Hispanic American Diversity

WEEK 7 ASSIGNMENT –

HISPANIC AMERICAN DIVERSITY

ANN BROWN

ETH/125

JUNE 26, 2011

INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: KELLY JIROUS-JONES

HISPANIC AMERICAN DIVERSITY

MEXICAN AMERICANS

According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), Mexican immigrants and their descendants constitute a sizable and rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population. Mexican Americans also constitute one of the most economically disadvantaged groups in the United States, with an average household income more than 40 percent below the comparable average for non-Hispanic whites. People of Mexican descent acquire much less schooling than other groups in the United States and that this educational deficit is the main reason for the relatively low earnings of Mexican-origin workers. Given the strikingly low education and wages of Mexican immigrants, aggregation masks the substantial intergenerational gains that occur.

Mexican Americans are a diverse people who have attained socioeconomic, linguistic assimilation, and legal status. Most are in pursuit of the American Dream and working hard to escape the humble status of the earlier generations, who are excluded from this attempt due to not having attained legal status in the United States. Mexican Americans do not have many entrepreneurships or a wide-spread ethnic economy like the Cuban Americans established in Miami.

In their speeches, politicians address the needs and desires of Latino Americans. In the last 30 years, the major political parties have begun to acknowledge that Latinos form a force in the election process. This recognition has come primarily by the growth of the Hispanic population but also through policies that have facilitated non- English voters. The potential for a greater Latino political presence is strong. Anticipating the greater turnout, political parties are advancing more Hispanic candidates. Evidence shows that younger Hispanics are becoming more conservative and more likely to...