|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter Reference: Revolution; Reaction; Neoliberalism
Just as it was a hundred years ago, the United States is again, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, a country of immigrants. A vivid turn-of-the-century reminder of that fact is the prevalence of immigrants from the Dominican Republic on U.S. major-league baseball teams. But Dominican major-leaguers are only one example of the much larger phenomenon of Latin American immigration to the United States. Mexicans comprise by far the most numerous immigrants, followed by Central Americans and people from the Caribbean. Along the vast and sparsely populated U.S. border with Mexico, stopping the flow of people determined to seek a better life in the United States, legally or illegally, has been a losing battle because of the overwhelming demand here for the labor that the immigrants provide. Latin American migrant laborers are now absolutely basic to the agricultural labor force of the United States. A paper on this topic should be careful not to lump together legal and illegal migrants, nor immigrants with Latinos in general. Most U.S. Latinos were born in this country and thus are not immigrants at all. In addition, a substantial number of Mexican men now travels back and forth seasonally between Mexico and the United States as part of a government-supervised "guest worker" program.
Questions for Analysis and Further Reflection:
- The U.S. has been, at least since the 1930s, unable to do without labor from Latin American immigrants. What are some of the economic factors that have defined this relationship, and what have been some of its social, cultural, political, and legal consequences?
- How do the current questions surrounding the debate over immigration from Latin America compare with other moments of strong waves of immigration to the U.S. throughout the twentieth century? What effect has NAFTA had on migration from Mexico?
- Think for a minute about your family history and at what point your ancestors made their way to the United States. What challenges did they face upon their arrival here? How do these compare with challenges faced by Latin American migrants today? What contributions do Latin American immigrants make to your community?
Bibliography: (Titles with ** are good starting places.)
Benson, Sonia G. The Hispanic American Almanac: A Reference Work on Hispanics in the
United States, 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
Cockcroft, James D. Outlaws in the Promised Land: Mexican Immigrant Workers and
America's Future. New York: Grove Press, 1986.
DeFreitas, Gregory. Inequality at Work: Hispanics in the U.S. Labor Force. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1991.
The first two chapters offer a good introduction to different Latin American migrant groups in the United States.
*Fink, Leon. The Maya of Morgantown: Work and Community in the Nuevo New South.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire: a History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000.
Hart, John Mason, ed. Border Crossings: Mexican and Mexican-American Workers.
Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1998.
Jiménez, Francisco. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press, 1997.
Rothenberg, Daniel. With These Hands: The Hidden World of Migrant Farmworkers Today.
New York: Harcourt Brace, 1998.
** Thompson, Jr., Charles D., and Melinda F. Wiggins, eds. The Human Cost of Food:
Farmworkers' Lives, Labor, and Advocacy. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.
This collection of essays presents a vivid, readable introduction to the way of life led by so many Latin American immigrants.
Other Resources:
|
|
|
W. W. Norton | Credits | Site Feedback | Technical Support | Print This Page