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Charlotte Bowles
Final Issue Brief Draft: Latino Immigration
4/21/2015
Keywords:
Latino, Undocumented Immigrants, SB1070, Executive Action
Description:
This issue brief provides an overview of Latino Immigration into the United States,
specifically focusing on the largest Hispanic subgroup—Mexicans. Outlined is the scope
of the immigration, the history of controversy, the tactics used to deter or attract
immigrants, and the current state of immigration reform under the Obama administration.
Key Points:
 Latino immigration accounts for more than half of the US population increase in
recent years.
 64% of Latinos in the US are of Mexican origin, and their immigration story
garners the most controversy and often difficulty.
 Illegal immigration, especially surrounding Mexican immigrants and the boarder
states, is a controversial issue, and has declined since 2007.
 Violence along the boarder is a point of tension and concern.
 Creating pathways to citizenship for Latino immigrants is strongly supported by
US Latino citizens.
BRIEF:
According to the US Census, as of 2010, the definition of Hispanic or Latino is “a
person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish
culture or origin regardless of race” (Census Brief). Immigration is an important issue for
the US and for Latinos especially, since they are one of the biggest immigration groups
and the largest minority population in the US. Furthermore, the 2010 census reports that
“more than half of the growth in the total U.S. population between 2000 and 2010 was
because of the increase in the Hispanic Population” and by 2010 Latinos composed 16
percent of the total US population (US Census Bureau). As such a large and fast growing
ethnoracial group, immigration and immigration policies affect Latino communities and
the US at large in social, political, and economic ways.
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The spread of Latinos in the US is large, but there is a definite concentration in
Western States, especially of Mexican immigrants. Among Hispanic Subgroups, 64% are
Mexican, followed by 9.4% Puerto Ricans, 3.8% Salvadorans, 3.7% Cubans, 3.1%
Dominicans, 2.3% Guatemalans, and 13.7%
other (CDC). California is the state with the
largest Hispanic population (14.7 million) and
New Mexico has the highest percentage of
Hispanic immigrants (47.3%) (CDC). As
shown in the figure below, the distribution of
the Hispanic population in the US is highly
concentrated around the “border states” such as
California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Specifically in these states, Mexican origin Hispanics are the dominant immigration
group; while on the East Coast Hispanic origin groups vary among Puerto Ricans and
Dominicans, Cubans, and Salvadorans (PEW). However, the relationship between
Mexican immigrants and the boarder states is a particularly controversial issue and one
that is often at the forefront of media coverage when discussing Latino immigration. Part
of this controversy arises out of the physical possibility of entering the country from the
boarder in an illegal or undocumented manner. Mexicans compose 52% of all
unauthorized immigrants; however since 2007 their numbers have been declining (PEW).
Boarder security between the US and Mexico has become particularly heightened
and controversial. In 2012, a 16 year old Mexican was shot multiple times, while lying
down, in a confrontation that the Border Patrol officials claimed was due to the frequent
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danger of “people throwing rocks” at them (CQ Researcher, 113). The increase in
security at the boarder is also negatively perceived by those in the cross-border
communities such as between El Paso, Texas and
Cuidad Juarez (Mexico), which exchange people,
friendships, and work every day (CQ, 113).
Cities and States take different methods to
deal with illegal immigration, some want to attract
immigrants while others want to deter and expel
them. In 2010, Arizona created the controversial
law “SB 1070”, which allows law enforcement
officials to “check the immigration papers of
suspected undocumented workers” if they are being detained or arrested (CQ Researcher,
40). Concerns over racial profiling took the issue to the Supreme Court in 2012, where it
was upheld (though modified). Following this law there was a sharp decline in illegal
immigrants in Arizona, which the State representative believed would cause an opening
of job opportunities for US citizens and legal immigrants. However, a more liberal DC
research group concluded that if all undocumented workers were expelled from the state,
Arizona would in fact lose 4.2 billion in tax revenue and 500,000 jobs for both legal and
undocumented workers (CQ, 40). As of 2015, California has become one of ten states to
allow undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license, and at least 1.4 million
are expected to apply in California alone in the next 3 years (NBC). Support for Latino
immigrants is also found within the community of Latino US citizens. Latino registered
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voters are much more likely than the US general public to support “creating a pathway to
citizenship for undocumented immigrants” over border security (PEW).
In 2014, President Obama proposed an executive action plan to reform the
immigration system. This plan would offer relief from deportation to unauthorized
immigrants and allow applications for work permits; according to a PEW research
analysis, these measures “would benefit those born in Mexico more than any other
country of origin group” (PEW, Mexico Will Benefit). However, as of February 2015, the
measures continued to see delays (LATimes). This has caused the governments of
Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, to publically call for the executive action to pass.
As issues around Latino immigration, and
particularly Mexican illegal immigration,
continue to grow it is interesting to see the effect
that the Latino US resident population will have
on the policies. Issues of border patrol,
citizenship, and documentation have social and
political ramifications and the influx of Latinos
will continue to affect US political and social
demographics in major ways.
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Works Cited
CDC. "Minority Health: Hispanic or Latino Populations." Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. N.p., 03 Feb. 2015. Web.
<http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/hispanic.html>.
Census Bureau. "Newsroom Archive: 2010 Census Shows America's Diversity." United
States Census Bureau. N.p., Mar. 2011. Web.
<http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb11cn125.html>.
Issues in Race and Ethnicity: Selections from CQ Researcher. 8th ed. Washington, D.C.:
CQ, 2014. Print.
Krogstad, Jens, and Jeffrey Passel. "5 Facts about Illegal Immigration in the U.S." Pew
Research Center. N.p., 18 Nov. 2014. Web. <http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2014/11/18/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/>.
Krogstad, Jens, and Jeffrey Passel. "Those from Mexico Will Benefit Most from Obama's
Executive Action." Pew Research Center. N.p., 20 Nov. 2014. Web.
<http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/20/those-from-mexico-willbenefit-most-from-obamas-executive-action/>.
Londoño, Cristina. "'The Best Year': California Latino Immigrants Prepare for Driver's
Licenses." NBC News. N.p., 2 Jan. 2015. Web.
<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/best-year-california-latino-immigrantsprepare-drivers-licenses-n278406>.
Wilkinson, Tracy. "Mexico, Others Dismayed by Delay for Obama Immigration
Measures." Los Angeles Times. N.p., 20 Feb. 2015. Web.
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<http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-obamaimmigration-20150219-story.html>.
General / Relevant Websites:
http://www.pewhispanic.org/topics/immigration/
http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/immigration.htm
http://time.com/3742067/history-mexican-immigration/
Image 1 (map):
http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/2013/08/latino_populations_in_the_states_counties_an
d_cities_FINAL.pdf
Image 2 (graph):
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/11/18/unauthorized-immigrant-totals-rise-in-7-statesfall-in-14/#decrease-in-unauthorized-immigrants-from-mexico
Image 3 (bar chart):
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/10/29/chapter-5-hispanics-and-their-views-ofimmigration-reform/