CHAPTER 9
HISPANIC AMERICANS:
Colonization, Immigration, and Ethnic Enclaves
Overview
The emphasis of this chapter is on Mexican Americans, the largest Hispanic group, and it also covers recent immigration from Latin America. The chapter examines race, immigration, federal policy, cultural diversity within and between Hispanic groups, and movements of protest and resistance. The concept of the ethnic enclave is applied to Cuban Americans. The contemporary situations of Hispanic Americans are reviewed using the same organizational format as the previous two case studies, and the chapter ends with the conclusion that the traditional model of assimilation is inadequate to describe and explain the situations of these groups. Included in this chapter are Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans.
Learning Goals
1.
Students
will understand that Hispanic Americans are a diverse and growing part of U.S.
society comprised of many distinct groups.
The three largest groups are Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban
Americans. Hispanic groups do not think
of themselves as a single entity.
2.
Students
will understand that Hispanic Americans have some characteristics of colonized
groups and some of immigrant groups.
They will also understand that these groups are racial minorities in
some ways and ethnic minorities in others.
3.
Students
will understand that since the beginning of the 20th century, Mexico has served
as a reserve labor force for the development of the U.S. economy. Immigrants from Mexico entered a social
system in which the colonized status of the group was already established.
4.
Students
will understand that Mexican Americans remained a colonized minority group
despite the large numbers of immigrants in the group and have been
systematically excluded from opportunities for upward mobility by institutional
discrimination and segregation.
5.
Students
will understand that a Mexican American protest movement has been continuously
seeking to improve the status of the group.
In the 1960s, a more intense and militant movement emerged, guided by
the ideology of Chicanismo.
6.
Students
will understand that Puerto Ricans began to move to the U.S. mainland in large
numbers only in recent decades. The
group is concentrated in the urban Northeast, in the low-wage sector of the job
market.
7.
Students
will understand that Cubans began immigrating after Castro’s revolution in the
late 1950s. They settled primarily in
southern Florida, where they created an ethnic enclave.
8.
Students
will understand that immigration from
Latin America and the Caribbean, especially Mexico, has been considerable since
1965 and has generated considerable controversy, especially regarding
competition for jobs, the primacy of the English language, and whether
immigrants are a tax and welfare burden.
9.
Students
will understand that the overall
levels of anti-Hispanic prejudice and discrimination seem to have declined,
along with the general decline in explicit, overt racism in American society.
However, recent high levels of immigration seem to have increased anti-Hispanic
prejudice and discrimination, especially in areas with large numbers of
immigrants.
10. Students will understand that levels of acculturation are highly variable from
group to group and generation to generation and that acculturation increases
with length of residence.
11. Students will understand that the vitality of Latino cultures has been sustained
by recent immigration.
12. Students will understand that secondary structural assimilation varies from
group to group. Poverty, unemployment, lower levels of educational attainment,
and other forms of inequality continue to be major problems for Hispanic
groups.
13. Students will understand that primary structural assimilation with the dominant
group for Hispanic Americans is greater than for African American and Native
Americans.
14. Students will explore the issue of
immigration from three different perspectives.
Specifically, they will explore the question, "Is immigration
harmful or helpful to the United States?"
15. Students will understand key
concepts related to Hispanic Americans including but not limited to: ethnic minority group, racial minority group,
Latino, Hispanic, repatriation, bracero program,
Operation Wetback, Immigration Reform and Control Act, League of United Latin
American Citizens, Chicano, Alianza de Mercedes,
Cesar Chávez,
Marielitos, and ethnic succession.
Outline
I.
Chapter Overview
A.
Hispanic
Americans are partly an ethnic minority
group (i.e., identified by cultural characteristics such as language) and
partly a racial minority group
(identified by their physical appearance).
B.
Hispanic
Americans are often the victims of racial discrimination in the United
States. Racial differences often (but
not always) overlap with the cultural distinctions and reinforce the separation
of Hispanic Americans from Anglo-American society.
C.
The term Hispanic highlights Spanish heritage and
language but does not acknowledge the roots of these groups in African American
and Native American civilizations. Latino stresses the common origins of
these groups in Latin America and the fact that each culture is a unique blend
of diverse traditions.
II.
Mexican
Americans
A.
Cultural
Patterns - Mexican American and Anglo-American cultures differ in many ways.
1.
The dominant
society is largely Protestant while the majority of Mexican Americans are
Catholic. Religious practices also vary.
Mexican Americans (especially men) are relatively inactive in church
attendance, preferring to express their spiritual concerns in more spontaneous,
less routinized ways.
2.
Little difference exists between the value systems of
Mexican Americans and other Americans of similar length of residence in the
United States, social class, and educational backgrounds.
3.
Many
Mexican Americans may support or practice machismo, a value system that stresses male dominance, honor, virility, and
violence. It also involves being a good provider and a respected father. Machismo exists in Anglo-American culture to
some degree, also.
4.
Mexican
Americans tend to place more value on family relations and obligations than
Anglo-Americans do. Family ties can be
the basis for support networks and cooperative efforts but can also conflict
with the emphasis on individualism and individual success in the dominant
culture.
B.
Immigration.
1.
Since the
early 1900s, a variety of events in Mexico, including the Mexican Revolution,
have motivated people to immigrate. Recently, rising levels of immigration have
been sustained by the strong demand for cheap labor in the United States and the continuing wage gap
between the two nations that makes even menial work in the U.S. attractive to
Mexicans.
2.
Fluctuating
Demand for Labor and Federal Immigration Policy.
a.
Mexico has
served as a reserve pool of cheap labor for the benefit of U.S. businesses,
agricultural interests, and other groups, and the volume of immigration
reflects changing economic conditions in the United States.
b.
Policies of
the federal government have generally encouraged immigration during good times
and clamped down during hard times.
c.
Immigrants
had always tended to move along chains of kinship and other social
relationships, and new policies reinforced those tendencies. The social
networks connecting Latin America with the United States expanded, and the rate
of immigration from Mexico increased sharply after 1965.
d.
Most Mexican
immigrants, legal as well as undocumented, who have arrived since 1965 continue
seeking work in the low-wage, unskilled jobs. For many, work is seasonal or
temporary.
e.
In 1986,
Congress attempted to deal with illegal immigrants, most of whom are thought to
be Mexican, by passing the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). This
legislation allowed illegal immigrants who had been in the country continuously
since 1982 to legalize their status.
C.
Immigration,
Colonization, and Intergroup Competition.
1.
The flow of
population from Mexico was and is stimulated and sustained by powerful
political and economic interests in the United States.
2.
Mexican
immigrants enter a social system in which a colonized status for the
group had already been established.
The paternalistic traditions and racist systems
that were established in the
19th century shaped the positions that were open to
Mexican immigrants in the
20th century.
3.
As
competition and the sense of threat between groups increases, prejudice,
racism, and discrimination increase.
D.
Developments
in the United States.
1. Continuing Colonization.
a.
Throughout
much of the 20th century, Mexican Americans have been limited to the less
desirable, low-wage jobs. Split labor
markets, in which Mexican Americans are paid less than Anglos for the same
jobs, are common. The workforce has often been further split by gender.
b.
As the
United States industrialized and urbanized during the century, employment
patterns became more diversified. Mexican Americans found work in
manufacturing, construction, transportation, and other sectors of the economy.
c.
Like African
Americans in the segregated South, Mexican Americans were excluded from the
institutions of the larger society by law and by custom for much of the 20th
century.
2. Protest and Resistance.
a.
Mexican
Americans have attempted to improve their collective position whenever
possible. Organized resistance and
protest stretches back to the original contact period in the 19th century, when
protest was usually on a local level. Regional and national organizations
emerged in the 20th century.
b.
The
workplace has been a particularly conflictual arena
for Mexican Americans. Split labor market situations increased anti–Mexican
American prejudice. Some labor unions tried to exclude Mexican immigrants. At the same time, Mexican Americans also
played important leadership roles in the labor movement.
3. Chicanismo.
a.
During the
1960s an ideology called Chicanismo emerged that encompassed a variety of organizations
and ideas united by a heightened militancy and impatience with the racism of
the larger society. It demanded justice,
fairness, and equal rights and questioned the value of assimilation.
b.
Chicanismo is similar
in some ways to the black power ideology in that it is partly a reaction to the
failure of U.S. society to implement the promises of integration and equality.
It rejected traditional stereotypes of Mexican Americans, proclaimed a powerful
and positive group image and heritage, and analyzed the group’s past and
present situation in American society.
c.
Some of the
central ideas of the 1960s protest movement are captured in the widespread
adoption of "Chicano" as the group name for Mexican Americans. This
name change marked a fundamental shift in group goals and indicated the desired relationships with the larger
society. It expressed the pluralistic
themes of group pride, self-determination, militancy, and increased resistance
to exploitation and discrimination.
4.
Organizations
and Leaders.
a.
The Chicano
movement saw the rise of many new groups and leaders, one of
the most important of whom was Reies Lopez Tijerina, who formed the Alianza de Mercedes (Alliance of Land Grants) in 1963. The goal of this
group was to correct what Tijerina saw as the unjust
and illegal seizure of land from Mexicans during the 19th century.
b.
Rodolfo
Gonzalez founded the Crusade for Justice in 1965. The crusade
focused on abuses of Mexican American civil and legal rights and worked
against discrimination by police and the criminal courts.
c.
Jose Angel
Gutierrez organized La Raza Unida (People United)
and offered alternative candidates and ideas to Democrats and Republicans.
d.
The
best-known Chicano leader of the 1960s and 1970s was the late Cesar Chávez, who organized the United Farm Workers (UFW), the
first union to successfully represent migrant workers. Chávez's
best-known tactic was the organization of a grape pickers’ strike and a
national grape boycott that began in 1965. The boycott lasted 5 years and ended
when the growers recognized the UFW as the legitimate representative for farm
workers.
5.
Gender and
the Chicano Protest Movement.
a.
Mexican
American women were heavily involved in the Chicano protest movement. Jessie
Lopez and Dolores Huerta were central figures in the movement to organize farm
workers along with Cesar Chávez.
b.
Chicano
women encountered sexism and gender discrimination within the movement even as
they worked for the benefit of the group as a whole.
6.
Mexican
Americans and Other Minority Groups.
a. Like the Black Power and Red
Power movements, Chicanismo began to fade
from public view in the 1970s and
1980s. The movement's clearest victory
was in raising
the awareness of the larger society about the grievances and
problems of
Mexican Americans.
b. Over the course of the 20th
century, the ability of Chicanos to pursue their
self-interest has been
limited by both internal and external forces.
c.
Unlike
immigrants from Europe, who settled in the urban centers of the
industrializing East Coast,
Mexican Americans tended to work and live in
rural areas distant from and
marginal to the urban centers of industrialization
and opportunities for
education, skill development, and upward mobility.
d.
The
traditional model of assimilation does not describe the experiences of
Mexican Americans very well.
They have experienced less social mobility
than European immigrant
groups and have maintained their traditional culture
and language more
completely.
III.
Puerto
Ricans
A. Migration (Push and Pull) and Employment.
1.
At the time of initial contact, the population of Puerto Rico was overwhelmngly
rural and supported itself by subsistence farming and by exporting coffee
and sugar. As the century progressed, U.S. firms began to invest in and
develop the island economy, especially the sugarcane industry. These
agricultural endeavors took more and more of the land. Opportunities for
economic survival in the rural areas declined, and many peasants were forced to
move into the cities.
2. Movement to the mainland began gradually and
increased slowly until the
1940s. During the 1940s it increased more than
fourfold for many reasons.
a.
Puerto
Ricans became citizens of the United States in 1917, so their movements were
not impeded by international boundaries or immigration
restrictions.
b.
Unemployment
was a major problem on the island.
c.
Puerto
Ricans were “pulled” to the mainland by the same labor shortages that attracted
Mexican immigrants during and after World War II.
B.
Transitions.
1. Although Puerto Ricans are not
“immigrants,” the move to the mainland does
involve a change in
culture and language.
2.
A
particularly unsettling cultural difference between the island and the
mainland
involves skin color and
perceptions of race. Although skin color prejudice still
exists in Puerto Rico, it was
never as categorical as on the mainland.
3.
In the
racially dichotomized U.S. culture, many Puerto Ricans feel they have no
clear place. Puerto
Ricans are victimized by the same web of discrimination
and disadvantage that
affects African Americans. Institutionalized racial barriers
may combine with
cultural and linguistic differences to sharply limit opportunities
and mobility.
C. Puerto Ricans and Other Minority Groups.
1. Puerto Ricans arrived in the cities of the
Northeast long after the great wave of European immigrants and several decades
after African Americans began migrating from the
South. They have often competed with other minority groups for housing, jobs,
and other resources.
2. Because of their more recent arrival,
Puerto Ricans on the mainland were not
subjected to the more repressive paternalistic or rigid competitive
systems of race relations like slavery or Jim Crow. Their subordinate status is
manifested in their occupational, residential, and educational profiles and by
the institutionalized barriers to upward mobility.
3. Puerto Ricans on the mainland combine
elements of both an immigrant and a colonized minority experience. The movement
to the mainland is voluntary in some ways, but in others, it is strongly
motivated by the transformations in the island economy that resulted from
modernization and U.S. domination.
IV.
Cuban
Americans
A.
Immigration (Push and Pull).
1.
The
conditions for a mass immigration were created in the late 1950s when a
Marxist revolution brought
Fidel Castro to power in Cuba.
2.
The United
States was a logical destination for those displaced by the revolution.
It was close, the climates are similar, and the U.S. government, which
was as anti-Castro, welcomed the new arrivals as political refugees fleeing
from communist tyranny.
3.
Immigration
was considerable for several years. More than 215,000 Cubans had
arrived by 1962, when an
escalation of hostile relations resulted in the cutoff of
all direct contact between Cuba and the
United States. In 1965, an air link was
reestablished, and an
additional 340,000 Cubans made the journey. When the air
connection was
terminated in 1973, immigration slowed to a trickle once more.
B.
Regional
Concentrations.
1.
The
overwhelming majority of Cuban immigrants settled in southern Florida.
This dense concentration has led to disputes and
conflicts between the Hispanic-,
Anglo-, and African American communities in the
area. Issues include language,
jobs, and discrimination by the police and other
governmental agencies.
C.
Socioeconomic
Characteristics.
1.
Compared with other streams of immigrants from Latin America, Cubans are
on the average, unusually affluent and well educated. Cuban Americans rank
higher than other Latino groups on a number of dimensions, a reflection of the
educational and economic resources they brought with them from Cuba and the
favorable reception they enjoyed from the United States.
D.
The Ethnic
Enclave.
1.
The minority
groups we have discussed to this point have been concentrated in the unskilled,
low-wage segments of the economy, in which jobs are not secure and not linked
to opportunities for upward mobility. Many Cuban Americans
have bypassed this sector of the economy and much of the discrimination
and limitations associated with it.
2.
Like several
other groups, Cuban Americans are an enclave minority. The fact that the enclave economy is
controlled by the group itself is crucial; it separates the ethnic enclave from
neighborhoods that are impoverished and segregated.
3.
The ethnic
enclave is an effective pathway for adaptation as we see by comparing Cuban and
Mexican immigrants. The ability of the
Mexican immigrants to rise in the class system was severely constrained by the
weight of past discrimination, the preferences of employers in the present, and
their own lack of economic and political power.
4.
The fact
that success came faster to the group that was less acculturated reverses the prediction of many theories of
assimilation.
E. Cuban Americans and Other Minority Groups.
1.
The
adaptation of Cuban Americans contrasts sharply with the experiences of
colonized minority groups and
with the common understanding of how
immigrants are “supposed” to
acculturate and integrate.
V.
Recent
Immigration From Latin America and The Caribbean
A.
Socioeconomic
Characteristics.
1. Most of the Latin American and
Caribbean sending nations are economically
less developed, and most
have long-standing relations with the United States.
2.
A large
number of Latino immigrants are women and children, and the
percentage of professionals, managers, and
executives is low, ranging between
10% and 20%.
3.
Latino
immigrants do not represent the poorest of the poor, the “wretched refuse”
of their homelands. Most of these immigrants are not so much
fleeing poverty or
joblessness as they are
attempting to pursue their ambitions and seek
opportunities for advancement
that are not available in their country of origin.
B.
Location,
Impact, and Illegal Immigrants.
1.
The current
wave of Latino and Caribbean immigrants tends to follow the
networks of previous
generations. New York City and Los Angeles remain major
points of entry, and Houston
and Miami also receive large numbers.
2.
Common
concerns are that immigrants take jobs away from U.S. citizens and that they
slow economic growth, reduce economic vitality, and stress already overburdened
welfare, health, and educational systems.
3.
Some
scholars find that the fears are exaggerated and that overall, the economic
impact of immigration has been positive.
4.
Another
concern is that immigrants strain tax-based services such as schools and
welfare programs. Some research suggests
that immigrants cost less than they contribute. Taxes are automatically
deducted from their paychecks, and their use of such services as unemployment
compensation, Medicare, food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children,
and Social Security is actually lower than their proportional contributions.
This is particularly true for undocumented immigrants whose use of services is
sharply limited by their vulnerable legal status.
5.
The current
opposition to immigration may be a reaction to who as much as to how many or
how much the cost.
6.
The 1990s
saw a number of efforts, at both the state and national levels, to curb
immigration in general and illegal immigration in particular.
7.
Prejudice
and racism are part of what motivates people to oppose immigration. Immigrants,
legal and illegal, continue to find work with Anglo employers and niches in
American society in which they can survive. Frequently, the primary
beneficiaries of this long-established system are not the immigrants, but
employers, who benefit from a cheaper, more easily exploited workforce, and
American consumers, who benefit from lower prices in the marketplace.
C.
Recent
Immigration in Historical Context
1. The
current wave of immigration to the United States is part of a centuries-old
process that spans the globe.
Underlying this immense and complex population
movement is the powerful
force of the continuing industrial revolution.
2.
The United States has been the world’s dominant economic, political, and
cultural
power for much of the
century and the preferred destination of most immigrants.
VI.
Comparing
Minority Groups: Will Contemporary Immigrants From Central and South America
and the Caribbean Assimilate as European Immigrants Did?
A.
Strong
evidence suggests that the success story of the white ethnic groups will not be repeated. According to Massey
(1995) three crucial differences exist between the European assimilation
experience of the past and the contemporary period.
1.
The flow of immigrants from Europe to the
United States slowed to a mere trickle after the 1920s. Thus, as the children and grandchildren of
the immigrants from Europe Americanized and grew to adulthood in the 1930s and
1940s, few new immigrants fresh from the old country replaced them in the
ethnic neighborhoods. European cultural traditions and languages weakened
rapidly with the passing of the first generation and the Americanization of
their descendents. It is unlikely that
there will be a similar hiatus in the flow of people.
2.
Speed and
ease of modern transportation and communication will help to maintain cultural
and linguistic diversity. The cultures of modern immigrants can remain vital
and whole in ways that were not available 100 years ago.
3.
Contemporary
immigrants face an economy and a labor market that are vastly different from
those faced by European immigrants. The latter generally benefited from U.S.
industrialization. As the economy matured and shifted from manufacturing to
service, the descendants of European immigrants rose in the occupational
structure. Today, wages have stagnated and income inequality has grown and
mobility in the occupational structure has decreased.
B.
This
forecast does not apply to all contemporary immigrants. Immigrants vary in
their cultural and racial backgrounds and in the resources they bring
with them. Thus,
different groups can expect to follow different
pathways of incorporation into the
larger society.
VII. Contemporary Hispanic-White Relations
A.
Prejudice
and Discrimination.
1.
The American
tradition of prejudice against Latinos was born in the 19th-century
conflicts that created minority group status for
Mexican Americans. The themes
of the original anti-Mexican stereotypes and
attitudes were consistent with the
nature of the contact situation.
2.
These prejudices were incorporated into the dominant culture and were
transferred
to Puerto Ricans when they began to
arrive on the mainland. This stereotype does
not
fit Cuban Americans. Instead, their affluence has been exaggerated and
perceived as undeserved or achieved
by unfair or “un-American.”
3.
Although discrimination has been common against Latino groups, it has
not been
as rigid or as total as the
systems that controlled African American labor under
slavery and segregation.
However, discrimination against Latinos has not
dissipated to the same extent
as it has against European immigrants.
B.
Assimilation
and Pluralism.
1.
Acculturation.
a.
Latino groups
are highly variable in their extent of acculturation but are often seen as
“slow” to change, learn English, and adopt Anglo customs. This perception is partly based on the
assumption that Hispanics would follow the
assimilation patterns
of European immigrants and their descendants.
Research
shows that Hispanic
groups are following many of the same patterns of
assimilation as
European groups. Their rates of acculturation increase with
length of residence and
are higher for the native born.
b.
While
acculturation continues, Hispanic culture and the Spanish language are
revitalized by immigration. Thus, even as Hispanic Americans acculturate and
integrate, Hispanic culture and language are sustained and strengthened. What
is perceived to be slow acculturation for these groups is mostly the result of
fast and continuous immigration.
c.
Racial
factors have complicated and slowed the process of assimilation for many
Latinos, especially perhaps for darker-complexioned Puerto Ricans. Latinos who
are less “Anglo” in appearance may retain or even emphasize their Spanish
heritage to avoid classification as African American or Native American and the
disabilities associated with American racism.
2. Secondary Structural Assimilation.
a.
Residence. Higher concentrations in the Southwest
reflect the presence of Mexican Americans; those in Florida are the results of
the Cuban immigration; and those in the Northeast display the settlement
patterns of Puerto Ricans. Within each
of these regions, Latino groups are highly urbanized.
b.
Education. Levels of education for Hispanic
Americans have risen in recent years but still lag behind national standards.
Lower levels of education are the cumulative results of decades of systematic
discrimination and exclusion further
reduced, in the case of Mexican Americans, by the high percentage of
recent immigrants who bring very modest educational backgrounds.
c.
Political
Power. The political resources
available to Hispanic Americans have
increased over time, but the group is proportionally underrepresented.
The number of Hispanics of voting age has more than doubled in recent decades,
and Hispanics today constitute more than 10% of the voting age population. Yet
because registration rates and actual turnout have been low, the Hispanic
community has not had an impact on the political structure proportionate to its
size.
d.
Jobs and
Income. The economic situation of
Hispanic Americans is mixed. They
face segmented assimilation and the possibility of becoming members of
an impoverished, powerless, and
economically marginalized urban underclass. Mexican Americans men are overrepresented in the agricultural sectors, while Puerto
Rican men are more overrepresented in the service
sector. Cuban American men are less underrepresented in the highest
occupational category (managerial and professional) and are actually overrepresented in the next-highest occupational category
(technical, sales, and administration). Women all three groups are concentrated
mostly in clerical jobs and in the service sector.
3. Primary Structural Assimilation.
a.
The extent
of intimate contact between Hispanic Americans and the dominant
group is probably higher than for either African Americans or Native
Americans. This pattern may reflect the fact that Latinos are partly ethnic
minority groups and partly racial minority groups.
b.
Rates of
intermarriage are higher for Latinos than for African Americans, but
neither are a very high
percentage of all marriages.
VIII. Assimilation and Hispanic Americans
A.
As test
cases for what we have called the traditional view of American
assimilation,
Latinos fare poorly. Mexican Americans
are concentrated in the low-wage sector of
the labor market, a source of cheap labor
for the dominant group’s economy. Puerto
Ricans occupy a similar profile and
position.
B.
Mexican
Americans and Puerto Ricans have struggled to rise from their subordinate
positions in the United States, and some members have been successful. Yet
both
continue to resemble other colonized
minority groups and share many problems with
other urban minority groups of color.
C.
Traditional
views of the nature of assimilation likewise fail to describe the
experiences of Cuban Americans. They are more
prosperous, on the average, than
either Mexican Americans or
Puerto Ricans, but they became successful by remaining
separate.
IX.
Current
debates
X. Main Points of the Chapter
XI. Further Reading and Internet Research
Classroom Activities and Suggestions for Discussion
1. Show your students a well-made documentary on Hispanic Americans and discuss them in relation to the concepts and theories in the text book. Three good documentaries include:
· Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement (1996, PBS. Film is available for purchase from National Latino Communication Center). This is a superb documentary which addresses, among other topics, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, labor reform, Caesar Chávez and the United Farm Workers, Crystal City-based La Raza Unida, issues of education and political power of Mexican Americans. [Note: This is a four-hour feature, so you'll probably want to select specific clips to show to your students.]
· La Ciudad (1998, PBS. Film is available for purchase from Zeitgeist Films). La Ciudad illustrates issues of immigration and acculturation through the personal stories of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Latin America as they move to New York City. (88 minutes.)
· Mixed Feelings (PBS) explores relationship between Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, California and how each is shaping the other. According to the co-producer, Phillip Rodriguez, "These two cities, two very different cultural, economic conditions, sensibilities of these two cities, two civilizations, seem totally irreconcilable. And yet, that reconciliation is what we Mexican-Americans are about" (http://www.latinola.com/). He also says that it "challenges many assumptions and approaches to U.S.-Mexico representation." You might ask student what concepts and theories from the book seem applicable for understanding the film maker's perspective.
2. Bring in a CD player and analyze the Rage Against the Machine (RATM) song, "People of the Sun." What is the band's perspective? How does the band characterize the Spaniards take over in Central America in 1516? How does this relate to more contemporary colonization efforts, including those by the U.S. government? (You may wish to note the line, "Blood Drenched Get Offensive Like Tet" as a reference to Vietnam.) How do students interpret the line, "wip snapped ya back/Ya spine cracked for tobacco"? How does RATM describe Los Angeles ("city of angels"?) in terms of "ethnic cleansing"? [Some suggest this line is a reference to California's Proposition 187.] If the musicians from RATM were giving an interview about the meaning of this song, what concepts and theories from the book might they find useful in discussing it?
3. Bring in a CD player and analyze the Rage Against the Machine (RATM) song, "Maria." What is the perspective of the RATM regarding illegal border crossings, sweatshops/ maquiladoras, and other issues facing immigrants from Mexico? How do students interpret the line, "He whips her/Her soul chained to his will/"My job is to kill if you forget to take your pill"? (Students might try a Google search to read more about this topic.) If the musicians from RATM were giving an interview about the meaning of this song, what concepts and theories from the book might they find useful in discussing it? Related to this activity, you might ask students to investigate recent deaths of those attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. What are the most frequent causes of crossing deaths? What role do border smugglers or coyotes play in illegal immigration? What are the official (i.e., government) and unofficial responses to these deaths in both Mexico and the U.S.?
4. Have small groups of students analyze feature films for their portrayals of Hispanics, including Hispanic Americans. Films might include (but are not limited to): American Me (1992, directed by Edward James Olmos), And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him (1994, directed by Severo Perez), The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982, directed by Robert M. Young), Born in East L.A (1987, director, Cheech Marin), Captain from Castile (1947, directed by Henry King), Carlito's Way (1993, directed by Brian de Palma), Cisco Kid (the series of films from the 1950s. Also remade in 1994), Crossover Dreams (1985, directed by Leon Ichaso), Duel in the Sun (1946, directed by King Vidor), El Mariachi (1992, directed by Robert Rodriguez), El Norte (1983, directed by Gregory Nava), Mi Familia (My Family) (1995, directed by Gregory Nava), Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) (1994, directed by Allison Anders), West Side Story (1961, directed by Robert Wise and Robbins). Yo Soy Joaquin (I Am Joaquin). What major themes or stereotypes emerge in these films? Do the ideas and images change over time? Have students discuss their findings in relationship to the ideas from the text.
5. Invite guest speakers to speak to your class about issues of immigration. For example, ask someone from the office of refugee resettlement or from a faith-based resettlement organization in your area. You might also get recent immigrants to speak with your class. Another option is to ask local politicians in your area to speak with your class regarding their stance on immigration policy. After hearing the guest speakers, ask students to formally debate U.S. immigration policy.
6. Ask students to pretend that they are recent immigrants who want to apply for particular kinds of visas or become citizens. Ask them to find out what they need to do to attain their goal. You might assign them a particular status (e.g., low-skilled worker from Mexico, a highly skilled worker seeking an "extraordinary ability" visa, a student who wants to study in the U.S., a professor who wants to teach in the U.S.). Have them locate and complete the basic paperwork for their applications. What is required to qualify for these different types of visas? What are the requirements for naturalization (e.g., knowledge of U.S. history, good moral character)? How much time and money does this process usually take? Related to these issues, what are the grounds for asylum? How did the Violence Against Women Act change previously existing immigration law? Under what conditions can immigrants be admitted, removed, or deported?
Types of visas that you might assign include:
· Visitor Visas
· Specialty Worker Visas
· Student Visas
· Extraordinary Ability Visas
· Visas for Temporary Nonagricultural Workers
· Religious Worker Visas
· Visas for Foreign Media Representatives
· A, G and NATO Visas For Foreign Government Representatives
· Visas For Aliens Assisting Law Enforcement
· Visas For Athletes and Entertainers
· Visas For Artists and Entertainers
· Visas For Exchange Visitors
· Nonimmigrant Visas For Foreign Medical Graduates
· Visas For Irish Nationals
· Visas For Fiancées of US Citizens
· Visas For International Cultural Exchange Visitors
· Visas For Registered Nurses
· Visas for Spouses and Minor Children of Permanent Residents
· Visas for Adopted Foreign Orphans
7. Ask students to interview recent immigrants about their experiences coming to this country. What motivated them to come here? What barriers did they face? What helped them with this process? What are their views on assimilation? Additionally, you might ask students to interview others about their attitudes regarding immigration. Are certain types of immigrants more desirable or deserving than others? Where did the subjects learn their ideas about immigration?