FREE ESSAY ON IMMAGRATION

IMMAGRATION

I am from an ethnicity and culture that is in the forefront of many political topics in
this region today. I am Mexican. When this word comes up most people seem to think of
illegal immigrants crossing the border. This thought can bring up much resentment and
contempt from certain groups, and along with this comes prejudice and discrimination.
However, before I jump ahead of myself I would like to discuss the physical and cultural
differences between my people- Mexicans and the U.S. majority- Whites.
Physical differences may seem obvious if you think in a stereotypical manner. But there
is a great deal of physical diversity within the Mexican culture. The range can be
anywhere from the common image of a short brown eyed, brown haired, brown skinned
individual to the tall light eyed, light haired, light skinned person. In between is a
mixture and combination of any of the mentioned characteristics (much of the variety
comes from the blood of the Spaniards who invaded Mexico). In fact 60% of Mexico
Is made up of mestizo, mixed European and Indian decent and 30% indigena,
Native Americans of Indians (azteca.net). Those who have darker skin are, of course, more
easily pointed out as Mexicans and usually experience more prejudice and racism than
those who have characteristics similar to the majority. However, prejudice within our own
race sometimes makes up for the lack of prejudice from Whites, but I digress. 
Moving on, there are many cultural differences. Language for one, which is Spanish
(though there are over 50 indigenous languages (azteca.com)). Clothing is different. Not
so much as it used to be however. Not everyone is wearing a poncho and sombrero. Of
course food is different and is quite enjoyed by many Americans. However,
Mexican-American food is somewhat different than Mexican food from Mexico. And I am not
quite sure what Taco Bell food is. Maybe that can be called American-Mexican food? 
Then there are certain holidays and ceremonies that Mexicans participate in that other
ethnic groups do not. An example of a ceremony (my favorite) is the quinceanera. This is
a coming of age ceremony that occurs when a teenager (usually female) turns 15 years old.
This is usually a big elaborate event, much like a wedding without the groom (the reason
why it's my favorite). Holidays include Dia De la Muerte (Day of the Dead) which is close
to the U.S.'s Halloween. There is also Cinco De Mayo, which is a celebration of a battle
Mexico won against France. In the U.S. this holiday has actually turned into a day that
other ethnic groups, including Whites, celebrate Mexican culture. Particularly so in area
with a high Mexican population (areas of the North- and Southwest). Other holidays may be
celebrated in both Mexico and the U.S. but have different dates, such as Mother's Day
(May 10th in Mexico). As far as religion goes the majority of Mexicans are Catholic. 
Social class as a majority of the Mexican race is not very high in the U.S, though there
is a growing number of Mexicans in the middle class, economically. However, Mexicans are
looked down upon by many. This leads me to the second topic: attitudes of Whites and
Mexicans.
Like other ethnic groups that have immigrated to the U.S. Mexicans have not been welcomed
with open arms. On the contrary, there has been opposition from the majority from the
very beginning with laws trying to reduce immigration, or laws to allow some Mexican
migration so that farm owners could exploit them (braceros). Much of the opposition comes
from assumptions and stereotypes of Mexican immigrants. Some assumptions are that Mexican
immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens, but not many are actually willing
to bend over to cut asparagus, work in the hop fields, or in apple and cherry orchards.
If any White American wants any of those jobs I am sure they would get hired, since in
the past (and present) they have. Another assumption is that Mexicans do not give back to
the economy. They just live off the government tip. If all the Mexicans are on welfare
then who is working the fields? Plus it is not that easy to get on welfare. Though I will
admit that the system has been used and abused by legal and illegal immigrants, but the
same can be said of any other group in America. People will try to work the system, I do
not believe that has anything to do with race or ethnicity. I would also like to add that
Mexicans, legal or illegal, still have to pay taxes just like anyone else. 
To sum it up I do not believe that the American majority is as receptive to Mexicans in
the U.S., particularly immigrants, and there are many cases that prove this. There was a
discrimination case in Yakima, WA a few years back that consisted of a sign in a bar that
read something to the effect of Don't speak English, then adios Amigo. This coming from a
town where an overwhelming part of the population are of Mexican descent! Then in
California, there was the video tape recording catching two deputy police officers
beating a couple of migrant workers with their nightsticks (People's Weekly World;1996).
Those are just a couple of instances.
Then there is the question of whether Mexicans are willing to assimilate. I believe this
depends on how you define assimilation. My definition would agree with writer Gregory
Rodriguez who wrote, culture or knowledge is not a zero-sum quantity that requires an
individual to forget something old in order to learn something new(The Washington
Post;1999;B3). According to Sociology 365 class notes on assimilationist aims, this is
the desire for complete social, political and economic absorption into the dominant group
[to be] treated as individual, not as group members. So can complete absorption happen
without stripping yourself of your past? I believe so. We can look at such ethnic groups
as the Norwegians and Italians. They have assimilated to American society, but they still
have their culture. The amount varies person to person, family to family but it is there
to be shared and learned. Ethnic groups are not the only ones being absorbed either.
America takes certain parts and ideas from different cultures and uses them. That also
shows that culture does not have to be lost but can be incorporated, even if that group
is technically assimilated. With that all said I would like to say that I do believe that
most immigrants who stay in the U.S. are willing to assimilate because if they plan on
residing in the U.S. then the U.S. becomes their home. That is not to say that all
loyalty to their homeland is washed away, but the longer you are in a certain environment
the more likely you are to change accordingly. According to statistics from Gregory
Rodriguez assimilation article, in 1990 half of immigrants from non-English speaking
countries who had been in the U.S. for two years reported that they did not proficiently
speak English. However, 88% of those who had lived in the U.S. for 30 year did speak
English well. Further, in 1990 two-thirds of third-generation American Latino children
were reported as speaking no Spanish. This is no doubt assimilation in the process.
Other facts Mexican immigration includes the rate of migration. There has been a steady
increase in legal and illegal migration to the U.S. since about the late 1800's (first
phase of Mexican immigration). In 1900 there were 103,000 Mexicans in the U.S.; 1960
there were 2.3 million; 1990 there were 13.4 million. In the year 2010 it is expected
that there will be 40 million Americans of Latino heritage, with the majority being
Mexican. 
Most Mexicans migrate to nearby states, such as California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona
and Colorado. Though there are exceptions such as Chicago.
With a bit of Mexican history done I would like to speak about the arrival of my family
from Mexico to America. I am regretful to say that I do not have as much information as I
would like since all my grandparents are dead. However, I was able to receive some
information from my parents.
On my mother's side, her grandparents were the first to arrive in the U.S. Texas to be
more precise. They arrived in the late 1800's during the first phase of Mexican
migration. 
At a young age my great grandmother would cross over to Texas every morning to work
(mainly housekeeping) and in the evening go back to her home in Mexico. My great
grandfather arrived in the U.S. (Texas) with his parents and three siblings when he was
10 years old. After my great grandparents married they remained in Texas. On my father's
side, his grandparents on his mother's side were the first to arrive in the U.S. (Texas),
also in the late 1800's. My dad's father was born in a small town in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
He came over to the U.S. by himself when he was 15. Out of his four siblings only a
single brother followed. That is just about how far back I was able to go with my
parents' information. As far as a continuation of immigration, I am not sure whether
cousins and/or other relative followed or were here beforehand. Actually my mom said that
my grandmother told her that we had family living in the parts of Mexico that became part
of the U.S. So, technically they were already in the U.S., presumably Texas. We just do
not know what part of my grandmother's family had lived there. 
Those who I mentioned migrating to Texas did not have much of anything. They came to the
U.S. for work. Their labor included working in mills and a lot of farm work. They also
migrated from Texas to other states when certain crops were at their peaks. Farm work
continued in my family up until I was about 10 years old (I'm the youngest out of six).
However, this was mainly a part time job. For example, part of my memory is everyone
getting up early in the morning before it was light out. Everyone had to work except for
me and for the most part my sister, who was three years older than myself. We watched the
others bend over what seemed like endless rows of asparagus. Then, after some odd hours
of doing that my parents would go home wash up and go to work. My dad a local truck
driver and my mom a social service worker. Among my parents generation this was not an
odd thing. They were raised to work hard and even though they had good, stable jobs they
continued to put in the extra work. Yet, over a few generations that type of labor
decreased until it was just about nonexistent. I cut asparagus a few times, just for fun.
So, in other words after a few rows I put the knife down and never picked it up again. My
nieces and nephews have never even touched a cutting knife and I do not suspect they ever
will.
Now with some personal historical background I would like to relate this to the seven
levels of the Assimilation Perspective.
Cultural Assimilation
There were great changes of cultural patterns to the dominant core values within my
parents' generation. But the great changes definitely began with my grandparents. All,
except perhaps my dad's father, knew how to speak English pretty well and understood
most. However they preferred to speak Spanish (even though they were born and raised in
the U.S.). My parents speak fluent English and Spanish, but they can not read in Spanish
nearly as well as they do in English. Then, with my siblings and I, the younger the child
the less Spanish she can speak, the youngest being myself. 
Catholicism is still the main religion in my family. My dad's mother later in life
switched to Jehovah's Witness, but her husband and children did not follow her lead. For
the most part my grandparents celebrated just about all American Holidays and only a few
Mexican holidays. Food changed as well. All of them coming from Texas, the food had a
Texan touch. Really this mixture of the food, language and culture is Tejano or Tex-Mex.
Along with this is the style of music that goes under the same name.
Also, to touch on social roles my grandparents received more prejudice than my parents,
my parents more than I did, and I am sure my great grandparents had the worst
experiences. I believe that this has to do with each generation assimilating more and
more into the dominant culture.
Structural Assimilation
This type of assimilation definitely occurred with my parents. They have both been
members of or attended group structures outside of their own group or there was a mix
with the majority group. My mother especially. With her job she was sent to workshops
where unlike where we live (lower Yakima Valley) the majority in numbers was not Mexican.
Also there was school, which at the time was a White majority in numbers, unlike today.
So, penetration within secondary group structures as well as primary has taken place.
However, the penetration of primary group structures occurs mainly in my generation.
Marital Assimilation 
Intermarriage first took place between my father's older brother; he married a White
woman. But that was about it for that generation. My brother married a woman who was half
White and my sister is with a man who is White, but was raised with a Mexican
stepfather.
Identification Assimilation
I believe that the feeling of a sense of identity linked to the core society has
developed with my parents, more so with my mom. They are proud to be Americans as well as
Mexicans. However, they feel like part of this society and like they belong here. My
parents were not in the military or anything like that but they have friends, who are
also Mexicans, who were in the military and were quite proud, and my parents see it as
something to be proud of. And as I mentioned before, all U.S. holidays were celebrated by
my grandparents, including the Fourth of July.
Attitude-Receptional Assimilation- absence of prejudice and stereotyping
Behavioral-Receptional Assimilation- absence of discrimination
Civic Assimilation-absence of power and value conflict
I put these last three assimilation levels together because I do not believe these steps
have fully taken place, or even half taken a place. Going on the basis of my own attitude
and the attitudes of some of my nieces and nephews these three levels have a way to go. I
am not sure I will see it in my lifetime. I am glad to see that the other step have and
are taking place though, because I believe we still have much of our own culture and we
learn more about our people with each new wave of Mexican immigrants, despite obvious
assimilation.
Mexican Immigration
and
Assimilation