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?