1 Through their Eyes: Experiences of Mexican Immigrants in Green Bay, Wisconsin Kathryn Ebben 2 To my family, friends, and all the others who helped me along the way, too numerous to name but impossible to forget And for God, with whom all things are possible 3 4 Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................5 Part 1:Introduction to Mexican Immigration .............................................................................7 1. Mexico and Mexican Immigration ...........................................................................................9 2 .Mexicans in the United States ................................................................................................15 3. Mexicans in Wisconsin ..........................................................................................................20 4. St. Willebrord Parish ..............................................................................................................26 Part 2: Narratives of Mexican Immigrants in Green Bay, WI ................................................29 Introduction ................................................................................................................................31 1. Rosa ........................................................................................................................................32 Rosa (Spanish) ........................................................................................................................38 2. Antonio ...................................................................................................................................43 Antonio (Spanish) ...................................................................................................................47 3. Lupe ........................................................................................................................................51 Lupe (Spanish)........................................................................................................................55 4. Francisco ................................................................................................................................59 Francisco (Spanish) ................................................................................................................62 5. Isabel ......................................................................................................................................65 Isabel (Spanish) ......................................................................................................................68 6. Agustin ...................................................................................................................................71 Agustín (Spanish) ...................................................................................................................75 7. Carmen ...................................................................................................................................79 Carmen (Spanish) ...................................................................................................................85 Part 3: Conclusions ......................................................................................................................91 Introduction ................................................................................................................................93 2. Common Themes ...................................................................................................................94 3. Connecting the Data and the Stories ......................................................................................95 4. Ties with the Larger Community ...........................................................................................97 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................99 Appendix A: Discussion Questions ..........................................................................................101 Appendix B: Works Cited ........................................................................................................104 Appendix C: Letter to Possible Interviewees ...........................................................................108 Appendix D: Interview Questions ............................................................................................109 Appendix E: Follow-Up Letter to Interviewees .......................................................................113 5 6 Introduction The United States is a nation of immigrants. The ever-present influx of immigrants has enriched American culture and strengthened this country, although immigration itself has created controversy. Even in the contemporary United States, immigration, especially Mexican immigration, remains a very present and controversial topic. According to the United States Census, there are currently 20,640,711 individuals of Mexican descent living in the United States.1 The number of Mexican immigrants in the United States is greater than the total number of immigrants in any country in the world, with one-third of the number of foreign-born persons living in the United States today having been born in Mexico. 2 This number is not unprecedented, however. Between 1850 and 1870, Irish immigrants composed at least one-third of the foreign-born population in the United States, and Germans made up between one-quarter and one-third of immigrants between 1850 and 1900.3 Despite the precedents that other immigrants provide, Mexican immigrants still face unique challenges in their adjustment to life in the United States. Immigration is a complex issue and each immigrant‟s experience is unique. The development of this book is intended to provide a context for understanding Mexican immigration in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Throughout the first part of this book, I hope to explain how Mexican culture and society affect Mexican immigration in this country and provide an overview of the experience of Mexicans in the United States, with an emphasis on the Green Bay, Wisconsin, community and the assistance that the St. Willebrord Parish provides. The second section is devoted to interviews with seven individuals from the Hispanic immigrant community in this city. The backgrounds of these individuals vary greatly and the stories that they share offer witness to the multiplicity of experiences that characterize immigrants‟ journeys. The third section will conclude the book with connections drawn between the research presented in the first section and the stories told in the second. It will also highlight common experiences among the immigrants interviewed and provide connections with the lives of individuals in the greater Green Bay, Wisconsin, community. The appendix provides discussion questions meant to stimulate conversation and encourage reflection. My desire to create this book was based on my experiences working at St. Willebrord with the Hispanic immigrant population in the summer of 2009. The concept for this book is based on research that taking the perspective of individuals from a different culture may create empathy and lead to a decrease in discrimination. Investigations performed by Margaret Shih, Elsie Wang, Amy Trahan Bucher and Rebecca Stotzer and discussed in the article “Perspective Taking: Reducing Prejudice Towards General Outgroups and Specific Individuals”4 demonstrates that individuals who are able to take the perspective of members from a different cultural group, such as through a movie or a book, are able to relate more to this individual and feel empathy towards him or her. In addition, this feeling of empathy can then translate into a decrease in discrimination towards members of that cultural group. Additional research supports the theory that reading about discrimination and increasing empathy decreases prejudice, as shown by studies done by Krystina Finlay and Walter Stephan.5 I hope that readers of these interviews will gain a more empathetic understanding of these Mexican immigrants in Green Bay, whose values and aspirations are most likely not very different from those of the readers. 1 “Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights: Selected Population Group: Mexican.” U.S. Census Bureau. 26 Oct. 2009 <http://factfinder.census.gov/>. 2 “Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008.” Pew Hispanic Center. 15 Apr. 2009. Pew Research Center. 3 Nov. 2009 <http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/47.pdf>. 3 Ibid. 4 Shih, Margaret et al. “Perspective Taking: Reducing Prejudice Towards General Outgroups and Specific Individuals.” Group Processes Intergroup Relations. 12.5 (2009): 565-577. 5 Finlay, Krystina and Walter Stephan. “Improving Intergroup Relations: The Effects of Empathy on Racial Attitudes.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 30.8 (2000): 1720-1737. 7 8 Introduction to Mexican Immigration 9 10 1. Mexico and Mexican Immigration Introduction to Mexico Mexico is a country of rich cultural diversity. It is the twelfth most populated country in the world and has the fourteenth largest land area.6 The country‟s great size provides for a wide diversity in landscapes, including mountains, plains, plateaus, deserts, and coastline. The heritage of Mexico is equally as impressive. Before the arrival of European conquerors, advanced civilizations