Yesterday, I was listening to a talk show host discuss the election with the media director of LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens. I was struck by the way in which this talk show host seemed to paint all Latino citizens with the same brush, lumping a huge group of diverse peoples into one category of like minded individuals. This is something I have observed in the Media often. In the minds of many Americans if you are Latino then you surely act, think, talk, believe the same way. Of course there are similarities within communities, but the truth is, in the larger picture, Latinos in this country share only one thing across the board-What we share is the heritage of a common language. We are incredibly diverse and we have incredibly different interests and concerns. There is a huge difference in many respects between a Cuban Doctor in Miami and a Mexican Teacher in El Paso.
Another thing that struck me was the way this talk show host seemed to imply that Latinos are a separate society within the US, that we somehow aren‘t “Real” Americans. The truth is we share the same concerns, values, problems of most Americans: A Pew Research study found that Key issues for Hispanics are "Education, the Economy and Health care". Aren’t they for everybody? And finally, the discussion turned to include what seems to color all dialog where Latinos are concerned, immigration. This is clearly a highly charged emotional issue. I was shocked to learn that according to the Economist, 56 percent of Americans agree with the following statement: "immigrants today threaten traditional American values and customs." And that almost the same number of Americans feel it is necessary to control immigration through draconian measures like wholesale deportation and the physical construction of a wall like the one we were so proud to help tear down in Berlin. I thought we were a nation of immigrants. I thought our values and customs were established by the melting pot of immigrants.
Here are the facts:
According to the US Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2007 there an estimated 45.5 million Hispanics in the United States , making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 15 percent of the nation’s total population. In addition, there are approximately 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico.
Only Mexico (108.7 million) had a larger Hispanic population in the world than did the United States
The Texas Hispanic population is the second largest in the nation; Nearly 8.4 million Hispanics reside in Texas, 19% of all Hispanics in the United States.
In 2002 The number of Hispanic-owned businesses stood at 6 million. The rate of growth since then has tripled for Hispanic-owned businesses (31 percent) compared with the national average (10 percent) for all businesses. These Hispanic owned businesses generate well over $300 billion in business revenues every year.
There are 1.1 million Hispanic veterans of the U.S. armed forces. Hispanics have won more medals of honor than any other ethnic group and they make up nearly ten percent of the current active duty enlisted force. One of the first casualties of the war in Iraq was a Guatemalan citizen, Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, who illegally crossed the border from Guatemala as a young man, and was not a U.S. citizen. (LULAC)
And here is the reason so much attention is being paid to Hispanic right now: 7.6 million Hispanic citizens reported voting in the 2004 presidential election. In Texas There are 3.6 million eligible Hispanic, 20% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters. Hispanics have emerged as a potentially pivotal constituency, especially in key states like California, New Mexico and Texas.
The Latino population is diverse, strong and growing. We are finally beginning to have leaders like Governor Bill Richardson step up to help dispel the myths of Latinos and to help provide leadership and a voice within the broader community. It is incumbent on all Americans to accept American Latinos as part of the fabric of our society and to find a way to deal with the issue of immigration in a way that is fair and humane and not fraught with fear and prejudice.
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