BY STUDENT
In 2001, Latinos in the U.S. were the
largest growing minority. Latinos had ‘taken the center stage’ because as a
fast growing minority, experts started examining Latino life as if they were
the ‘cool new thing’. Immigration is, and always has been, a hot issue. From
the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Mexican border, U.S. citizens have been
concerned with increasing immigration. The increasing growth of Latinos in the
U.S. started early, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo annexed Mexican
territory and its inhabitants. From the 1800s to 2000, the Latino population
has increased dramatically. By 2050, Latinos are predicted to make non-Latino
whites a minority (Davis 2001, pg 8). Mike Davis mentions that New York City
has as many Puerto Ricans as San Juan and as many Dominicans as Santo Domingo. To
put the growing Latino population into perspective, Latinos as a minority will
contribute to two/thirds of population growth (Davis 2001, pg 8). Latinos are
working in the U.S. and contributing to our economy both inside and outside the
U.S. However, they are still racially profiled, living in deplorable conditions
and aren’t getting recognized as the hard working people they are. I learned a
hard work ethic from my father, who never relaxes for more than half an hour.
He is the hardest working man I know. He wakes up at six in the morning to dig
ditches from seven to three, works twenty-four hours overtime on weekends, and
still finds the time to remodel our home. With Latinos like my father who bust
their behinds for their jobs and their families, why are they still seen as
lazy? Why are Latinos working so hard for companies that pay them close to
nothing and leave them with environmental problems?
Some of the Latino population passes
through the Mexican border for work. They come from their own cities to their
U.S. sister cities to work in factories. Two of the largest sister cities, El
Paso/Ciudad Juarez and San Diego/Tijuana, have a maquila dominated economy. Mainly
Mexicanas work in maquiladores, or sweatshops. They do not earn enough in the
sweatshops and in turn, have to make up for the money they need. Some sell
candies on work breaks and some sell things on the weekends during flea markets
(Davis 2001, pg 30). Women are working in actual sweatshops but aren’t being paid
enough for their hard work. In addition to working in sweatshops, people also
have to deal with the environmental problems that the sweatshops create. Davis
states in Magical Urbanism, “U.S. firms are estimated to ship thirty
times more hazardous waste southward than Mexican firms send northward” (pg 34).
A waste recycling company was exposed for dumping hazardous chemicals in the
sewer lines after a sewer in Tijuana exploded (Davis 2001, pg 34). The hazardous
waste that maquiladores dump has contributed to babies being born with brain
deformities (Davis 2001, pg 34). Latinos work in hazardous conditions and live
in hazardous conditions as well. The poor living conditions affect the health
of many Latinos that have nowhere else to live but in impoverished cities. Latinos
live in areas with no running water and poor sewage drainage, but no one
discusses that. As long as they’re working and making other lives easier, it’s
like people don’t really care.
Even though Latinos are taking the
center stage, they’re still invisible. Their hardships are overlooked. No one
complains about immigrants when Latinos are doing cheap labor, or working as
landscapers or maids. Latinos are the ones doing jobs that other people would
view as beneath them. They’re working long days to support themselves and their
families, but their efforts go unnoticed. It’s sad to see that Latinos are so
hard working but they don’t get the credit or respect they deserve.
Works Cited:
Davis, Mike. Magical urbanism: Latinos
reinvent the US big city. New York: Verso, 2001.
I definitely agree with what you said. I had no idea that some of the Latino population goes over the Mexican border for work and then back to their home cities in Mexico afterwards everyday. Just didn't think that was a normal thing but find it very interesting. I'm from Farmingville where there is a relatively high Latino population. I can say from personal experience that the work they do is very unappreciated and goes unnoticed.
ReplyDeletewow i didn't know that either^^^
ReplyDeletethat is very interesting. i also agree that a lot of immigrants jobs do go unnoticed, when meanwhile they do some of the hardest jobs. My dad was like that as well. My dad used to work 14 hours a day and never took weekends off either. But things like that go unnoticed, but are noticed by the families.
I can relate to your experiences when you mention your father, I also believe that my dad is one of the hardest working men I have ever come across. He has built everything our family has, he literally started with a small food truck in Ecuador and when my mom brought him here, he expanded and now he owns various restaurants and now he's his own boss. This summer I have personally come to experience working with immigrants and its amazing the stories they would tell my dad and I about their previous bosses, they literally worked themselves until they couldn't any longer and most of them never ever got the credit for doing what they do. Honestly, I think its up to us, to really be the voice of those immigrants who don't have a voice because the reason most of them don't get the respect they deserve because of the negative connotation that comes along with being an immigrant.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also very important to add that many of the women who are working in the sweat shops in the U.S. are also women of illegal status, or undocumented, therefore they do not have legal papers to work here. They do not have a choice when it comes to working in these sweat shops because they have to provide for their families whether it is back home in Mexico or in the U.S. in the poorer neighborhoods that they live in... They have to work through the long hours, the mistreatment, and the hazardous conditions because they need the money. Also, I agree that their work goes unnoticed and many of the jobs some aren't willing to do, many Latinos do here in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone above me. If you think about it, the long tedious hours and arduous labor that these immigrants do and what makes this country run. Without them, all these big time corporations and companies would be at a standstill. They are ones where credit is due and its unfair that they are often portraits as lazy and never climbing up the ladder of success people.
ReplyDeleteThere is something very interesting that was said in this blog, that the increase in Latino/ Hispanic populations are "the cool thing." I understand that the increase in immigration has cause a lot of push-back by white populations across the nation but that does not indicate that Latinos are the point of interest. Maybe Latino/ Hispanic people are being studied because they are having such an impact on the country today, not necessarily in more bad ways than good or vice versa. There is such a high growing population of Latinos that it is appropriate to study the impact they have, just like any other subculture.
ReplyDeleteWith such a broad term as "Latino," that includes people from several nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the United States, it is no surprise that Latinos are such a large part of the United States' population. I agree with the idea that Latino hard work often doesn't get the respect it deserves but I do not think that their work goes unnoticed, after all the Latino community has a very large impact on the United States. The issue of Latinos in the United States and especially the issue of illegal immigration of Latinos to the United States has been a very widely discussed topic in the upcoming presidential candidate elections. Among the issues of illegal immigration, Latino immigrant labor contributions to the US and their advantages to businesses have been a major talking point this year. Despite increased awareness of Latino manual labor conditions, I do agree with your statement that many people still do not respect their contributions.
ReplyDeleteI think it's insane that Latinos have to resort to commuting from their cities in Mexico to cities in the US to work, but yet the government tries so hard to "keep them out". This just shows how America can use people when it convenes them. Employers and companies who allow this are taking advantage of Latinos and paying them low-wages. America tries to portray other countries such as China as a terrible place for employees because of the use of sweatshops, meanwhile they are doing the same here. I enjoyed this post, it was very informing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post and it is sad that Latino's are racially profiled and they honestly don't get the recognition hat they deserve. As you said that lots of people come through the Mexican border for work in the US, and even though the majority are Mexicans and they are some of the hardest working groups in the US, they still get discriminated against and it truly is not fair. Other criticize the hard working people but they are just doing what they have to do in order to get some income.
ReplyDeleteI think this blog was very well done from start to finish. Saying "New York City has as many Puerto Ricans as San Juan and as many Dominicans as Santo Domingo" really put things into perspective and was a great way to start. It is interesting to hear about how the US factories are affecting Mexico because i know vice versa it'd be front page news. I enjoyed the personal touch about your father and it is a shame many hard working Latinos along with other immigrants don't get the recognition they deserve.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog! I totally agree with your post. From what I have noticed, latino Immigrants are indeed the most hard working and the least appreciated groups in the US. They are the people who are doing all the blue collar job for a very low wages and major contributors to our economy. but sadly, they are often labelled as criminals,lazy and accused for stealing jobs from Americans
ReplyDeleteI think you raise an important issue on how our country is so dependent on Mexican workers and everyone disregards the pivotal role they play on our society. The U.S. has established close relationships with sister countries like Mexico for their advantage and in the years have been successful to do so. It is unfair that women in the maquiladoras are exploited for cheap labor and then have to face environmental issues that affect them in the long run. Mexicans reinforce the abusive relationship that exists between Mexico and the United States because they allow for this relationship to continue since it does give them job opportunities. But you are right that they are not the only ones who can possibly benefit when they do take the positions U.S. citizens do not want to because they are low ranking jobs.
ReplyDeleteYour post was really interesting and grabbed my attention. I found interesting and very unusual that some Latino population would go to the process of going to the border more than one time to go to work and then to back home after done with work. You are correct, the U.S. has become very dependent on Mexican population using them to work for their maquiladoras for low pay, abusive? Possibly.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you're blog post. I really connected with what you said about how Latinos are working so hard and still being labeled as lazy. My father would wake up at 5 everyday just to make it early to work and have his job done before his boss would get there. He used to say that when everyone was just getting started, he was already done with his job. The reason why he did this was because he said he wanted to prove to his boss that Latinos weren't as lazy as everyone thought they were. I think it's absurd that we still have to prove ourselves after everything we have done and continue to do for the U.S.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this I was thinking about if Spanish would be the prominent language in the U.S. since Latinos are going to eventually be the majority.For example would business require people to speak Spanish to accommodate the growth in the Latino population?
ReplyDeleteYou're totally right. a lot of the work that Latinos, specifically Mexicans do a lot of unappreciated and unnoticed work here in America. I also was unaware that some Mexicans even traveled to and from the United States and Mexico as well for work. That is pretty cool to read. But it does sort of reinforce what Jashiel said about the United States using people when it is convenient for them.
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