The Dream of Latino Immigrants

What?: There are many differences between the hopes and aspirations of first and second generation Latino immigrants. One of the examples of the first generation Latino immigrants is Miguel’s mother. She came to the United States with full of hopes an dreams, and she believed her life in the U.S. will become better. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera says “Like most immigrants, she came full of hopes and dreams, with high expectations and a firm belief that life in America would be better” (258). Miguel’s mother holds her belief so strongly, because she thinks by giving up a familiar life style in her home country, she can get a better life in this new country if she work hard enough. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera says “With faith and determination they could view the hardships they encountered as temporary obstacles; bumps in the road that one dat they could look back upon just like their hard lives in the Dominican Republic, as another part of what they had overcome” (258). From this quote, I think the Latino immigrants are people with strong belief and hopes, and they also never afraid of any challenges. However, the second or third generation of Latino immigrants have different perspective about the “American Dream”. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera says “Some are angry and sullen, less optimistic about the future, less focused about the purpose of their education and less inclined to believe in the elusive American Dream” (262). The second or third generation of Latino immigrants don’t have as much hopes as the first generation immigrants have, because the reality is relentless and they feel they couldn’t escape from their current harsh situation in order to achieve their dreams. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera explains what is the Proposition 187, “[It] would deny undocumented immigrants, or aliens, as they preferred to describe us, access to public services like health care and education” (265). Accordingly, the Proposition 187 can cause all the undocumented immigrants lose their supports from the government and their children couldn’t go to public schools anymore. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera says “The end to race0based affirmative-action policies in higher education, the end to bilingual education under the so-called English-only initiative, the get-tough three strikes law, and the juvenile crime initiative, which lowered the age at which adolescents could be prosecuted as adults, all had harmful effects on the status and well-being of Latinos in California” (266). This quote points out that not only the Proposition 187 bring harmful impact, but also many other public policies have created less opportunities for Latino immigrants in California. In the story “Educating the Burrito King”, the schools were very separated during the 1950s. The Mexican students often felt discrimination under the guise of “helping them”, but actually those daily action in schools illustrated the inequality in power between American and Mexican students. In the story “Educating the Burrito King”, Halcon says “We were reminded almost daily not to speak Spanish in class and were punished when we slipped” (211). Schools wanted the Mexican students to become like all the American students by forcing them speak English, but I think it can create many serious issues by doing it. I think the school tried to assimilate the Mexican students and didn’t want them to show their own cultural identity. I think the story of “Educating the Burrito King” illustrates the issue of assimilation and acculturation can bring negative impact on immigrants students at schools, and I think the school systems should build a more diverse and multi-cultural environment.

So What?: However, I think only hard work is not enough to make the Latino immigrants become success, because there are still many obstacles that will prevent them from achieving their dreams. One of those obstacles is the education system in the United States. Noguera argues that education should be the way to get people out of poverty, but the reality is not like that. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera says “Unfortunately, more often that not, the schools that serve Latinos are not unlike Miguel’s Walton High School. Such schools have failed to serve as the vehicle through which our collective dreams and aspirations can be fulfilled” (264&265). Many of those schools are underfunded and overcrowded, so they cannot provide a good quality of education for the immigrant children. Without good education opportunities, good paying jobs, and access to governmental supports, those Latino immigrants are impossible to achieve their dreams just by working hard. Some of the second generation immigrants don’t believe the American Dream anymore, because their faith is beaten by the harsh reality. From “What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez”, Noguera says “Children who are so consumed with surviving, with getting by, with learning how to make it from day to day, that they make no plans for the future, and often have trouble contemplating life past eighteen” (262). Some of those second generation immigrants have to struggle everyday for their living condition, so they don’t have time left for them to think about their future. And after a long time, those children will eventually lose their faith in the American Dream, because they don’t see any hopes from it. And the different experiences between the first generation immigrants and second generation immigrants can led to tensions between these two groups. Many of the first generation Latino immigrants come to the U.S. with a lot of hope and they are willing to do anything to make their life better. However, many of the second generation Latino immigrants don’t want to do the low-paid jobs and they want to go to colleges and have higher-paid jobs. The first generation immigrants may think the second generation immigrants don’t work hard enough, but the second generation immigrants have their own goals for their life instead of just doing labor work.

Now What?: Three core principles of Trump’s immigrants plan are :1. There must be a wall across the souther border. 2. A nation without laws is not a nation. 3. Any immigrant plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all American. However, I don’t think Trump’s immigrant plan can make the U.S. great again. Because many Mexican crosse the boarder to come to the U.S. not just for the welfare in this country, they come to the U.S. because they can make more money her than in Mexico. I think even many of them don’t have a choice because they are too poor to stay in Mexico. I think Trump’s immigrant policy can effect many undocumented Mexican immigrants and cause more serious problems between Mexican and American. I think Cruz’s immigrant plan is very similar to Trump’s, because they both think securing the U.S. — Mexico boarder is the priority. Cruz also think illegal immigrants is the cause for the insecurity in the U.S., but he ignores the root cause of why Mexican want to take to much risk to come to the United States. I think without understanding the root cause of those problems, he and Trump’s immigrant plans cannot solve the immigrant issue. Clinton thinks America needs comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway citizenship. From Clinton’s immigrants plan, I can see that she wants to provide a pathway for the undocumented immigrant to gain their citizenship and make sure the immigrant families to be together. I think the goals are very good, but by achieving those goals Clinton also needs have a deep and comprehensive understanding on the root causes of the immigrant issue. I think Clinton’s immigrant plan can bring more hope for many undocumented immigrants. As a second generation himself, Sanders thinks the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. Sanders thinks all immigrants should be allowed to purchase healthcare under the Afford Care Act, I think it is a good way to provide some governmental supports to immigrants. Since I am not U.S. citizen, I don’t have the right to vote, but I still think by voting people can be more involved in deciding government policies. I think every U.S. citizen should care their right to vote and know their vote can change the future of their country.