I used love the old gangster movies such as “The Godfather,” “Public Enemy,” and “Key Largo.” Even today I am still intrigued by the newer releases as well. The hook for me was the cultural aspect of Italian life that was portrayed in these films. Much like the poem “Mafioso” (Gilbert 1283 I-J) the characterization of the people, as an ethnic group, was and still is that of ideas based on few people and applied to the entire ethnic group without regard for the truth. Bringing this argument in terms that are more relevant to the immigrants coming to America in our generation I will adjust the focus from the Italians of yesterday to the Hispanic immigration of today. Just as the Italians were often portrayed as people they were not, today those stereotypical mindsets are just as strong and just as wrong when applied to an entire people group. Examining the areas of border control, assimilation, jobs, and economic impact will verify the fact that majority Hispanic immigrants are more than people, who sneak across borders, take all the lawn care and construction grunt-work jobs, and nurse from the federal government social programs without contributing anything in return.
Before embarking on the journey there needs to be some basic understanding of a key term. A “stereotype” is a generalization about a person or group of people. Generalizations are developed when we are unable or unwilling to obtain all of the information we would need to make fair judgments about people of situations. Fear of people or ethnic groups is also a major source of stereotypes. Are all Hispanic people illegal immigrants? Are we afraid “those people” are taking over America?
One of the most common stereotypes heard today about Hispanic immigrants is that they are cheap labor and as a result keep wages low for the rest of the workforce. As with most stereotypical comments made about illegal immigrants this one makes a good backdrop against which to measure reality. The New York Times reported the following in regard to illegal immigrants: “In many cases, the jobs held by illegal immigrants are far from the minimum- orsubminimumwage stereotype, as well. Though the work itself is often unpleasant, the pay ratesare commonly in the range of $10 to $20 an hour.” (Altman 2) The impact of Altman’s statement is the way he compares the type of work with the pay range. Based on his assessment we can draw the conclusion that without the immigrant workers the jobs might not be filled. The wage effect in the field of agriculture, being the most common area of employment for immigrants, might be the best example as the effects are summed up in this statement, “My belief is the impact of immigration on Georgia farm workers and farm wage rates is virtually zero. The reason is the shortage of local workers for farm-related jobs at any affordable wage rate.”
(Black 15) Who would perform these tasks if the flow of immigrants legal or illegal were stopped? Although I do not consider any work below me, nevertheless I do not envision myself doing some of the jobs immigrants are risking their lives to come to America for such as “painting, washing cars, packaging by hand, and installation of carpets and floors.” (Altman 1)
With first hand experience as my teacher I can testify to the work ethic and motives of a large portion of those immigrating to the United States. As a young man I witnessed men who came to this country, some legal and some not so legal, that worked for my father’s company as concrete laborers. One event that really stood out to me was the day we approached a small one-bedroom house. I remember my dad saying we were picking up eight to ten men and taking them to work at the plant. As we approached, some of the men came out. Then one man motioned for my dad to come to the door, and being in unfamiliar territory, I went with him. As the man informed us that one of the other men was not feeling well, I looked inside, and what I saw is still etched in my mind today. I saw clothing hanging on nails in the walls that were spaced out in sections as if to say, “This is my individual space,” “this is my home, where I live.” My father later told me that these men risked lives, left families, and came into what might be perceived as hostile territory to make a better life for themselves and their families. Every Friday afternoon these men took their checks to the Western Union office and sent just about every penny back home to their families. Not only were these men reliable workers, but also they proved to me that the stereotype of these immigrants devaluing the workforce is not reality.
Like those men, the vast majority of immigrants come to America in order to build a better life. Contrary to the belief that immigrants are just here to take jobs and send money home, these men were working to bring their families to America as well. But what then? What happens when the entire family arrives? Do they assimilate into the American culture. Common stereotypes would have us believe that immigrants want to hold to cultures of their countries of origin. If you saw the march on April 10, 2006, in Dallas, Texas, you might think those stereotypes hold true. As the people marched in the streets, they were often interviewed, and had absolutely no idea what the march was actually about. The story of those who did understand could be seen in the flags that were carried and the quotation on one group’s banner as reported by the The Dallas Morning News, “Some carried large U.S. flags; another group had a 5-foot banner reading ‘Legalización. It's our American dream too’.” (Ayres 1) The size of a flag in a march or parade is seldom emphasized in a report. To describe the flag as being large puts an emphasis on the patriotic aspect of the mindsets of those marching. They dream of freedom. We, as native citizens, too often take the dream for granted. Many times we want to horde the dream for ourselves like children in a game of keep-a-way. We want the best for our families, but based on the stereotypes we harbor, we have a tendency to rail against those trying to achieve the same freedom and opportunity. These immigrants also believe “that learning to speak English is key to leading a successful life in the U.S.” (Remaley 2) We Should pay special attention to the people we come in contact with on a daily basis and think about the broken English a lot of these people speak. Imagine that we immigrated to a new country. How quickly would we pick up the language? Could we do it without a formal education? I have tried to learn my family’s native language and I can confirm that I am glad I do not have to live full time, let alone work, in the country my family came from. It is amazing that people come to this country without the ability to communicate effectively to find jobs and a new life. The sheer magnitude alone seems overwhelming. The numbers that confirm speaking English as essential are also impressive as “73% say that it’s extremely important (to speak English well) for immigrants ‘to work and stay off welfare.” (Remaley 1) Then they go on to state “(88 percent) immigrants say the U.S. is better than their own country when it comes to having more opportunity to earn a good living.” (Remaley 1) Earning a good living is a goal most of us share. If you cannot earn a living where you are, what do you do? Do you migrate? Do you move to a new city or a new state or maybe you have to leave your homeland and go to a place so different you might as well have landed on Mars? Moving to a new place doesn’t automatically mean you will assimilate to the culture, but for the majority who do it can sometimes be ironic. How about immigrating from Mexico, and after getting a good education, you go to work in a new job keeping people just like you from entering the country in which you now live? That happens more often than most might imagine “many of those who keep watch over our borders each day are, in fact, Mexican-American.” (Miniter 1) Over fifty percent of the agents working for the U.S. Border Control are Hispanic. The numbers are interesting “at least 6,700 of the country's 12,800 Border Patrol agents identify themselves as Hispanic.” (Miniter 1) Immigrants guarding the U.S. border are a very real picture of assimilation. Even with these statistics a large number of Americans continue to believe that “Latino immigrants keep to themselves and don't try to fit in." (Miniter 1) Fitting into a society means many things to many people. One of the most contentious centers around their usage of social services and not contributing back into the system. Ignorance of federal laws feeds that stereotype. The law states “Immigrants who enter legally through regular quotas are not permitted to receive public assistance for three years, and they may be deported if they obtain such assistance.” (Simon 1) Therefore the U.S. has a system in place to protect social programs such as welfare. As an example, currently only “About 13 percent (or 546,000) of the Nation’s 4.2 million foreign-born mothers aged 15 to 44 were on food stamps, compared to 15 percent of (or 4.8 million) U.S.-born mothers.” (Bernstein 2) The questions should build up quickly when we read these statistics. The stereotype of immigrants, illegal or not, using an exaggerated percentage of welfare does not pass this test.
Passing tests seems to be a soft spot in the stereotyping argument. The overall educational pattern for immigrants seems to improve with each generation born in the U.S. The fact that education assimilation seems to get better across generations is a positive step to the success of immigrants in the long run. Statistics show “High school dropout rates for immigrants improve across generations, dropping from 27 percent in the first generation to 8.6 percent in the third generation.” (Orrenius 2) When compared to the national dropout average “7.9 percent for white students, compared to 13.6 percent for black students,” (Hollinger 2) the immigrant rate appears to be virtually right in line with native ethnic averages. It would be hard to justify a claim of immigrants being poorly educated based on these numbers. Education is the key to future success. Studies have shown that income over a lifetime is higher in proportion to the level of education a person attains. The deduction can be made that over time, and with each generation, the standard of living for immigrants and the families that result over the years will increase. With that increase, and the evidence for assimilation of those families, immigrants should prove to be an asset to the U.S. The education process, I believe, is the key for immigrants.
In light of the rapidly, ever-changing, economy and education world that we live in we have seen an astounding growth rate for service and technology oriented jobs. With the job market evolving we are seeing more and more medium to low-skilled jobs going to the countries of origin of many of the immigrants that are trying to reach the U.S. Companies call this outsourcing. I call it a headache if I need assistance with one of my six expensive Dell computer systems. Unlike their counterparts that have come to the U.S., those that answer the phones for companies such as Dell only have to be familiar enough with the language, people, products, and attitudes to make someone angry enough to just hang up and figure it on their own. That almost sounds like a stereotype, but it is not. Having dealt with several companies who “outsource” I have had virtually the same experience on each occasion. Immigrants don’t have the choice, in most cases, to communicate only on topics in which they are supposed to be trained. The immigrants that come to the U.S. must deal with employers, legal or not, they have to find housing; they have to buy food, and negotiate all kinds of daily transactions that would petrify most people. (Please remember that speaking louder does not translate English to any other language. My sixteen year old daughter has a close friend whose parents are immigrants from the Philippines. They are very well educated, wonderful people to know. It always amazes me when people engage in shouting with hopes of clarifying their words. The humorous thing is that they understand completely every word spoken to them.) But being able to communicate successfully, not just to buy food and clothes, will be the next frontier for immigrants. Service and technology jobs require, at minimum, good communication skills and more in-depth education. Whereas medium to low-skilled jobs mainly require physical ability, and if you can get to work you can get paid. This might be a place to stop and pause for concern “The Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy figures that from now (1988) until 1995, the state economy will be increasingly technological, but that Hispanics, Asians, and blacks will not be holding the higher-skilled jobs in proportion to their population.” (McConnell 4) This older study announced doom and gloom for immigrants and minorities. Since that time Asians and Hispanics have become a very significant portion of all immigrants. The interesting outcome was something no one thought about, “Many immigrants have become entrepreneurs, creating jobs for other Immigrants and natives. Immigrant entrepreneurs may be particularly likely to develop export opportunities for American products given their connections abroad and language skills.” (Krueger 1) Once again the biased mindset was thwarted. The stereotype of immigrants not being able to move into high-skilled jobs was worked over by the innovative entrepreneurial skills of those same immigrants.
As I look at the picture entitled “Baggage Examined Here” I am painfully reminded of how far society has come, but also how far society has not come. The immigrant boys in the picture, under the sign that reads “Baggage Examined Here,” look like cheap labor. There are no parents in the scene, and maybe they are on their own. How will they assimilate in their new homeland? The picture gives no clue where they are from. Can they understand the language, and do they even know what is going on around them. When they are finished being processed where will they go? Will they go to school or go to work? What thoughts must have been going through their heads? Immigrants come to this country everyday from all over the world to have a small part of our dream. That dream is ours only if we take hold of it and share it with others. It is often forgotten that every one of us, with the exception of Native American Indians, are descendants of people who left behind their respective homelands and were adopted by this great country, America.
Works Cited
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Miniter, Paulette Chu . "A border agent (and immigrant) defies stereotypes". USA Today. 03/20/2008 .
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