BY STUDENT
Many Latino immigrants, over the
course of history, have struggled as a minority to find space to live. With
certain places well known for having an immense amount of Latino people, like New York City and
California, there is little room for more immigrants to come and live a decent
life. Cost of living is quite high in big cities like these; many immigrants
cannot afford this. With space decreasing, and money becoming tight, many
Latinos are moving to other cities not as well known for their Latino
population, like Passaic, New Jersey. Although this city may not be known to
have an abounding amount of Latinos, slowly but surely, their number is
increasing. As cities fill up, and the cost of living rises, Latinos seem to
find new places to settle and live; when those places then fill up, they find
even newer places to live. Will this cycle ever stop? Will there ever be enough
space for Latino people in America? Will the cost of living ever stop rising?
The Latino population in Passaic,
New Jersey, like much of the United States, has grown tremendously in the past
ten years. Much of this may be because many immigrants are coming over,
illegally, to find jobs and live a favorable life. George Sanchez stated this
in chapter 3 of, “Becoming Mexican
American”. Many Latinos travel illegally over railways to cross the border from
Mexico to the United States; although this may have happened over the course of
history, it is still occurring today. Because many of them are doing this, that
space continues to decrease in the United States. There is such little space in
places, like New York and California, and the cost of living is larger than the
national average in these places, normal cities, like Passaic New Jersey, have
had a tremendous increase in Latino culture. Not only is space decreasing, but
also the cost of living is increasing tremendously in these large cities. In
New York City, the cost of living is 68.8% higher than the national average. Because
these cities cost so much to live in, Passaic’s Mexican population, has
increased by a number of 115,000, since the year 2000. This number has
heightened so much, that one in every three people, in the city of Passaic, are
Mexican. Since the Great Recession, incomes for Latinos, from 2007–2010, income
fell 7.2 percent for Latinos, compared to 5.4 percent for the average white
household. Passaic, New Jersey has a 5% lower average living cost than New
Jersey as a whole. This could be a reason why more Latinos are moving to cities
like Passaic.
Although the number of Mexicans continues
to grow in the United States, many Mexicans may have a plan like, Manuel
Ramirez-Romeo of Passaic New Jersey. Manuel came from Mexico to find a job,
make money and live a good life. His plan for the future is to save up money,
travel back to Mexico and continue his life there. Although the population may
be increasing now, maybe many of the Latinos have a plan like Manuel. So, will
the cycle stop? Maybe the cycle is not only: Mexicans continuing to come and
live in the United States, leaving for less and less space; yet maybe it is for
them to come here, save money, and eventually move back to Mexico. Perhaps,
sometime in the future we will see a decrease in Mexicans in the United States,
with them eventually moving back. This idea will leave for less of a struggle
for space for the Latinos that would like to live out there life in the United
States.
Works
Cited:
"Cost of Living in Passaic, NJ." Area Vibes.
Council for Community and Economic Research,
2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
DeVries, Karl, and Ted Sherman. "New U.S. Census Figures
Show Mexican Population in
N.J. More than Doubles in past Decade." NJ.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
Sept. 2016.
Sanchez,
Tatiana. “County 3rd largest for unauthorized immigrants.” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 August 2015. Web.
Wallace, Nick. "What Is the True
Cost of Living in New York City?" SmartAsset.com.Smart
Asset, 2016. Web. 12 Sept. 2016
While I know you're referring to immigrants, I still feel like the statement "Will there ever be enough space for Latino people in America?" creates the idea that Latinos aren't interwoven into our society and will always be the "other" who are separate from US culture.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard the theory of Mexicans coming to the US only to save money and move back to Mexico, although it seems plausible. I don't imagine the overall population of Mexicans in the US ever decreasing, but hopefully into the future we'll continue to develop better means of housing/urban development, as well as job opportunities to support our inevitably growing population. I think as a country we do have space, it's only a matter of how we choose to develop it as our mixed culture ebbs and flows.
There is always a struggle for space in America. It represents political, social, and economic power in America. Latino immigration into the United States has been occurring for a long time now. By 2060 white people will no longer be the majority of the American population. Do you think this shift in diversity will result in a shift of power for Latinos in America? Will the Latino population no longer have to struggle for space because they will no longer be considered a minority? Or do you believe that the Mexicans and other Latino immigrants will go back to there countries and high rates of immigration will end once they get enough money to go back to their original countries?
ReplyDeleteThe question posed in your post is a good one, "will there be enough space for the Latino population in the United States?" And the case of Manuel Ramirez-Romeo is interesting too. But can Manuel Ramirez-Romeo's plan go for all of the Hispanic population in the United States. It would be ideal but unlikely. If one is moving out of their country to get away from the political unrest, unemployment, famine, and crime (which is the case for most), I don't believe they'll go back. So how will space open up for the hispanic immigrants? Will they just have to utilize parts of the United States that are not overpopulated like Passaic, New Jersey?
ReplyDelete