me in his prayers.
To my darling sisters Sarra, Ahlem and Nihal. To my beloved brothers Abdrahmen and
Yaakoub. Without forgetting my two angels Zaid and Ayoub Taim Allah.
And to my dear colleague Amina, for her continuous support and her beautiful spirit.
Safia
I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, we thank Allah who gave us the strength and success in writing this work.
We would like to thank our supervisor Ms. Badi for her invaluable remarks, as well as her encouragement, enduring support, and wise advice throughout this year.
We are very grateful to all the teachers who taught us throughout our educational life. We also express our deep appreciation to all English language teachers at Larbi Ben M‟Hidi
University.
Our special thanks are reserved for the chairperson and the members of the jury who have devoted much of their precious time to read and assess this work.
II
ABSTRACT
This study aims at studying whether the Hispanic minority's threat to American identity is a fact or fiction. Due to its short history, and being a mixture of religious and ethnic groups,
America is very different from the rest of European countries. Therefore, the American identity is exceptional. The huge number of Hispanic immigrants to the United States, their density, linguistic homogeneity, and other characteristics that distinguish them constitute a threat to the American identity. As they seek to divide the country into two cultures: Anglo and Hispanic, and two languages: English and Hispanic. So, some studies claim that this threat is fact, while others insist that this threat is fiction. Ultimately, and based on numerous studies, the emergence of a self-sufficient subgroup that primarily speaks Spanish does not pose a serious threat, and Greater America remains an indomitable nation, identity, and entity.
Also, English remains its original language which cannot be affected by any foreign language.
III
RÉSUMÉ
L'étude vise à savoir si la menace de la minorité Hispanique à l'identité américaine est réelle ou imaginaire. L'Amérique est très différente par rapport aux autres pays européens, grâce à sa courte histoire et le mélange de groupes religieux et ethniques. C'est pour cela l'identité américaine est exceptionnelle. Le grand nombre d'immigrants hispaniques aux États-Unis, leur densité, leur homogénéité linguistique et d'autres caractéristiques qui les distinguent constituent une menace pour l'identité américaine. Ils cherchent à diviser le pays en deux cultures: anglo-protestante et hispanique, et en deux langues: l'anglais et l'espagnol. Certaines
études affirment que cette menace est réelle, tandis que d'autres insistent sur le fait que cette menace est imaginaire. En fin de compte, et selon nombreuses études, l'émergence d'un sous- groupe autosuffisant qui parle principalement l'espagnol ne constitue pas une menace sérieuse, et la Grande Amérique reste un pays, une identité et une entité indomptable. Et l'anglais reste sa langue d'origine qui ne peut être influencée par aucune langue étrangère.
IV
ملخص
تهذف انذساست إنً يعشفت يا إرا كاٌ تهذَذ األقهُت انهُسباَُت نههىَت األيشَكُت حقُقت أو خُال. إٌ أيشَكا يختهفت تًا ًيا عٍ
بقُت انذول األوسوبُت، َظ ًشا نتاسَخها انقصُش ، وكىَها خهُ ًطا يٍ انجًاعاث انذَُُت وانعشقُت. نزنك فإٌ انهىَت األيشَكُت
إستخُائُت. إٌ انعذد انهائم يٍ انًهاجشٍَ انهُسباٍَُُ إنً انىالَاث انًتحذة ، وكخافتهى ، وتجاَسهى انهغىٌ ، وخصائص
أخشي تًُزهى تشكم تهذَ ًذا نههىَت األيشَكُت. حُج أَهى َسعىٌ إنً تقسُى انبالد إنً حقافتٍُ: أَجهى بشوتُستُتُت وهُسباَُت ،
ونغتٍُ: اإلَجهُزَت واإلسباَُت. نزا ، تقش بعض انذساساث أٌ هزا انتهذَذ حقُقت ، بًُُا َصش انبعض اِخش عهً أٌ هزا
انتهذَذ خُانٍ. فٍ انُهاَت ، وبُاءا عهً انعذَذ يٍ انذساساث ، فإٌ ظهىس يجًىعت فشعُت يكتفُت راتًُا تتحذث اإلسباَُت
بشكم أساسٍ ال َشكم تهذَ ًذا خطُ ًشا ، وال تزال أيشَكا انكبشي دونت وهىَت وكُاًَا ال َقهش. أَ ًضا ، تظم انهغت اإلَجهُزَت
نغتها األصهُت انتٍ ال ًَكٍ أٌ تتأحش بأٌ نغت أجُبُت.
V
List of Abbreviations and Acronymes
ACS American Community Survey
CEOs Chief Executive Officers
GDP Gross Domestic Product
ITINs Individual Texpayer Identification Numbers
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NDAA National Defense Authorization Act
NFL National Football League
PhD Professional Hight Education
SOS Save Our State
UCLA University of California at Los Angeles
US United States
VI
List of Figures
Figure 1: U.S. Hispanic Population by Origin, 2010.………………………………...…..……7
VII
Table of Contents
Dedication..……………………………………………………………………………………...I
Acknowledgments...……………………………………………………………………………II
Abstract in English…………………………………………………………………………….III
Abstract in French…….……………………………………………………………………….IV
Abstract in Arabic…………………………………………….………………………………..V
List of Acronyms……...………………………………………………………………………VI
List of Figures..………………………………………………………………………………VII
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………VIII
Introduction...……………..………………………………………..……………..…….……..1
Chapter One: Hispanic Minority in the American Society: Historical Background.….…4
1. Who are the Hispanics ?..…………………………...……………………………………….5
2. Race and Origin.…………………………...…………...……………...…………………….5
3. Hispanic Immigration...………………………………………………..…...... …………….10
3.1. Contiguity..…………………………………………...………………………………..10
3.2. Scale..……………………………..…………………………………...... ……………..11
3.3. Illegality.……………………………………..…………………...…..….…………….12
3.4. Regional Concentration.……………………………..…………………….…...……...13
3.5. Persistence....……………………………..……………...…………...…………...……14
3.6. Historical Presence...……………………………………………………………..…….14
4. Hispanic Population...………………………………………………………………..……..15
5. Barriers and Challenges Facing Hispanics in the United States...……….…………..……..16
VIII
5.1. Language, Religion and Education..………………………………………...…..….….17
5.2. Healthcare and Mental Health..…………………..………………………………..…..19
5.3. Immigration and Acculturation..……..……………………………………………..….20
5.4. Voting Rights and Criminal Justice..………………………………………………..…21
5.5. Employment and Discrimination..……………………………………………………..22
6. Hispanic Contributions to American Society..……………………………………………..23
6.1. Economy..…………………………………………………………….………………..23
6.1.1. Tax Contributions..…………………...……………………………………………23
6.1.2. Entrepreneurship..………….………………………………………………………24
6.1.3. Workforce Contributions..…………………………………………………………25
6.2. Politics..……………………………………...…………………………………………26
6.3. Defense.……………………………………...………………………………………...27
6.4. Science and Technology..……………………...………………………………………28
Chapter Two: Hispanic Minority's Threat to American Identity: Is it a Fact or
Fiction ?...... 31
1. The Concept of Identity..…………………………………………………...………………32
2. American Identity..………………………………………………………...……………….33
3. Hispanic Minority's Threat to American Identity is a fact...……………..………………....36
3.1. A History of Hispanic Achievement in America: Hispanics Become an American
Minority..………………………………………………...…………………...……………….36
3.2. The Hispanic Challenge to American Identity..………………………………………..38
3.2.1. Spanish as the Second National Language of the United States...………………....39
3.2.2. Hispanic Contributions to American Culture..…………………………………….41
IX
3.2.3. Hispanic Intermarriage...……………………………………...……………………43
3.2.4. Hispanic Occupation and Income...………………………………………………..45
3.3. National Hispanic Heritage Month…..…………………………………………...……47
4. Hispanic Minority's Threat to American Identity is Fiction..………………………………49
4.1. Language..……………………………………………………………………………...49
4.2. Identity..………………………………………………………………………………..52
4.3. Education..……………………………………………………………………………..54
4.4. Citizenship..……………...…………………………………………………………….57
Conclusion………………………………………………………………..…………………..59
Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………….63
X
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Introduction
From every corner of the globe, Americans have been grouped through a variety of historical conquests, colonialism, slave trade, land acquisition, and voluntary immigration. So,
The symbolic notation of a nation of immigrants is deeply engraved in the character of the
American nation. Historically, immigrants from a broader group of countries and cultures have continued to flow on the American shores to start their lives again in searching of political refuge, economic opportunity, or religious freedom. The US differs from other European countries in that its history is short, its people are a mixture of ethnic groups, and it does not have the same kind of religious or ethnic divisions. American identity is therefore
„„exceptional.‟‟
During periods of mass immigration, many Native Americans raved about the dangers of being attacked by immigrants, especially fears about their political and economic well-being as well as their culture being overwhelmed by new strangers. Therefore, Americans tried to do the best ways to close the 'Golden Door' of immigration through several ways including:
Depriving illegal immigrants from certain social and health care services, as well as preventing them from enrolling in tax-backed educational institutions. Restricting immigrants has become the heart to American identity.
At the end of the twentieth century, immigration has re-emerged as a pivotal issue in
American life, especially large scale immigration from Latin America and Asian countries.
Unlike previous groups of immigrants, Mexicans and other Hispanics refuse to share or even denounce the core culture because they retain their own cultural, linguistic, and ideological baggage that prevents full integration into the American mainstream. They also seek to divide
1 the country into two languages: Spanish and English, and two cultures: Hispanic and Anglo-
Protestant. Consequently, they threaten the specific element of American identity.
Some studies claim that this threat is fact, while others insist that this threat is fiction. So,
The main objective of this work is to prove one of the two sides of this controversial topic; i.e. it attempts to discuss whether the Hispanic minority‟s threat to the American identity is fact or fiction.
Therefore, in the light of the above concerns, the dissertation adresses the following questions: what are the demographic and political forces that have shaped Hispanics as a minority group? How they work hard to be a power in America society? And how that power raised to be considered as a threat to American identity? And is that threat a fact or just a fiction?
To tackle these points, the work is divided into two chapters. The first chapter entitles "Hispanic Minority in the American Society: Historical Background. " It provides a historical background about Hispanic minority in the American society. It also attempts to give an image of the origins of Hispanics in the United States, their immigration patterns, their population, some of the challenges they have faced in America, as well as their contributions towards the United States.
The second chapter "Hispanic Minority’s Threat to American Identity: Is it a Fact or
Fiction?" This chapter is devoted to discuss how Hispanics tried to be a power in the the
United States? and how that power raised to be considered as a threat to American identity?
Then demonstrating if that threat was fact or fiction?
This work is conducted through the use of historical method of research. For the sake of answering the problematic of this study, our approach is based on a combination of descriptive and argumentative approaches. It includes the examination of several books, journals, and
2 articles about the Hispanic minority in the United States. In style, the dessertation adopts the
MLA, seventh edition.
This research is based on several studies including: "Multiple Origins, Hispanic Portrait" by Marta Tienda which presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement.
"Latinos and the Nation's Future" is an impressive compilation of essays written by top, expert leaders of the Hispanic community, who have come together to discuss the irreversible, inevitable and irrefutable fact that Latinos are destined to shape the future of the US. Also,
Samuel P.Huntington in in his controversial work, "Who Are We?: The Challenges to
America’s National Identity" focuses on an identity crisis closer to home as he examines the impact other civilizations and their values are having on his own country. In addition, this research includes many other sources and websites and books … etc.
This dissertation, in its part, discusses the demographic forces that have shaped Hispanics as a minority group. It also tackles the strong competition of the Hispanic minority in
American society, which has come to be seen as a threat to American identity. The thesis also shows whether Hispanic minority‟s threat to the American identity is fact or fiction.
3
Chapter One: Hispanic Minority in the American Society: Historical
Background
America is considred a multicultural society. It includes multi-groups of minorities and indigenous peoples such as: Latinos or Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans,
Arabs, other Middle-Eastern Americans, Native Americans, other Pacific Islanders, and
Alaska Natives. In most cases, these groups include multiple distinct communities. It includes also many other different ethnic and religious groups. While some are small migratory groups that do not have enough numbers, history or heritage to attract attention, others have been relatively successful in reaching housing with a dominant population such as Hispanics.
Previous waves of immigrants from Latin America have led to the growth of the Hispanic population during the last two decades of the twentieth century, and while migration remains a powerful force behind these numbers, immigrant children and grandchildren catalyze this increase.
The growth of these Latin Americans of the second and third generation, their socio- economic diversity, their increasing geographic dispersion and their entitlements as citizens born in the United States will have major social, economic, cultural and political impacts on the nation between now and the mid-century. Hence, chapter one attempts to give an image of the origins of Hispanics in the United States, their immigration patterns, their population, some of the challenges they have faced, as well as their contributions towards the United
States.
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1. Who are the Hispanics ?
The word "Hispanic" was the source of many discussions in the United States of America.
The term originally referred to the Hispanos of New Mexico, then the US federal government used it in the early 1970s to refer to "a persons who are related to the Spanish language or culture from a Spanish-speaking country." In the United States Hispanics includes persons from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Central or South America, or any other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race . According to collins dictionary, "a Hispanic person is a citizen of the United States of America who originally came from Latin America, or whose family originally came from Latin America" (Clutter and Nieto 01).
In general, Hispanic is a term used to refer to cultures, people, or countries associated with the Spanish culture, Spanish persons, Spanish language or Spain in general. This includes people from Spain and 19 Latin American countries (including the US Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico) that were colonially owned by the Spanich Empire after the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region and Equatorial Guinea, a small country on the West Coast of Africa. Hispanics representing 21 Spanish-speaking nationalities –
Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba,
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico (US Commonwealth), Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Spain, Equatorial Guinea– as well as some of the earliest settlements in the United States (Reaching Hispanics).
2. Race and Origin
The origin of people from Latin American countries have existed in the United States from its inception. Nevertheless, their existence on the national scene was virtually unseeable. The
American government has chosen the Hispanic term to name an increasing number of people
5 with roots in more than 23 countries in Latin America and Spain, sharing the same cultural heritage and language. The massive immigration from Latin America during the 80‟s and 90‟s encouraged the expansion of Hispanic identity. Nowadays, most Hispanics still sympathize with their origin country, and choose to name themselves as Mexican Americans, Puerto
Ricans and Cuban Americans, etc (Titus and Deck 01).
The presence of the Hispanics in the United States dated back to the colonial era when most of the Southern part of the country was under Spanish rule. In the 1840‟s, the Hispanic presence took on a whole new dimension, and as a result of the Mexican-American war, half of Mexico‟s territory was annexed to the United States. At the conclusion of the Spanish-
American War in 1998, Spain ceded its last colony, Puerto Rico, to the United States in the
Treaty of Paris, which promote the position of the United States as a world power, and increased its population to an increasing number of Hispanic Americans (01).
A new wave of Hispanic immigration from Mexico, Central America and South America comes to the United States during the second part of the twentieth century. The United States and Mexico established the "Bracero Program" in early 1940‟s, which brought Mexican citizens to work in agriculture. The demand for workers also brought a large numbre of Puerto
Ricans to the northeastern region. The Cuban Revolution resulted in the massive immigration of Cuban refugees during the 60‟s (01).
While, the civil wars caused a significant immigration from Central America during the
70‟s and 80‟s. Latin American countries experienced a severe economic crisis during the 90‟s, which led to high unemployment and high rates of inflation, forcing citizens to migrate to the
North in search of better economic opportunities. During those years, there was also high immigration from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (01). The following figure demonstrates clearly the origins of Hispanics who immigrated to the US:
6
Figure 01: U.S. Hispanic Population by Origin, 2010
Source: Motel, Seth, and Eileen Patten. The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups : Characteristics, Ranking, Top Counties. Pew Hispanic Center. July 12. 2012. Web. Apr . 14. 2020
Thus according to the figure above and the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) tabulations by the Pew Hispanic Center, 33 million consider themselves of Mexican origins out of the 50.7 million Hispanics in the US. Puerto Ricans, ranked the second largest Hispanic origin as it is seen the figure and made up 9% of the whole Hispanic population. In general, the 10 largest Hispanic origin countries –Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador– make up 92% of all US
Hispanics. In fact, Hispanics are considered a highly diverse minority in the United States.
Differences among the different Hispanic groups either in economic, social, political or health status demonstrates clearly their multicultural diversity.
Hispanic groups differ from each other in many ways. For example, Colombians are most likely to obtain a college degree (32%), while Salvadorans are least likely (7%). Ecuadorians have the highest average annual income for household ($50,000), while Dominicans have the lowest income ($34,000). US Hispanics of Mexican origin have the lowest median age, at 25 years, while Hispanics of Cuba origin have the highest median age, at 40 years. Although
7
Hondurans are one of the highest Hispanic origin groups, but they do not have health insurance. In opposite, only 15% of Puerto Ricans do not have health insurance (Motel and
Patten 03).
When the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ceded the lands of the Southwest to the United
States in 1848, perhaps 75,000 people of Mexican descent were lived in that vast region, almost three-fourths in New Mexico (called Hispanos), with fewer people living in Texas
(called Tejanos), and California (called Californios). These Mexican Americans, especially those in Texas, suffered from prevailing social and economic discrimination, which was reflected, for instance, in segregated schools, residential neighborhoods and churches
(Tienda).
The number of Mexicans reached about 220,000 in the 1910 census, a number that more than doubled by 1920 and tripled later, when the US Census Bureau classified Mexicans as a separate race. Railroad lines connected the interior of Texas, Mexico, and other states by the early twentieth century, as they transported large numbers of mexican workers to coal mines and copper in Arizona and Colorado, and slaughterhouses and steel milles in Detroit, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. There were over 22 million Hispanics of Mexican descent living in the United
States by 2000, a remarkable increase exceeds the numbre calculated in the 1980 census of 8.7 million people (Tienda).
Puerto Ricans are free to travel and reside on the mainland of the United States because they are American citizens. In 2000, about 3.5 million Puerto Ricans resided on the mainland, which make them the second largest Hispanic group. At the end of World War II, the high rate of unemployment and cheap airline tickets in Puerto Rico, led to a strengthening of travel between San Juan and New York City, making Puerto Ricans the first airborne immigrants in the history of the United States. Most of the first Puerto Rican immigrants settled in the East
8
Harlem in New York City, while far fewer urban neighborhoods lived in Detroit, Chicago and other northern cities. In 2000, it was still twice the number of Puerto Ricans living in New
York (more than 850,000) as in San Juan. Almost half of all Puerto Ricans live on the island, and the other half on the mainland (Tienda).
Cuba did not escaped a turbulent past like other former Spanish colonies. After the outbreak of the Ten Years‟ War in 1868, when Spanish rule became more repressive, Cubans began migrating first to New York and then to Florida. Many of these new arrivals represented a new class of Latin American immigrants in the United States, and they were successful business owners in Cuba. In 1959, when Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista, a much larger wave of Cuban immigrants –political refugees– began arriving in Florida (Tienda).
The successive waves of Cuban exiles established a large presence in Florida, where their vision was amplified by their residential focus in the Miami area. In 2000, there were 1.3 million Hispanics of Cuban descent, a significant increase of 1.2 million from its 1960 population of only 70,000. With increasing numbers moving from Central America and Puerto
Ricans to Florida, Cubans still enjoy political power and economic domination and maintain a distinctive voice within Hispanic society. Whereas Mexicans largely settled in five
Southwestern states (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and Colorado), Puerto Ricans lived in the Northeast (especially New York City), while Cubans mainly lived in South Florida and New York/New Jersey area (Tienda).
Despite slower growth, the number of Hispanics who speak Spanish at home is the highest all the time. There are 37 million Hispanics aged 5 years and over who speak Spanish at home, up from 25 million in 2000. However, this number grew between 2010 and 2015 at an annual rate of 1.8%, less than the annual average of 3.4% between 2000 and 2010. Meanwhile, 35 million Hispanics aged 5 years and over are fluent in English, up from 19 million in 2000.
9
Among this group, in 2015, 14 million Hispanics speak English only at home, compared to 7 million people in 2000 (Flores).
Hispanic subgroups also differ in their states, regions and provinces of geographical focus.
Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Mexicans are largely concentrated in the western states, while
Colombians, Cubans, Peruvians and Hondurans are largely concentrated in the South.
Significant numbers of Dominicans, Ecuadorians and Puerto Ricans are in the Northeast.
Almost half of the Cuban population (48%) lives in one county – Miami-Dade county, Florida.
Which is also home to the largest Honduran, Peruvian, Colombian societies. Los Angeles
County alone contains 9% of the Latin American population. For Mexicans, Guatemalans and
Salvadorans, Los Angeles County, California has the largest community in each group. The
Bronx County of New York has the largest population of Domonican and Puerto Rican. And queens County in New York has the largest Ecuadorian population (Motel and Pattens 04).
3. Hispanic Immigration
Immigration from Latin America and the concomitant growth in the nation of Hispanic origin are among the most important and controversial developments in the recent history of the United States. Hispanic immigration has complex origins rooted in the US territorial and economic expansion. It differs from previous waves of migration in several basic ways, including: contiguity, scale, illegality, regional concentration, persistence, and historical presence.
3.1. Contiguity
Crossing America is considered easy and attractive to Mexicans, because it is the only First
World country in the world that shares long, unprotected borders with a Third World country.
Migrants arrive in the US after crossing several thousand miles of ocean. The economic
10 differences between the two countries reinforce the importance of the long Mexican-American border. Stanford University historian David Kennedy noted, “The income gap between the
United States and Mexico, is the largest between any two contiguous countries in the world.”
Just as other immigrants have been unable to do so, contiguity enables Mexican immigrants to stay in close contact with their families, friends, and citizens in Mexico (Huntington 33).
3.2. Scale
The reasons of Mexican and other immigration are due to the economic, political and social attractions of the United States. However, it is clear that contiguity encourages migration.
After 1965, Mexican immigration increased steadily. In the 1990s, Mexican immigration accounted for 25% of all legal immigration, much larger than the influx of Irish or German immigrants earlier in American history. Also, there are the huge numbers of Mexicans who enter the United States illegally every year. Since the 1960s, the number of foreign-born people in the United States has increased dramatically, as Asians and Latin Americans have replaced Europeans and Canadians, and the diversity of sources has largely given way to the dominance of one source: Mexico (33-34).
In 2000, Mexican immigrants accounted for 27.6 percent of the total foreign-born population of the United States, compared to the Chinese and Filipinos, only 4.9 percent and
4.3 percent, respectively. In the 1990s, Mexicans consisted of more than half of recent immigrants from Latin America to the United States, and by 2000, Hispanic immigrants totaled about half of all immigrants who entered the continental United States. In 2000,
Hispanics made up 12 percent of the total US population. From 2000 to 2002, this group increased approximately 10 percent and has now become larger than blacks (34).
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It is estimated that by 2050 Hispanics may make up as much as 25 percent of the US population. It is not just migration that drives these changes, but also fertility. In 2002, fertility rates in the United States for Hispanics were estimated at 3.0, compared to 1.8 for non-
Hispanic whites, and 2.1 for blacks. “As the bulge of Latinos enters peak child-bearing age in a decade or two, the Latino share of America‟s population will soar.” The pre-World War I migration was very linguistically diverse. But now, for the first time in US history, half of those entering the US speak one language other than English (34).
3.3. Illegality
After 1965, illegal entry into the United States is a Mexican phenomenon. For nearly a century after the adoption of the United States Constitution, only a few states imposed modest limits, and there were no national laws restricting or prohibiting immigration. During the next
90 years, controlling illegal immigration was very easy, as it was minimal. The immigration law of 1965, the increased availability of transportation, and the intensifying forces encouraging Mexican immigration radically changed this situation. The US Border Patrol concerns rose from 1.6 million in the 1960s to 14.7 million in the 1990s. During the 1990s, the estimates of Mexicans entering successfully illegally each year range from 105,000 to
350,000, according to a binational Mexican-American commission and the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (34-35).
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 included limiting future illegal immigration through employer sanctions and other means, as well as legalizing the status of current illegal immigrants. The result was that about 3.1 million illegal immigrants (some 90 percent of them from Mexico) became legal "green card" residents in the United States. By
2003, there were approximately 8 to 10 million illegal immigrants in the United States. In
12
1990, 58% of which were Mexican. By 2000, Mexicans made up 69% of the total illegal population in the United States (35).
3.4. Regional Concentration
Hispanics have tended to concentrate regionally: Mexicans in Southern California, Cubans in Miami, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans in New York. Hispanic proportions continued to grow in these regions of greatest concentration in the 1990s. At the same time, Mexicans and other Hispanics were establishing beachheads elsewhere. They also set up congregations in individual cities and towns across the United States. For example, in 2003, more than 40% of the population of Hartford, Connecticut, was of Hispanic origin. With the increasing use of
Spanish as the language of commerce and government, and according to Hartford's Puerto
Rican-born mayor, Eddie Perez, “Hartford has become a Latin city, so to speak. It‟s a sign of things to come.” From 1990 to 2000, The states with the largest increase in Hispanic population were in descending order: North Carolina (449 percent increase), Arkansas,
Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Nevada, and Alabama (222 percent) (35).
However, the largest concentrations of Hispanics are in the southwest, particularly
California. In 2000, nearly two-thirds of Mexican immigrants lived in the West, and nearly half of them were in California. In Los Angeles, Hispanics far outnumber other groups. In
2000, 64% of Los Angeles' Hispanics were of Mexican descent, and 46.5$ of Los Angeles residents were Hispanic, while 29.7% were non-Hispanic whites. It is estimated that Hispanics will make up more than half of Los Angeles' residents by 2010. Morover, children of Hispanic origin made up the majority of students in schools in several cities in the Southwest (35).
By 2002, more than 70% of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District were of
Hispanic origin, and most of them were Mexican, with a steady increase in this proportion,
13 compared to 10% of schoolchildren were non-Hispanic white. Political scientists Katrina
Burgess and Abraham Lowenthal said of Los Angeles in their 1993 study of Mexico-
California ties, “No school system in a major U.S. city, has ever experienced such a large influx of students from a single foreign country. The schools of Los Angeles are becoming
Mexican.” In 2003, the majority of newborns in California were of Hispanic origin for the first time since the 1850s (35).
3.5. Persistence
In the long term, the flow of Mexican immigrants decreases only if the economic well- being of Mexico comes approximately to that of the United States. As of 2002, in terms of purchasing power parity, the gros domestic product (GDP) per capita of the United States was nearly four times that of Mexico. The economic incentives for immigration could be reduced dramatically, if this difference were cut in half, and this requires very rapid economic growth in Mexico, at a rate far greater than in the United States. However, even such exciting economic development would not necessarily reduce the drive to migrate (36).
3.6. Historical Presence
As a result of the Texan War of Independence in 1835-1836 and the Mexican-American
War of 1846-1848, Mexico lost all of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada and
Utah, which they were considered part of it. Given their historical presence in the American
Southwest, Mexican immigrants can do what no previous immigrant group had ever dreamed of, and that is to challenge the existing cultural, educational, legal, commercial and political foundations that make up the United States, Huntington believes that:
“No other immigrant group in American history has asserted or has been able
to assert a historical claim to the American territory. Mexicans and Mexican-
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Americans can and do make that claim....United States has invaded, occupied
its capital… and then annexed half of its territory. Mexicans do not forget
these events. Quite understandably, they feel that they have special rights in
these territories.” (36)
4. Hispanic Population
Hispanics represent the nation‟s largest ethnic minority, they are one of the fastest growing sectors in the US population, and they will remain so for the foreseeable future. The dramatic increase in the size of Hispanic population has been driven by a combination of both immigration and births. If current demographic trends persist, nearly 1 in 4 Americans will be
Hispanic, or Hispanic ancestry, by 2030, i.e. after just one generation, from about 1 out of 7 in
2000. Until recently, Hispanics were concentrated in the largest cities in California and Texas, as well as in Chicago, Miami and New York. Nowadays, they are spreading nationwide, societies across the country are facing the challenges posed by the rapidly growing new immigrant population (Tienda).
Hispanics are drawn from an increasingly diverse mix of countries. In 2015, Hispanics of
Mexican origin represented 63.3% (36 million) of the country‟s Hispanic population, by far the largest share of any group of descendants, but fell from the last peak of 65.7 in 2008. As fewer immigrants from Mexico arrive in the United States, and more people leave the country, this share has declined in recent years. Meanwhile, with increased immigration from elsewhere in Latin America, the share among non-Mexican origin groups has grown (36.7% in
2015, up from 34.3% in 2008) (Flors).
In 2015, the second largest origin group, Hispanic Puerto Rican population reached 5.4 million in the 50 states and the District of Columbia (an additional 3.4 million people live in
15
Puerto Rico). Over the past decade, the Puerto Rican immigration to the mainland of the
United States helped raise that number from 3.8 million in 2005. There are five other Hispanic groups with a population of more than a million people –Salvadorans, Cubans, Guatemalans,
Colombians, and Dominicans– and each has seen a population increase over the past decade
(Flors).
In 2016, Hispanics represented 18% of the country‟s population and were the second fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the country, with a growth rate of 2.0% between 2015 and 2016 compared to 3.0% for Asians. The slowdown in the growth of the Hispanic population is caused by lower levels of immigration to the United States from Mexico and lower fertility rates among Hispanic women (Flores).
The Hispanic minority is one of the largest ethnic minorities in the United States, and the fastest in terms of population, due to the following major factors: immigration and the increase in births. Many countries have witnessed an increase in the number of Hispanics in their societies, and they are generally concentrated in several US states, including: Arizona,
California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and
Texas. The continued increase in the number of Hispanics in the United States contributes to proving their presence culturally, which may constitute a threat to the future American identity.
5. Barriers and Challenges Facing Hispanics in the United States
Hispanics are considered as the largest minority group in the United States. This minority is diversed ethnically, culturally, economically, educationally, and even religiously. They have come a long way in the United States, as individuals or as families, but they can still face
16 many of the same obstacles and challenges that other minorities face. The main difficulties facing Hispanics in the United States are summarized in the following points:
5.1. Language, Religion and Education
In any ethnic or cultural group, language is considered as an essential component.
According to Sanchez (2006), new immigrants of Hispanic origin speak mainly Spanish, while the second and third generations may be bilingual or English speakers. Language definitely affects one's ability to continuing education, get jobs, and foster family relationships.
Moreover, culture is delivered through the language. Therefore, immigrant parents who speak mainly Spanish or Portuguese may force their children to speak the language of their antecedents. Plainly, the major challenge for many Hispanic families is to determine which language will prevail in the family (Moitinho).
However, many Hispanic families realize that they need to master English to successfully navigate American culture. English proficiency is increasing among Hispanic, according to the
Pew Research Center. Today, pastoral communication (by priests, religious, and laity) to the large numbers of faithful, is a major challenge for Hispanic Catholics. Recent studies by the
Pew Research Center show that Hispanic Catholic identity is decreasing with every generation. Pew also stated that the majority of Puerto Ricans in the United States are no longer Roman Catholics. This should be taken as a huge wake-up call to church leaders (Titus and Deck 4).
Another characteristic of the pastoral context is the lack of awareness on the part of some church leaders regarding the general principles and vision underlying Hispanic service as formulated in the Encuentro processes and approved by the bishops at the level of the Bishops
Conference. There is insufficient knowledge of the Church's teachings regarding
17 evangelization which provides a framework for understanding intercultural relations and what culture means. Without this familiarity, it is doubtful that one can preach or teach effectively, as the Church suggests today. Experience shows that, in the case of Hispanics in particular, there is a need for small religious communities. The large unknown parish of today is often particularly unsuitable for recent Hispanic immigrants who thrive in small religious communities (4).
Taking advantage of thriving ecclesiastical movements is a major challenge for Hispanic
Catholics such as Charismatic Renewal, the Cursillo, the Encounter of Marriage, etc. The growing number of Hispanic priests and seminarians is a hopeful development. However, the fact that the vast majority of them are not native to the United States is a matter of concern because the cult of faith at the heart of the Church's mission must be based on a culture that is often unfamiliar to those born outside the United States and vice versa. Hispanics still suffer from low educational attainment, although they have the highest dropout rate in the United
States (4-5).
They make up more than half of all Catholic children, yet only 3% of Hispanics attend
Catholic schools. Moreover, the current economic downturn and subsequent cuts in service limited the church's ability to respond and to involve the growing Hispanic population. In addition, weakening their opportunities to enhance their Catholic identity and develop the leadership needed by the emerging Catholic majority by closing Catholic schools, and by unifying nationals in densely populated areas of Hispanic origin (5).
Hispanics make up the second largest group of students in schools, and they are the fastest growing population. But they are also underrepresented when it comes to employment in advanced classes and college attendance. It can be argued that the educational system, by all accounts, has failed to adequately meet the needs of Hispanic students and prepare them for
18 civic life. There is also a growing sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with American society among Hispanic students. Just like with housing, many Hispanic students attend largely separate schools with lower graduation rates and fewer resources than their white peers. Hispanic students are also more likely to leave school. If students feels desperate and the system fails for them, there is a good reason on their mind to pursue the dropout (Deruy).
In fact, the high school dropout rate among Hispanic youth (17%) is almost three times higher than among white youth (6%) and almost twice the rate among blacks (9%) (Moitinho).
Moreover, the best colleges also have a difficult time communicating with poor students with high achievement, and undocumented people face obstacles such as high tuitions fees in states that do not offer them within-state prices. Hispanic females are also often expected to take care roles in the home, which may limit their education options(Deruy). According to
Cárdenas & Kerby (2012), and despite all this barriers "Hispanic/Latino enrollment in colleges is growing, but they still lag behind compared to African-American, Whites, and Asians."
(Moitinho).
5.2. Healthcare and Mental Health
On one hand, Hispanic face many obstacles especially when it comes to accessing quality healthcare. Regardless of the fact that Hispanics do not have social insurance, they find it difficult to find Spanish-speaking doctors. They are also more likely to develop diabetes and certain types of cancer, which is very dangerous especially for uninsured people, who can not access to the regular care they need to handle and treat such conditions (Deruy).
On the other hand, there are several issues affecting Hispanic mental health including: depression, the use of chemical, domestic violence, and suicide. Regrettably, there is difficulty in controlling an issue where Hispanic individuals do not benefit from mental health services
19 for various reasons including: low acculturation, dependenig only on their family, cultural values such as, loyalty to the family and group, lack of knowledge of available psychological resources, language barrier, and the use of local resources. Also the major factor preventing
Hispanics from receiving mental health care is lack of health insurance. “Across all racial and ethnic groups, Latinos report the highest uninsured rates in the United States,” According to the Center for American Progress (Moitinho).
5.3. Immigration and Acculturation
Immigration case has been in the news for some time, also it has been part of political discussions. Surely, the Hispanic community will be effected by the US government decisions on immigrations. Although, immigration has slowed in Latin America, Hispanic immigrants are still grappling with the effects of the difficult immigration experience. In their article,
« The impact of migration and acculturation on Latino children and families:… », Alan J.
Dettkaff and Joan Rycraft discussed the serious challenges that Latino immigrants faced whether those families were documented or undocumented upon entering the United States.
The loss of their community and other social supports make them vulnerable to stress, depression, and a host of other complications”. Acculturation effect the use of language, values, behaviors, standards, and global vision, among other aspects of culture. For models of acculturation, a person may be high, low, or dual in the cultural level (Deruy19).
A person's identity may also be affected by acculturation. According to the Pew Research
Center, in Hispanic society, 51% prefer attributing themselves to the country of origin of their families, 24% prefer using the term Hispanic/Latino, and 21% prefer identifying themselves as
Americans. Moreover, acculturation may create a conflict between cultures as children tend to absorb American culture at a faster rate than their immigrant parents. Parents may resent this
20 acculturation for fear that their children will reject the parent's culture. Consequently, acculturation may lead to aggravate intergenerational conflicts inside family (Deruy).
5.4. Voting Rights and Criminal Justice
Hispanics are massively underrepresented when it comes to holding an elected office, and there are some parts who like to keep the matter in that way. Most of the politicians are republicans, in recent years they used redistricting efforts and voter suppression tactics such as, purges of voter lists and voter identification laws that disproportionately affect minorities.
While they argue that they are trying to prevent voter fraud, which is almost non-existent,
Hispanics and civil rights leaders say in fact, they are trying to deprive Hispanics from voting, thus, Hispanics most likely to give their votes to democrats (Deruy).
Hispanics are "disproportionately impacted by the abuses and biases in the existing criminal justice system, both as victims and as the accused." The rates of incarceration for
Hispanics across the country are almost twice that of whites, and there is a shortage in adequate legal representation, specifically when it comes to helping unregistered immigrants who speak Spanish. The report stated that Hispanics and Africans face fierce practices. For example, the Supreme Court upheld the Arizona law "Show Your Papers" that allows officers to verify the status of suspected immigrants. The Department of Civil Rights and Justice
Department found that East Haven, Connecticut police had discrimination against Hispanics
Americans, and had treated drivers of Hispanic harshly targeted them for traffic enforcement, like the one in New York City that allows police officer to stop and question people, sometimes even searching them in high-crime neighborhoods (Deruy).
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5.5. Employment and Discrimination
Hispanics face many problems at work including harassment, stealing wages, and the threat of deportation. They occupy low-paid jobs and work in service industries, and their representation is deficient when it comes to boards and administrative positions. In addition,
Hispanic women in particular face gender discrimination and are intimidated into not reporting unfair working conditions. There are also numerous violations of the minimum wage that are
"widespread." Hispanic also work in jobs that require the use of heavy machinery or in areas where they are exposed to pesticides, and they often have difficulty obtaining legal aid to report violations (Deruy).
An important ecological obstacle lies in prejudice and discrimination against Hispanic immigrants, which persists in the United States. Hispanics report that they are suffering from widespread discrimination in various areas of daily life, at much higher levels than whites.
Negative judgments and discriminatory practices affect the well being of Hispanics, and judgment or exposure to unfair treatment due to language, culture, or physical characteristics is linked to poor mental health (Findling 1-3).
For example, according to what studies show, when Hispanic students go to school with few of their Hispanic peers, they can feel less represented, less motivated to participate in several activities, and therefore more disconnected from school. In nutshell, being born in the
United States and having a college degree does not protect you from discrimination, which indicates the need for more health, political, and social policy efforts to eliminate discrimination and allowed Hispanics to assimilate in American society (3-4).
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6. Hispanic Contributions to The American Society
The United States is distinguished from the rest of the European countries in terms of diversity of ethnic groups and nationalities that have contributed effectively to American way of life and which continue to contribute to the present day. Hispanics represent the largest minority in the United States, they come from diverse socio-economic and geographic backgrounds, and they have made distinguished contributions to the United States in all major fields including: economy, politics, defense, science and technology.
6.1. Economy
Hispanic people are the largest minority in the United States, they are one of the fastest growing sectors in the US population. Although this population consists mainly of Hispanic- born in the United States, a large proportion of this population consists of individuals and families who immigrated to America from other places. However, Hispanics have an important role to play in the US economy.
6.1.1. Tax Contributions
In the United States, Hispanics are the main contributors to federal, state and local budgets by virtue of their role as taxpayers. The federal taxes that Hispanic households pay for federal services –including the US military, medical care, and social security– that benefit all
Americans. Meanwhile, Hispanic households helped to pay fot important local services, through their contributions to government and local taxes such as police, public schools, local road and street maintenance, fire safety and emergency medical services (How Hispanic
Contribute to the U.S. Economy 9-12).
Hispanic immigrants make meaningful contributions as taxpayers. Many undocumented immigrants pay taxes by using an IRS-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers
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(ITINs). A different set of studies have concluded that between 50 to 80 percent of households led by undocumented migrants file federal income taxes annually. According to federal government officials, 75 percent of undocumented workers have taxes withheld from their paychecks each year. Hispanic immigrants as a whole have significant tax contributions in many parts of the country (9-12).
Hispanics are very distinguished for being the youngest ethnic group in the United States.
Hispanic immigrants, a group more likely to be working-age than the United States population in general, forms a large portion of these revenue. Hispanics made important contributions to
Social Security and Medicare programs (9-12).
6.1.2. Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship among Hispanics has been growing rapidly and despite the recession,
Hispanics continue to experience a higher rate of self-employment than the general population at large. The number of Hispanic entrepreneurs tripled between 1990 and 2012, moving from
577,000 to more than 2 million people. At the same period, the number of self-employed
Hispanic immigrants more than quadrupled. In particular, Mexican immigrants were a strong component of this growth (How Hispanic Contribute to the U.S. Economy 13-18).
Hispanic population –especially Hispanic immigrants– continue to play an important role in establishing new companies and creating American job opportunities. In 2012, firms owning at least 50 percent of Hispanic owners employed nearly 2.7 million Americans. Loro
Davalos, a shopkeeper in Racine, Wisconsin, is a model of many Hispanic immigrants who have created jobs and opportunities for American workers. One of his daughters owns an insurance company in Chicago that employs 60 people. The businesses founded by Hispanics
24 also generate significant economic benefits for the US broader economy and workforce (13-
18).
6.1.3. Workforce Contributions
In 2015, nearly half of Hispanics were between the ages of 25 and 64 or of working age, making them a very important part of the American workforce now. In fact, Hispanics as a whole are already widely represented in the many industries vital to the US economy. They made up a large percentage of the workforce in the industry, helping farms and companies to thrive and be able to operate on the American soil. Of all workers in the industry, Hispanics generally make up nearly a third of the workforce (How Hispanic Contribute to the U.S.
Economy 19-22).
In 2015, employment opportunities were available to 2 million designated agricultural workers across the United States, through the contributions of agriculture, fishing, forestry, and hunting industry of more than $175 billion to the GDP of the United States. In the same year, the number of Hispanics employed in the administrative support and waste management sector was 27.5 percent. That sector includes a diverse group of jobs, most notably floor maintenance workers, janitors and building cleaners, and security guards. Likewise, the more than 2.9 million Hispanics in the accommodation and food service sector represent 25.4 percent of all these workers (19-22).
Hispanic Americans also make significant contributions to the construction sector by starting businesses and creating jobs for American workers. More than 480,000 construction companies in the United States were mostly Hispanic owned in 2012. In addition, Hispanic business owners have also played an important role in many other essential sectors. Hispanics owned more than one in five transportation and storage companies and nearly one in four
25 companies in the broad industry category including administrative support and waste management in 2015 (19-22).
6.2. Politics
According to Ghandi, „„you must be the change you wish to see in the world,‟‟ this statement for a lot of Hispanics was clear. And because there are so many ways in which
Hispanics are changing the world, Politics was and remains the most influential method.
Through the hard work, Hispanic men and women are paving the way for a better future
(Undefined and Images).
In 1822, Hispanic Americans have served in Congress. Joseph Marion Hernández was the first Hispanic American member of Congress. From 1822 to 1823, he served as the Territorial
Delegate from the Florida Territory as a Whig. After that, the territory of New Mexico was represented by a succession of statesmen, businessmen, veterans and intellectuals. From 1928 to 1929, Octaviano Larrazolo represented the state of New Mexico, he also considered as the first Hispanic American senator. Totally, eight Hispanic Americans have represented their electors as members of the US Senate. Including three who are serving in the current 113th
Congress. On the House side, from 12 states and 4 territories –including Arizona, California,
Idaho, Louisiana, New York and Texas– 100 Hispanic Americans have served and still represent the United States (Allen).
According to the emmediate and pervious US presidents, Whilest many members back to their communities for serving it, Hispanic members of the US Congress have strengthened their political lives by serving the country as prime ministers and ambassadors even after their political lives ends. A post from the US House of Representatives Historian Office examines the political path for Hispanic regional delegates, resident commissioners and congressmen,
26 and senators in the history of the US nation. Shortly, Melissa Morales, Bianca Ortiz, Martínez
Castro, Sonia Sotomayor and so on, they are all powerful Hispanic women and men who help shape American politics, they make history everywhere they go (Allen).
6.3. Defense
On Memorial Day, Americans will give a major tribute to those who paid their lives as price of loyalty and service to America, also to the men and women who have served in the
United States Armed Forces. Every ethnic group contributed to the formation of this mosaic that is called America. Specifically, the Hispanic men and women who have served the United
States since the early, to the desperate days of the Revolution bravely and eagerly (Schmal).
In the Civil War from 1861 to 1865, Hispanics split in their loyalties as the other racial groups did, they fought bravely for the Union and the Confederate army. The most of them were incorporated in the regular army or as volunteers. Hispanic Americans have been particularly effective in protecting the Southwest, specifically in California, Arizona, and New
Mexico, from the Confederacy advance (Hispanics in the United States Army).
In January 1943, 13 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States enter the
World War II, during the spring of 1944, the Sixty-Fifth Infantry Regiment was deployed to
Panama Canal Zone before deploying overseas again. Hispanics who served in the United
States Armed Forces during World War II were almost between 400,000 to 500,000, according to House concurrent resolution 253. General Douglas MacArthur called the 158th
Infantry Regiment of the National Guard in Arizona, "Bushmasters," which considered as one of the greatest combat squads deployed to battle. The regiment consisted of many Hispanic soldiers (Hispanics in the United States Army).
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Just as in previous generations, Hispanic Soldiers and women should be proud of their important contributions to the wars and their embodiment values, that made the American
Army United as one person despite the race diversity. All in all, in the 2017 Hispanic Heritage
Month entitled: "Shaping the bright future of America," McCaffrey declared of the Hispanics
Soldiers, "They represent how much of our nation's history has been shaped by the great service of Hispanic Americans in war and in peace" (Carter).
To conclude, Hispanics are proud of their honorable history in US military service from the days of the Civil War to the present day. All Hispanic races answered the call of duty, defending America with unwavering valor and honor. Hispanic society continues its bold sacrifices to bring freedom to people, to achieve justice against terrorists. Today, thousands of
Hispanic American Soldiers around the world are fighting in emergency operations, as well as, fighting to protect the nation in the most noble endeavors.
6.4. Science and Technology
For centuries, many prominent scientists of Spanish-speaking origins and cultures continued to emerge. As well as, many Latin Americans have had notable contributions to medicine, science, technology ,and mathematics. In 2014 celebration's of the Hispanic
Heritage Month, UMHS Endeavour spotlight on Hispanic doctors, scientists and teachers who made a difference. Those kind of ceremonies are held in honor of these sicentist, scholars, clinicians, and educators, as an inspiration for all students at American and Caribbean medical schools (Harrah).
No one can deny the fact that, many Hispanics and Latinos wrote their names among the excelled astronamors. There is no better example to begin with than, the first Hispanic female astronaut Ellen Ochoa. In spring 1999, she helped ferry supplies from the space shuttle
28
Discovery to the International Space Station, only in her third trip into space (Gerbis). Prof.
Pedro A. Sanchez is also considered as one of those who funded their education at Cornell
University, je has led groundbreaking soil science research to improve soil quality and boost food production throughout the developing world. Thanks to his work spurring the Green
Revolution, 15 million people are no longer hungry today (Staff).
In addition, there are also many Hispanic Americans who have excelled in science, among them Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff, she was the third Mexican American woman to earn a doctorate degree in science. Among her many scientific achievements, her most notable work was the first-ever production of insulin from bacterial cells. Most insulin is produced for human use using the techniques provided by Dr. Komaroff today. Also, Dr. Frances Colón,
She grew up in Puerto Rico with a doctorate in Neuroscience from Brandeis University. Colón served nearly five years as a science and technology advisor, becoming the highest-ranking
Hispanic scientist in the State department. Prior to this position, she worked as a science and technology advisor to then Secretary of State John Kerry. In 2009, Colon led the Energy and
Climate Partnership for the Americas. In 2015, she was presented at the United Nations
Committee on Science and Technology (Staff).
Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, is Cuban American. Known as the "Next Einstein". She completed her undergraduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is now pursuing a PhD in Physics from Harvard University. In 2015, she completed her first research paper on electromagnetic memory. Also, Mario Molina, from his childhood in Mexico, he was known as the alchemist. He has studied in Switzerland, Germany and Mexico and holds a PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. Molina continued his postdoctoral research within three months. And in 1995 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. To end up,
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Hispanics shine in all spheres of American life from science, astronomie to medicine and technology (Staff).
To sum up, this chapter introduced some of the exceptional characteristics of the recent immigration of Hispanics to the United States. Over the past decades, Hispanic immigration from Latin America to the United States has grown rapidly, leading to an increase in the total population of Hispanic descent in the US. This social group commonly referred to as
Hispanics includes all immigrants from Latin American countries and their descendants. The
Hispanic population has profound implications and contributions to the United States, including: economy, politics, defense, science and technology. In both the source and destination countries, the current wave of Hispanic immigration to the United States could bring about significant economic and social changes.
It will be difficult for the United States to develop a set of policies to deal effectively with this disruptive but potentially beneficial immigration. In fact, Unlike former immigrants to the
United States, Hispanic immigrants are less likely than former immigrants to the United States to integrate, learn English, and reach income parity with native-born Americans, and instead they have shaped their own culture and language, and this threatens to divide the United States into: two peoples, two cultures and two languages, which lead to the formation of a threat to the American identity.
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Chapter Two: Hispanic Minority’s Threat to American Identity: Is it a Fact
or Fiction?
During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, America was created by settlers who were predominantly white, British, and Protestant. Firstly, they identified America in terms of culture, race, ethnicity, and religion. Then, they also defined America ideologically to justify independence from their home country. "Creed" was introduced by Thomas Jefferson in the
Declaration of Independence, and after being confirmed by statesmen, the public espoused it as an essential component of American identity. A large numbers of southern and eastern
European immigrated to America, because of the political liberties, and economic opportunities it made possible. so, ethnicity virtually disappeared as a determinant of national identity, and Americans now view their country as multi-ethnic and multi-racial.
Americans focused on economic costs and the benefits of immigration, ignoring its social and cultural consequences. They ignored the problems posed by contemporary Spanish immigration. So, the most serious challenge to American identity comes from the massive and persistent emigration of Latin America. This could lead to the final transformation of
Americans into two languages (English and Spanish) and two peoples with two cultures. So,
The objective of this chapter is to shed light on how Hispanics tried to be a power in the the
United States? and how that power raised to be considered as a threat to American identity?
Then demonstrating if that threat was fact or fiction?
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1. The Concept of Identity
The concept of identity is unclear, varied and difficult to define. Scholars have recently paid much attentions to questions about identity, which itself remains a mystery. In this regard, the sociologist Hall Stuart states that:
"Identities are never unified and, in the late modern times, increasingly
fragmented and fractured; never singular but multiply constructed across
different, often intersecting and antagonistic discourses, practices and
positions. They are subject to radical historicization, and are constantly in the
process of change and transformation"(Hall and Gay 1-17).
Often, scholars and academic users of the word identity show no need to clarify its meaning to readers. In popular discourse, identity generally refers to something sacred, while in the academy, identity is often treated as something complex. The following examples which mainly chosen from several areas and references provided definitions and brief explanations of the concept of identity: identity is “people‟s concepts of who they are, of what sort of people they are, and how they relate to others” (Hogg and Abrams). Or “Identity is used in this book to describe the way individuals and groups define themselves and are defined by others on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language, and culture” (Deng).
For others the word Identity “refers to the ways in which individuals and collectivities are distinguished in their social relations with other individuals and collectivities” (Jenkins). Or simply, “My identity is defined by the commitments and identifications which provide the frame or horizon within which I can try to determine from case to case what is good, or valuable, or what ought to be done, or what I endorse or oppose” (Taylor).
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According to the previous definitions, the difference, ambiguity and complexity between these definitions is striking. At the same time, the definitions seem to suggest a common core concept. To sum up, despite all studies, the concept of identity remains something of an enigma.
2. American Identity
Hundreds of years ago, immigrants came to the United States in search of freedom, a better life, and the fulfillment of the American dream. Being an American means upholding the values of independence, responsibility and freedom. Patriotism and unity are the two main factors for a nation's identity. These values were coined by ancestors, and are still vibrant in
American culture from East to West. The current American identity has also been affected by many factors, such as borders, melting pot and political ideas about this nation (Sun).
In recent years, identity has become very prominent in American culture. How do you look, where you come from, how much you earn and how to speak are superficial points that many use to classify you into a particular group or another. However, since the founding of the
United States, scholars and critics have sought more depth to understand what constitutes an
American national identity. They were interested in explaining the competing components that emerge from appeal, acceptance and merging of values efforts. But most of them accept the notion that American identity is unique and exceptional by looking at the United States as the first global nation in the world (Sun).
The American identity was also shaped by the Anglo-Protestant culture that preserves
Americans as a white English-speaking Protestant of Northern European origin. As Roger
Smith the American historian and political scientist claimed:
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“…from the outset of the nation many Americans chiefly identified
membership in their political community not with freedom for personal
liberal callings or republican self-governance…but with a whole array of
particular cultural origins and customs-with Northern European, If not
English, ancestry; with Christianity, especially dissenting Protestantism, and
its message for the world; with the white race; with patriarchal familiar
leadership and female domesticity; and with all economic and social
arrangements that came to be seen as the true, traditional American way of
life.” (Theiss-Morse 77)
On the one hand, liberalism is overwhelmingly seen as the defining core of what makes
Americans American in terms of shared beliefs in equal opportunity with democracy, political, and economic liberties. The liberalization of borders in American society gives Americans who do not violate political and economic liberties and the rights of others, therefore support liberal values. On the other hand, ethnoculturalism has been a defining element of American identity. Other notions of American identity like: incorporationism and republicanism have received less interpretation and analysis from scholars, despite the widespread interest of social thinkers in explaining both liberalism and ethnoculturalism (Schildkraut).
There is an American identity drawn from the notion positive experience, and best illustrated by men like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. It is tolerant in human experience, but it is fully human in its aspirations. People who were not born in America can claim it, where many foreigners are born better than the original one. It is the combined effect of five specific values, which unite in a very special way to produce the American spirit.
Firstly, individualism, and confession that humans have identities that are separate from their
34 external backs. They oppose individualism, a personal identity that excludes others, and a collective consciousness, in which everyone thinks and behave the same (Sun).
Secondly, "Resistant Cooperation", a term that Wenton Marsalis coined to describe jazz.
The desire to solve living problems with people we may not particularly like. It supports the art of compromise, a principle that reinvigorates American life. Thirdly, freedom, which is faith that there are no artificial borders, or that the future is determined by learning and valor not by darkness and dread. Fourthly, the agency, exercising power and authority that is kept in trust, and is linked to the responsibility of others (Sun).
Fifthly, integrity, living on a personal standard has the courage to advertise, rejects hypocrisy and confirms live, and its value is its reliability. These values are carried by all people to some degree, but all five existing values simultaneously, and equally active, are at the core of American identity, and derived from America‟s best experience, this experience reflects things that a free society is based on (Sun).
To sum up, it takes more than just baseball, blond hair, and blue eyes to get an American identity. Americans today may have fair, white, black, yellow, and different types of skin colors. They do not have a certain size or shape. What makes them Americans is all the knowledge and freedom that their great predecessors gave to them. Basically, American identity is also related to religion, history, culture and land. As Samuel Huntington notes:
“For people throughout the world, national identity is often linked to a
particular piece of earth. It is associated with places of historical or cultural
significance…or lands where they believe their ancestors have lived since
time immemorial (Germany, Spain). These peoples speak of their
“fatherland” or “motherland” and “sacred soil”, loss of which would be
tantamount to the end of their identity as a people....People may also see
35
some specific locale as the historical, cultural, and symbolic heart of the
nation.”(Huntington 49-50)
3. Hispanic Minority's Threat to American Identity is a Fact
Unlike previous immigrant groups, the prevailing American culture was not assimilated by
Hispanics (Mexicans and other Latinos), forming instead their own culture and rejecting the
Anglo-Protestant values that built the American Dream. Stanford University historian David
Kennedy has pointed out: “The income gap between the United States and Mexico is the largest between any two contiguous countries in the world.” Consequently, the continuous flow of Hispanic immigrants threatens to divide the United States into two peoples, two cultures and two languages (Huntington 30).
3.1. A History of Hispanic Achievement in America: Hispanics Become an
American Minority
In the first half of the twentieth century, the world changed completely with Hispanics who lived in America. Spanish culture will grow into three groups united by the Spanish language: people of Caribbean descent who have often migrated to the cities of the East Coast, those
Hispanics whose origins date back to old Mexico, and a small group of European Spaniards.
As the Hispanic population increased, they found themselves a new minority in America.
They face the worst types of discrimination and became isolated, they even lost their civil rights and deported to foreign countries. However, individuals of this population achieved greatness on the international stage (A History of Hispanic Achievement in America:
Hispanics Become an American Minority).
The massive emigration of Hispanics affects the United States, where important parts of the country become predominantly Hispanic in language and culture, and the nation as a whole
36 becomes bilingual and bicultural. Hispanics also contributed to the achievement of the West, in entertainment, education, journalism, business, in medicine and science, politics, in sports, civil rights, and more. Highlights the Spanish-American War, the US began its Mexican-
American campaign to return home, Pancho Gonzales as the first Hispanic American superstar, Luis Walter Alvarez assists in developing the atomic bomb, and Dennis Chavez as the first Hispanic elected to the US Senate (A History Of Hispanic Achievement In America:
Hispanics Become An American Minority).
The most important region where the Hispanization rapidly advanced is southwest. As historian Kennedy argues, in the Southwest, Mexican Americans will soon have “sufficient coherence and critical mass in a defined region so that, if they choose, they can preserve their distinctive culture indefinitely. They could also eventually undertake to do what no previous immigrant group could have dreamed of doing: challenge the existing cultural, political, legal, commercial, and educational systems to change fundamentally not only the language but also the very institutions in which they do business” (Huntington 40).
It seems that many Hispanic immigrants and their children do not deal with the United
States in the first place. For example, in 1994, Mexican Americans vigorously demonstrated against California's Proposition 187 - (also known as the Save Our State (SOS) initiative) which prohibit undocumented migrants from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in California - by walking through the streets of Los Angeles waving dozens of Mexican flags and holding American flags upside down. As another example, in 1998, in a football match between Mexico and the United States in Los Angeles,
Mexican Americans mocked the American national anthem and attacked American players
(40).
37
In 1992, a study of immigrant children in both southern California and Florida posed the question: “How do you identify, that is, what do you call yourself?” The largest proportion of children born in Mexico (41.2%) identified themselves as "Hispanic", while the second largest
(36.2%) chose "Mexican". Less than 4% answered "American" among Mexican American children born in the United States, compared to 28.5% to 50% of those born in the United
States with parents from other places in Latin America. As a result, whether born in Mexico or the United States, the majority of the Mexican generation did not choose the “American” as their initial identity (40-44).
A re-conquest of the southwestern United States by Mexican immigrants is underway.
Many authors have referred to the southwestern United States as well as northern Mexico as
"Amexica", "Mexifornia", or "MexAmerica". In 2001, a former county commissioner in El
Paso, Texas announced “We are all Mexicans in this valley.” As well, Professor Charles
Troxillo of the University of New Mexico predicts that the southwestern states of the United
States and the northern states of Mexico will form República del Norte (The Republic of the
North) by 2080 (42).
This trend could merge dominant Mexican regions into a culturally, economically, and linguistically independent group within the United States. Thus, it becomes an ethnic group so concentrated that it will not need to be integrated into the mainstream of American multi- ethnic English-speaking life (42).
3.2. The Hispanic Challenge to American Identity
The Hispanic challenge to American identiy tackles the issue of US identity in the light of the growing role played by the Hispanics. Regardless of the national identity of Americans, create a large and distinguished Spanish-speaking community with economic and political
38 resources enough to maintain Hispanic identity. The Hispanic challenge has been present in various degrees throughout the history of the United States, based largely on race, ethnicity, culture, anti-Catholicism, economic and social conditions in Latin America, and the use of the
Spanish language (Rumbaut).
3.2.1. Spanish as the Second National Language of the United States
Immigrants came from many different countries, spoke different languages, and overcame several difficulties in reaching the United States. They had no historical claim to any
American territory. But they dispersed in many rural areas and major cities. Differently, it was difficult for Mexicans to understand American culture and society. Also, they have failed to approximate U.S. norms in education, intermarriage rates, and economic status. The evidence for acquiring English and retaining Spanish among Hispanic immigrants is ambiguous. So, the size and persistence of Hispanic immigration tends to perpetuate the use of the Spanish language through successive generations.
The Spanish language retention is also supported by the majority of Mexican and Hispanic immigrants who stress the need for their children to be fluent in Spanish. The second or third generation of Mexican Americans grew up speaking only English, but learned Spanish as adults and encouraged their children to master it. Although the second and third generation
Mexican Americans and others of Hispanic descent are proficient in the English language, it seems that they are also deviating from the usual pattern by maintaining their Spanish proficiency. The University of New Mexico Professor Chris Garcia said that the competence of the Spanish language is "the only thing that every Hispanic is proud of and wants to protect and promote" (Huntington 36-38).
39
Spanish language advocates are considering presenting a convincing case that in a shrinking world, all Americans must know at least one important foreign language - Russian,
Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, or Spanish - to understand a foreign culture and communicate with its people. Hispanic leaders are also actively seeking to transform the United States into a bilingual community. "The English language is not enough," says Osvaldo Soto, president of the Spanish American Association Against
Discrimination (Huntington 38).
Spanish speakers in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York can live a normal lives without knowing the English language through the massive and continuous influx of Hispanic immigrants. The majority of children in bilingual education in New York are Spanish speakers, and therefore they have no incentive to use English in school. If bilingual education becomes mainstream in primary and secondary schools, teachers are increasingly expected to be bilingual. Hispanic organizations also play a pivotal role in urging the US Congress to authorize cultural conservation programs in bilingual education.
In addition, bilingual programs, which go one step beyond bilingual education, have become increasingly popular. In these programs, students are taught in English and Spanish on an alternative basis with the aim of making English speakers fluent in Spanish and Spanish speakers fluent in English, making Spanish equal to English and converting the United States into country with two languages (Huntington 38).
In fact, American companies turn to Hispanic clients means that they increasingly need bilingual employees; therefore, bilingualism affects profits. The salaries of bilingual police officers and firefighters in southwestern cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix are paid more than those who only speak English. Also, an increasing number of Americans (especially black
40
Americans) will not be able to obtain the jobs or wages that they would otherwise receive because they can only speak in English to their citizens (39).
For politics and government, in many countries, those looking for a political office might have to master both languages. Bilingual candidates for the presidency and elected federal positions would have an advantage over those who speak English only. Use of the two languages could become acceptable in congressional hearings and debates and in the general conduct of government actions. Government documents and forms can also be published in both languages. Since most of those whose first language is Spanish will most likely have some fluency in English, English speakers who lack fluency in Spanish are more likely to feel bad in competing for jobs, promotions and contracts.
In May 2001, President Bush celebrated Mexico's national holiday, Cinco de Mayo, by opening the practice of broadcasting the weekly Presidential Radio Speech to the American
People in English and Spanish. In September 2003, the first discussions between the
Democratic presidential candidates were also held in English and Spanish. Despite opposition from the vast majority of Americans, Spanish joins the language of Jefferson, Lincoln,
Kennedy, Washington, and Roosevelts as the language of the United States (40).
3.2.2. Hispanic Contributions to American Culture
For centuries, Mexican flavors and foods have influenced American cuisine. And by the last half of the twentieth century, the Mexican foods spread to every corner of the country, in addition to its traditional dishes such as tortilla, tacos, tamales, enchiladas, and chutney, new dishes have emerged reflecting the blend of Mexican American and the other Hispanic cultures in the US. Nowdays, the American cuisine has deeply affected by the Hispanic culture specifically (The Mexican Food Revolution).
41
Today the most popular and the favorite cuisines in the US, are Hispanic and Latin
American cuisines (especially Mexican), they had become so prevalent in American culture that many people no longer see it as ethnic food, and they have had a great influence on the
American eating habits such as, the Mexican Tex-Mex is considered as the very common and oldest Mexican food in American society, the Perutain Ceviche dish, is considered one of the most delicious food among Americans, tortilla, chips and salsa now are considered as the best selling snacks in the US, and Churrascarías, one of Hispanic American food that gained popularity in the US urban areas (Latino/a and Hispanic Culture in the US).
Even with tensions over the flow of new immigrants from Hispanic in some parts of the country are rising, the majority of Americans prefer to have Hispanic foods in their daily meals. Moreover, translations of the Mexican traditional foods into cookbooks, restaurants and supermarkets products is considered as cultural pride for the Mexican immigrants and
Mexican American residents (The Mexican Food Revolution).
Hispanics had a significant influence in the field of movies and entertainment, as an example there are some celebrities such as: Eva Longoria, who is famous for portraying
Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, Sofia Vergara, who stars in the TV series Modern
Family as Gloria Delgado, and Antonio Banderas, who starred in The Mask of Zorro,
Interview with the Vampire, and portrayed the voice of Puss in Boots in Shrek. Also, Hispanic music became one of the most beloved melodies to the American ears. The film making and
TV program industry contributed to the spread of the Hispanic culture, language and the
Hispanic beauty standards (Hispanic Influence on American Culture).
There is influence from many different cultures in almost any sport played in the US.
Hispanics had the major ones. Baseball is considered the only sport developed by the
Hispanicss. Despite the fact that many consider their presence is recent in this game, except
42 that they have been a part of baseball since the nineteenth century. Especially when Cuban students traveled from the United States back to Cuba, where they introduced the game to their friends and family. From then on, baseball spread to other Latin American countries quickly, and in the United States sailors, miners, railroad workers, and missionaries played a major role, introducing the games by exhibition with local teams. Baseball in the United States developed in part because of the important contributions of native and Latin American players
(Alamillo).
To conclude, as the Hispanic population grows exponentially, most of them feel more comfortable with their culture and disdaining the American one, they are calling for recognition of Hispanic culture and historical Mexican identity of the US Southwest. They pay great attention to their Hispanic and Mexican past, and they celebrate it with pride, for example, the ceremonies of the 1998 and festivals in Madrid, New Mexico, which attended by the Spanish vice president, honoring the establishment 400 years before the first European settlement in the Southwest, almost a decade before the Jamestown.
3.2.3. Hispanic Intermariage
The United States is proud of its historical success as a "nation of immigrants" capable of absorbing and uniting people from diverse lands and cultures. At the same time, it seems that the pride of Americans in their immigrant heritage is often influenced by the disturbing fear that the latest arrivals are somewhat different, and that the recent wave of foreigners will not integrate into the mainstream of American society. Therefore, in large measure, concern about the long-term integration of immigrant families in the United States is the concern about
Hispanic families (Duncan & Trejo, 2011).
43
Dramatically, the engine of Mexican business growth, entrepreneurship, and the strong response to naturalization drives measures the depth of Mexico's in America. Another measure of acculturation and assimilation is intermarriage (Duncan & Trejo, 2011). External marriage is extremely important because there is no intimate and dependent way in which newcomers can be incorporated into society more than that for them and their grandchildren to marry across racial lines, in other words, the benefit of interracial marriage is that it increases the chance for positive interracial encounters (Qian, Lichter, & Tumin, 2018).
Since intermarriage is often seen as a fusion test in mainstream society, Huntington claims that Mexicans refuse to become part of American society because they show no interest in getting married outside of their ethnic group. According to Huntington, the reluctance
Hispanics (especially Mexicans) to have non-Hispanic partners is simply another indication of the inability of Mexican immigrants to acculturate, but according to recent research, the vast majority of Hispanics, especially Mexicans, have married outside Hispanic populations (Qian,
Lichter, & Tumin, 2018). As Henry G. Cisneros stressed:
“Latino intermarriage rates are nothing short of breathtaking. Freshly arrived
newcomers-first-generation immigrants-rarely marry outside the group. But
their offspring do: nearly a third of second-generation Latinos and 57 percent
in the third generation and higher marry a non-Latino....As a consequence of
this intermarriage, there are now some two million children living in mixed
Hispanic/non-Hispanic households, with many millions more sure to come.
The good news is that these mixed families tend to be prosperous and well
educated-more so than unmixed Latino families and closer to the norms for
non-Latino whites.” (Cisneros & Rosales 50)
44
The public card of the future is how these children classify themselves. When asked by the
Census Bureau, two-thirds identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino. But one-third do not, they simply identifying themselves as black, white or "some other race." And this trend will have far-reaching consequences, not only for the official number of Hispanics in America, but also for the way Americans think as a nation of ethnic and racial identity classes that are getting more flexible with each passing year (50).
According to sociologists' expectations, intermarriage will become more and more common in the future for many reasons including: changing social norms, continuing high levels of immigration, acceptance of mixed couples, and massive momentum. Nearly half of all children of mixed race or mixed race do what their parents did in marrying someone from another group, and the results pledged to transform American society (50).
3.2.4. Hispanic Occupation and Income
While there are a number of factors that influence income movement in the United States, access to educational capital is undoubtedly the main factor promoting economic mobility in
American society. The high-income employment mobility is affected by the current characteristics of the US labor market, which requires an advanced level of education to obtain higher profits and salaries. So, Huntington claims that Mexican migrants face widespread poverty with lower wages and less opportunities for economic mobility due to lower educational progress, they are characterized by the smallest and poorest entrepreneurship and self-employment that usually accompany economic stagnation and widespread poverty. He argues:
“The economic position of Mexican immigrants parallels, as would expect,
their educational attainment….Overall, Mexican immigrants are at the
45
bottom of economic ladder….Few Mexican immigrants have been
economically successful in Mexico; hence presumably relatively few are high
likely to be economically successful in the United States. In addition, any
significant improvement in economic status of Mexican-American depends
on improvement of their educational level, and the ongoing influx of poorly
educated people from Mexico makes that difficult.” (Huntington 235)
Contrary to Huntington's assertion, Hispanic-owned businesses are among the fastest growing in the vibrant sector of small American companies. From 1997 to 2002, the Census
Bureau study, found that small Latin companies had grown at triple the national average for all small businesses. Hispanics owned 1.6 million non-agricultural companies, in 2002. They employed 1.5 million people and generated $222 billion in business revenue, and they formed the largest minority business community and owned 6.6% of all US companies. Census
Bureau Director Louis Kincanon said, "The growth we see in Hispanic-owned businesses illustrates the changing fabric of America's business and industry. With Hispanic businesses among the fastest growing segments of our economy, this is a good indicator of how competitiveness is driving the American economy" (Cisneros & Rosales 72-73).
• There were 29,184 Hispanic firms with receipts of $1 million or more.
• There were 1,508 Hispanic firms with 100 employees or more, which accounted for $42
billion in gross receipts.
• More than 1.4 million Latino-owned businesses have no employees. These are the self-
employed, the micro-businesses.
Economist Barbara Robles noticed that: "The data are suggestive and com- pelling: The growth engine for Hispanic business is occurring among the self- employed and the micro- entrepreneur. If we were to assume that a continued modest growth rate of 30 percent has
46 occurred between 2002 and 2007 for micro-entrepreneurs, our current Hispanic micro- business universe stands at 1.8 million and conceivably higher, given the increases in Hispanic population growth during the same time period" (Cisneros & Rosales 72-73).
Indeed, Mexican-owned companies and entrepreneurship act as an important indicator of increased employment and revenue. In the same regard, Susan Sobott, president of OPEN from American express and the founding partner of the Make Mine a Million $ Business program makes this prediction: “One million women at one million dollars in revenues by
2010 means a possible four million new jobs and $700 billion to the U.S. economy.” This undoubtedly shows that there are promising opportunities, and a rapid expansion in Hispanic- owend business sector (Cisneros & Rosales 78).
3.3. National Hispanic Heritage Month
One of the most amazing things in the United States is the way many cultures have been able to establish a foothold in America and contribute to its national culture. The United States government has established several heritage months, honoring significant contributors to modern American culture. In fact, there are many heritage months in the United States, but
Hispanic Heritage Month is one of the most important national celebrations because the role that people from Spain, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean have played in the culture and history of America (Corujo).
It is clear that places such as Southwestern America were once an official part of Latin
America until 1848, but the Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration that extends beyond borders and connects everyone as if they were Americans. The National Hispanic Heritage month is an official celebration, that has been for more than 400 years in the US. It was created to recognize and honor contributions to the history and culture of the United States,
47 from the past generation of Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America
(Corujo).
The celebrations began in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson for a week-long called the Hispanic Heritage Week. Later on, the celebrations extended to a month depending on the
President Ronald Reagan proposition. In 17 August 1988, the Hispanic Heritage Month was enacted into the law, and the official date for celebrating has been set from September 15 to
October 15 (Borge).
This kind of celebration is used to show the importance of Hispanics heritage in the United
States, Americans celebrate this occasion by eating special Hispanic dishes, donating to charities, as well as, honoring the Hispanics influencers who has a huge impact on the
American society, also learning from their special cultures. In The Presidential Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2019, Donald J. Trump state that:
"National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the accomplishments of
Hispanic Americans, who have enriched our culture and society and helped
make America into the incredible country it is today. Hispanic-American
men and women embody the American values of devotion to faith and
family, hard work, and patriotism through their countless contributions as
leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and members of our Armed Forces."
(Presidential Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2019)
In general, Latin Americans and Hispanics made distinct contributions to the United States in all major areas, such as: army, literature, philosophy, sports, business, economics, science, politics, and specially culture. Overall, Hispanics are working hard to prove their identity in the United States.
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4. Hispanic Minority's Threat to American Identity is Fiction
New research by political scientists has concluded that the available data do not seem to support the claim that Hispanic immigration poses a threat to American identity for several reasons, including: language, identity, education, and citizenship.
4.1. Language
In the late twentieth century, English has been the prevalent language in America and strenuously taught to immigrants. The reason was not only that Americans spoke this language throughout the history, but also because of the variety of languages that different immigrant groups have brought to the United States, to ensure communication between these groups it needs teaching everyone to learn to speak and write in English. Since the early days of nation building, while the United States may have included bilingual people with cultural and linguistic diversity, the history of the United States is marked by the mass extinction of non-
English represented by repression and exclusion. Bilingual use is not an exceptional exercise, but rather a regular practice in the experience of a large portion of the world's population
(Huntington 232).
Inspite the fact that the research on preservation the language of immigrants, presently, has been hampered by the lack of information on the language use or the ability to deconstruct it by generation, Huntington expresses his concerns about the possibilities of absorbing linguistic assimilation of the mexican immigrants, he says: “If the second generation does not reject Spanish out of hand, the third generation is also likely to be bilingual, and the maintenance of fluency in both languages is likely to become institutionalized in the Mexican
American community” (232).
49
Tamara Jacoby president of immigration works disagree with Huntington doubts about language assimilation of the third generation Mexican Americans, arguing that: “Study after study shows that virtually everyone in the second generation grows up proficient in English, and by the third generation, two thirds speak only English” (Jacoby, 2004).
Beginning with the second generation, Hispanics acquire the English language and lose
Spanish quickly, as native-born whites, they seem to be as religious or conformist to work ethics, and largely reject ethnic identification and show national levels equal to native-born whites by the third generation. The vast majority of immigrants by third generation becoming monolingual in English because of traditional patterns of linguistic assimilation. It also indicates that these patterns persist in the case of Hispanics and Mexicans in particular. 50% of the indigenous population living in the households of immigrants born in Mexico either spoke only English or spoke English very well, according to the 2000 Census (Why Hispanic
Immigration is Not a Threat to American Identity).
Other data indicates that 71% of Hispanic immigrants control the English language by the third generation and that "controlling for age, education, income and residential context, 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanics are much more likely than immigrants to speak English well."
The authors note that this "intergenerational rate of linguistic assimilation among the offspring of Mexican immigrants surpassed that of every other immigrant group." Moreover, they found that "the pace of linguistic assimilation among recent Mexican immigrants seems to be more rapid than in the past." (Why Hispanic Immigration is Not a Threat to American Identity)
Particularly, Scholars like sociologists Richard Alba & Victor Nee are more hopeful. They think that assimilation will remain as large as it was the case for the European wave, almost from 1850 to 1930. In this regard, Richard Alba notes:
50
“The abundant data about language practices among Hispanics demonstrate
unequivocally that 1) with rare exceptions, U.S.-born Hispanics speak
English well, as do the majority of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for
10 years; 2) about half of the second generation is English dominant; and 3)
by the third generation English dominance, if not monolingualism, is the
prevalent pattern. The seemingly high rates of Spanish use among Hispanics
today are due mainly to very high rates of recent immigration: in 2000, the
foreign-born made up 40 percent of the entire Hispanic population. These
facts do not lay the basis for a separate Spanish-language subsociety.” (Alba
289-296)
As well, there is only Americanism formed by the Anglo-Protestant society, “Mexican-
Americans will share in that dream and in that society only if they dream in English.”
Lawrence H. Fuchs Professor of American Civilization and Politics states: “Actually, most of the grandchildren of Latino immigrants could not dream in Spanish even if they wanted to”
(Brooks).
To conclude, the patterns of language assimilation today are not exactly those that existed in the early twentieth century, but do not appear to pose any real threat to English as a language that promotes a nation and its culture. In the end, all concerns about the place of the
English language in an immigration community and the hopes in a multilingual society,
English is no longer the dominant language. Many languages, especially Spanish, will be spoken in the United States, even by Native Americans, but this is not a radical departure from the American experience. However, almost all immigrants' children and grandchildren accepted the idea that learning English well is necessary.
51
4.2. Identity
Like other nationalists, Huntington is often define what developed the United States constitutes as a country unrelated to ethnic identification that supports racial and ethnic identities. It seems evident that migrants entering into a country whose cultural assumptions are changeful and contested even if they wish to integrate into the mainstream, they will find it more difficult. Migrants are more likely to maintain prior cultural connections and identities in such circumstances (Abdelal, Herrera, Johnston, & Mcdermott 149).
In this respect, Huntington's arguments, which demonstrate Mexico's inherent lack of desire and inability to integrate, do not resist in front of scrutinizetion. For example, cricket test which is proposed by Huntington for national identity, declaring that the Mexican
Americans failed to encourage the American team when it played the Mexican one. This reaction meant that Mexicans had a strong attachment to their homeland, not to their physical or political home. Nevertheless, the Indian economist Amartya Sen argues that the fan test does not prove that ethnic identity and national identity were competing each other, explaining that American immigrants can encourage any football team, and still carry out all citizenship duties and responsibilities towards his country (149).
The 2002 Pew Latino Survey asked respondents to identify themselves with their native country. The result shows that, compared to 68% who primarily indicate their identity with their homeland, only 7% of Hispanic-born abroad identify themselves first as Americans.
However, this disparity between Hispanic born in the United States for overseas-born parents is low: those who define themselves as Americans share 1%, while 43% choose to describe themselves firstly as a person from the country of descent.
52
By the 3rd generation, roughly 65% choose their primary identity to be the American one, and only 23% of respondents preferred relating their identification to their ancestral country.
The assimilation of Hispanics is rapidly progressed if the ultimate criterion of assimilation is measured in terms of self-identification as an American. As with the generations of Hispanic immigrants, in whole times the immigrant families in the United States were increasingly recognized as Americans and reinforced the feeling that they are entirely American.
Importantly, most newcomers distinguish themselves primarily with their ancestor country's flag, however, their self-identification changes dramatically over time (Generational
Differences).
Huntington criticizes the low levels of social, economic, and educational achievement, and because of the profound differences in values and personalities that exist between Mexicans and Americans, he describes Mexicans as “more likely to live in poverty and to be on welfare as most other groups.” He also affirms that the main challenge to American identity is the refusal to accept Anglo-Protestant ethics because he believes that Mexicans show “lack of initiative, self reliance, and ambition; low priority for education; acceptance of poverty as a virtue necessary for entrance into heaven.” They come to America lacking “the Christian religion, Protestant values and moralism, a work ethic, the English language, British traditions of laws, justice, and the limits of government power.” Thus Huntington fears that they will not be adopted once in the United States (Generational Differences).
Most statistics are not consistent with Huntington's arguments, as the 2002 Pew Hispanic
Survey did not reveal a great ethnic difference, showing that Hispanics possess the same
"religious commitment" that other Americans do. Another measure of religiosity is church attendance which holds the same patterns. People of Hispanics seem to attend the church more than a week or so, compared to black and white who refer to religion as either "very
53 important" or "most important" in life, as their levels of religious commitment were very high
(Generational Differences).
Contrary to Huntington's perceptions, and according to the Large Longitudinal Survey, conducted by Professors Vilma Ortiz and Edward Telles as well as from the University of
California at Los Angeles (UCLA), looking at the experiences of four generations of Mexican
Americans between 1965 and 2000, there is a noticeable, persistent, and rapid decline in
Catholicism across Mexican generations, and the acceleration of acculturation in religion is staggering (Telles 16).
Finally, nowadays, most Hispanics know different ways of how to be successful in the
United States. In 1994, scholars Harry P. Pachon and Louis De Sipio conducted a study shows that most Hispanic immigrants have full-time jobs, and they tend to avoid any form of government service and assistance. Generally, the vast majority of Hispanics who had been in the United States for a long time enough to become dominant in English feel that they can work longer hours, and be satisfied and influence their future (Pachon and De Sipio 33-34).
4.3. Education
In the United States, the educational experience for Hispanics is that of accumulated deprivation. Many Hispanic students start formal education without the economic and social resources that many other students receive, and schools are often not equipped to make up for these initial differences. For them, the main flaws often rise from parental immigration, their socioeconomic status, and their lack of information about the American education system.
Insufficient school resources and the weak Hispanic students' relations with their teachers continue to undermine their academic success, While they progress through the education system. Initial flaws continue to accumulate, leading Hispanics to have the lowest levels of
54 high school and university degrees, hampering their chances of finding a stable job
(Schhneider).
Inspite the extending of the Spanish language, Mexican immigrants and their children will speak roughly English. As with the acquisition of this language, Huntington provides some data that shows the very low levels of the US-Mexican education profile beyond high school, stressing that the educational gap between newcomers and US-born lead to a variety of economic, social, and financial ills. The decline in educational attainment, regardless of generation, is highly evident among Mexicans, and Huntington suspects that Hispanic immigrants, especially Mexicans, will take significant steps to narrow the education gap.
Thus, he mentions data with numbers reported from several resources, indicating the following:
“The education of Mexican origin differs significantly from the American
norm. In 2000, 86.6 percent of native-born adults had graduated from high
school…down to 49, 6 percent for all Latin Americans and only 33, and 8
percent for Mexicans. In 1990, the Mexican rate of high school graduation
was half the rate for the entire foreign-born population. According to 1986
and 1988 Current Population Survey, male Mexicans immigrants had a mean
value of 7.4 years of schooling compared to 11.2 for those of Cuban origin,
13.7 for Asians, and 13.1 for non-Hispanic white natives....What is clear is
that the educational achievement of subsequent generations of Mexican-
Americans continue to lag.” (Everett, Rogers, Hummer, & Krueger, 2011)
According to the US Census Bureau, 11% of those over 25 years old have a Bachelor's degree or higher compared to 17% of blacks and 30% of whites, and 49% of Asian
Americans in the same age range; so, Hispanics are among the lowest educated groups
55 in America, despite the fact that their is high educational expectations. As well as, more than a quarter of Hispanic adults have less education than ninth grade, include all
Hispanic groups even new immigrants. Educational attainment for Hispanics varies when it comes to the country of origin (Schhneider).
Compared with other groups, Mexican Americans have the lowest rates of educational attainment, Cuban Americans have the highest levels of high school completion, and “other
Hispanics” have the highest levels of bachelor's degree. According to the growth of Hispanic population in the United States, and the increasing importance of getting a job (even for entry- level jobs) requires a college degree, the barriers Hispanic face in achieving their educational ambitions is a major policy concern (Schhneider).
Shortly, most parents and their children today believe that obtaining a college degree is necessary to obtain a stable job. This attitude is reflected in the educational expectations that parents hold for their children and in the expectations that young people have for themselves, and regardless economic and social resources, high educational expectations can be found among all ethnic and racial groups. Although parents and their children share higher educational goals, their aspirations do not necessarily translate into a post-high school diploma. Particularly, this is true for Hispanic high school students, especially those whose parents have not attended college. In the end, Hispanics living in the United States (especially
Mexicans), have lower levels of education compared to whites and blacks, due to their education outside the United States, in addition to their lack of proficiency in the English language.
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4.4. Citizenship
After learning English, obtaining US citizenship is another crucial measure that defines belonging and becoming fully American, and key to future participation in the American political body. But do Hispanic immigrants show interest in obtaining citizenship?
As with language acquisition, refusers to emigrate present a worrying situation regarding
Hispanic naturalization rates, which tend to be low compared to other groups. In 2001, only about half of Latinos living in the United States had become citizens, and only 34% of
Mexicans. Meanwhile, the steady influx of newcomers from Latin America will inevitably lead to a decrease in the overall average naturalization of the group. Many migrant workers, especially young people, move back and forth between the United States and their countries of origin (Cisneros & Rosales 46-47).
Even legal newcomers are not eligible for naturalization until they live in the United States for five years and it often takes much longer. Also, unless the US Congress does not reform the immigration law, about nine million undocumented Latinos will be prevented from becoming citizens. However, the primary driver of naturalization among Hispanics and
Mexicans in particular, is to secure better life opportunities for children, whose success may serve the social purpose of reducing risks to the household. More importantly, these rising trends will certainly continue in the future as Hispanic rush to become citizens. In general,
Hispanics and Mexicans appear to be on par with previous migrant groups in their inclination to naturalize and if anything is a little higher.
In a nutshell, the United States of America has always been proud of its rich history of immigration. It appears that they have succeeded in integrating millions of immigrants from
57 different backgrounds, since the arrival of the first settlers at the end of the fifteenth century.
The nation-state has constantly relied on migrants to provide much-needed labour, and it has also benefited greatly from their economic contributions, so, immigration has shaped
American society and that its influence is still deeply rooted in the American way of life.
However, migration remains a controversial topic, not only on the political and economic agenda but also from a cultural perspective.
The prominent debate about immigration and its consequences today is a growing field of research for political scientists, and has broad implications for immigrants and American citizens alike. The previous study examines the validity of allegations made in the immigration debate regarding threats to American identity. Given the large influx of new immigrants, it has shown that the threat is understandable but in reality, the impact of these new inflows of immigrants is less important than most Americans think.
In general, Hispanic immigration has had an effect on: race, language, and religion as the various elements of American identity. However, none of the changes can be described as destructive. They are mostly small and cannot challenge the Anglo-Saxon white Protestant power firmly established in the United States.
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Conclusion
America is often reflected in the term melting pot, which describes the idea of assimilation of diverse nationalities into American life. From all over the world, many people have been immigrating to the United States for hundreds of years. While the first wave of immigrants came from Western Europe, the bulk of people entering North America were from Northern
Europe, then Eastern Europe, followed by Latin America and Asia. There was also the forced migration of African slaves.
As a result, Native Americans, who did not migrate but inhabited the land before emigration, were displaced. As they went through the process of assimilation, most of these groups also experience a period of deprivation and prejudice. Today, the United States is experiencing a large influx of immigrants from all over the world. Race relations remain problematic in the United States, characterized by discrimination, persecution, violence, and an ongoing struggle for power and equality.
The United States is often called the land of immigrants. It is a country with more than one ethnic group and a large variety of different nationalities. Therefore, the racial structure of
America is very heterogeneous and its composition changes permanently. This is the reason why the American people have difficulty defining their very own unique identity. The term identity is often used in relation to the United States of America to describe what it really means to be American. It describes identity of a person and the feeling of belonging to one nation and includes not only ethnicity, politics, and economics but also language, religion, education, social services, sports, the media and arts. Therefore, the core of the American identity is its unique characteristics, which distinguish it from all other cultures and countries.
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It is very common to walk in the streets of any American city today, and hear someone speak Spanish or see restaurant signs written in Spanish. In the United States, the term
Hispanic is often used to refer to Hispanics or Latinos. However, it is coined by the federal government to refer to people born in the Spanish-speaking countries of America or those who trace their ancestors to Spain or the former Spanish territories.
In addition to previous waves of immigration in the twentieth century, many Hispanic immigrants came to the United States from a wide variety of backgrounds and nationalities.
The largest and the oldest subgroup of Hispanics are the Mexican Americans, those who are at the center of national debate about immigration, especially illegal immigrants. Due to the fact that many of them live illegally in the country, many Mexican immigrants experience relatively low rates of economic and civil assimilation, which is likely to worsen on a larger scale. In contrast, Cuban Americans are often considered to be the exemplary minority within the larger Hispanic group. As with Asian Americans, the issue of powerlessness that these minority groups face in American society can be masked from being a model minority.
Hispanic Immigrants face many challenges in the United States, including: differences in the language, which affects their ability to continue education or get a job. Also, education barriers, where the teacher evaluates students' proficiency in a language that is different from their native language, in addition, students going to school without being exposed to literacy activities at home. Moreover, the difficult immigration experience that Hispanics face to reach the United States, leaving behind their community and social support, makes them vulnerable to depression and anxiety. This creates another obstacle in terms of health and psychological care, and they do not have health insurance. Despite all these difficulties, discrimination remains one of the main obstacles that affect the psyche of the Hispanic individual, as they still face it when it comes to fair treatment at work and access to higher education.
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Hispanic immigration differs from previous waves of immigration in several fundamental ways, including: America is the only First World country in the world sharing a long, undefended border with a Third World country, making the crossing both easy and appealing to Mexicans. In addition, Hispanics have settled mainly in the Southwest, most of them are concentrated in Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, and Florida. Compared to other immigrant groups, the number of Hispanics has increased significantly over the past few decades in the United States, and there are some population projections indicating that in the coming decades the number of Hispanics will increase disproportionately. They are increasing significantly and continuously, and one of the most important reasons behind this huge increase is legal and illegal immigration and the increase in births.
Without forgetting the valuable contributions that Hispanics have made to the United States in all major fields including: economy, politics, defense, science and technology. And after the massive spread of Hispanic culture and traditions across the United States, where the Spanish language began to compete vigorously with the English language, it is assumed that Hispanics pose a threat to the American identity. However, other studies do not seem to support the claim that Hispanics pose a threat to American identity, and asserted that this threat is fiction.
This is for several reasons, including: almost all children and grandchildren of immigrants accept that learning English very good is necessary. Also, Hispanics who live in the United
States have lower educational levels, due to their education outside the United States, in addition to their lack of proficiency in the English language. Moreover, the vast majority of
Hispanics who have become dominant in English feel that they can work longer hours, and be satisfied and influence their future.
In a nutshell, although Hispanics spread their culture tremendously, they could not defeat the American identity. when study the issue from another angle, overcoming the American
61 identity is very difficult, because it is an identity that consists of several other identities. In addition, English has been the dominant language of America and was actively taught to immigrants. This was not only because Americans throughout history had spoken this language, but also because, with a variety of languages brought by different immigrant groups to the United States, teaching everyone to learn to speak and write English ensured communication among these groups. Finally, it is also necessary for Americans to take measures to ensure the preservation of the American identity.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 : Map of the United States of America
Source: http://www.United-States-Map.com. Web. 13 June. 2020.
Appendix 2 : Southwest Region of the United States
Source: www.United-States-Map.com. Web. 23 June. 2020.