FLC-2009 – Diversity, Multicultural Learning, and Social Justice
Jesus Diaz-Caballero
Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures
List of Resources for Understanding Latin American Migration
and the DREAM Act
Introduction:
To study the migration experience to the US is one of the most fascinating topics of our
times. Academic literature recognizes two paradigms: assimilation and integration. It
seems that European migration to the US connects with assimilation and Latin American
migration with integration. Integration means forming part of a whole, but does not imply
the disappearance of the parts. According to Jorge Ramos, journalist specialized in Latino
migration, the metaphor of a salad is more close to US Latinos than the melting pot
because all the ingredients can be distinguished even though they form part of the whole.
Some of the following resources are a selection of the books, articles and websites that I
use in my course entitled “Latin American Migration Culture and Identity” taught in
Spanish and some resources are in English. I promote the critical thinking of my students
contrasting the diversity of the immigration experiences considering categories like
acculturation, adaptation, appropriation, incorporation, bilingualism, etc.
In these resources, I highlight Jorge Ramos’s book The Latino wave (2004) that presents
the dramatic scenario of Latin American migration within the last years that will
transform the country, culturally and politically, and juxtaposing the controversial article
from Samuel Huntington entitled “The Hispanic Challenge” (2004) that presents a
contrasting view of the Latino migration that does not follow the traditional patterns of
assimilation of European immigration. Basically, in my class through writing exams and
oral discussions, I promote the critical thinking of my students and encourage them to
analyze the opposite views about the meaning of Latino migration considering the
paradigms of assimilation and integration.
Furthermore, I incorporate two articles about President Obama’s election and its impact
on minorities like Latinos, Asians and African Americans, including immigrants. The
articles of Andrew Lam: “Our Man Obama the Post-Imperial President” and Marie
Arana: “He is not black” has important insights from Asian and Latino points of view
that challenge the traditional paradigm of ethnic labels and assimilation. Both authors
present the new scenario and the importance of ethnic minorities in the future of the
diversity in the US.
Also, I include You Tube videos of two Spanish songs about immigration “Mojado”
[Wetback] from the singer Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona and “Clandestino” [Underground]
from French-Spanish singer Manu Chao. I found in both lyrics and images of these
videos important writings and visual arguments to discuss the undocumented immigration
in the classroom.
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In addition, I include some websites to understand the Latino American immigration with
focus in undocumented population, especially the children and young adults. Some of
these valuable online materials explain the meaning of the Development, Relief and
Education for Alien Minors Act (also called “The DREAM Act”) as a piece of proposed
federal legislation that would provide undocumented youth who graduate from a high
school, a clear path to continue in higher education, financial aid, permanent residency
and ultimately citizenship. Some of the resources have been used for a power point
presentation that I and my colleague Scott Hopkins prepared for a workshop entitled
“Understanding the DREAM Act” on May 19, 2009. I highlight the website and blogs
about DREAM Act advocacy that shows how many unauthorized students became
involved in activities on the ground: contacting legislators, professors, mobilizing their
various communities, and staging public actions. Some of these sites were suggested by
some undocumented students that participated in the workshop on May 19th. Also, I
include some important resources suggested by my colleague Colleen Fong, in order to
have a historical perspective of the Latino immigration and education.
Books
Ramos, Jorge: The Latino Wave. How Hispanics Will Choose the Next President. New York:
Rayo, 2005. < http://www.jorgeramos.com/latinowave.htm>
---------------- La ola latina. Cómo los hispanos están transformando la política de los Estados
Unidos. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.
<http://www.jorgeramos.com/resumen_ondalatina.htm>
Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican. New York: Vintage Books 1994
Available in http://books.google.com/books: When I Was Puerto Rican: A Memoir
---------------- Cuando era Puertorriqueña. New York: Vintage Books 1994
Jorge Ramos Bio
Esmeralda Santiago Bio
<<http://www.jorgeramos.com/eng_bio.htm>>
<<http://www.esmeraldasantiago.com/bio/bio.html>>
Articles
Arana, Marie: “He’s not Black.” Washington Post, Sunday, November 30, 2008; Page B01.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/story/2008/11/29/ST2008112900984.html>
Huntington, Samuel: “The Hispanic Challenge” Foreign Police, Abril/March 2004
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/gems/culturalagency1/SamuelHuntingtonTheHispanicC.pdf>
Lam, Andrew: “Our Man Obama: the Post-Imperial President.” New America Media, Jan 14
<<http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=e96674231b31155c9ae5
adeca7c1ec08>>
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Immigration Laws and General Information
History of laws concerning immigration and naturalization in the United States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_laws_concerning_immigration_and_naturalizatio
n_in_the_United_States
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1952
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Reform_and_Control_Act_of_1986
Home Land Security
http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/
PEW Hispanic Center - Immigration
http://pewhispanic.org/topics/?TopicID=16
Latin American Network Information Center
http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/immigration/
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/ghtreaty/
Media
New American Media - Immigration
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_alt_category.html?category_id=14
National Public Radio: The Trail of Latino Migration: Leaving Home
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1447891
Undocumented Students: From High School to Higher Education
Pyler v. Doe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyler_v._Doe
AB 540 – Access to College for ALL!
http://maldef.org/education/public_policy/ab540/
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Undocumented Students: From Higher Education to Citizenship
DREAM Act, - General Informative Websites
DREAM Act – Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act
DREAM Act - Immigration Law and Policy – Weekly Updates
http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/index.htm
DREAM Act - Summary & Status – Congress (2009-2010)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas
Gonzales, Roberto: “Young Lives on Hold: The College Dreams of Undocumented.” The College
Board, 2009 << http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/young-lives-on-holdcollege-board.pdf>>
NCLR (National Council of La Raza) – DREAM Act
http://www.nclr.org/content/policy/detail/1331/
California DREAM Act - SB 1301 – Senator Gilbert Cedillo
http://dist22.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={618F8B21-E3F2-436F-AD334F47062FA1BD}
DREAM Act: Activist websites
Dream Act Portal
http://dreamact.info/
United We Dream
http://www.unitedwedream.org/
Dream Act 2009
http://dreamact2009.com/
Dream Act Activist
http://www.dreamactivist.org/
Act Dream Now
http://www.actonadream.org/
DREAM Act Blogs
Underground Undergrads
http://undergroundundergrads.com/
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Videos: Songs, Latin American migration, and DREAM Act Activism
Ricardo Arjona – Mojado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIgkJ0e6gU
Manu Chao – Clandestino
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmcRJmdZt5s
Obama supports the DREAM Act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GwNVo7siFA
Immigration to USA - THE BROWNING OF AMERICA (Ilán Stavans)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ZqdK-2xjY
Growing Activism: Undocumented Students/DREAM Act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N8P9S3YKU4
Border Stories
http://borderstories.org/index.php/nogales-born-and-raised.html
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