While there has always been substantial immigration from countries around the world, Mexican immigrants dominate the statistics. Between 1820 and 1930, Mexicans constituted over half of the documented immigrations. Like many immigrants before them and certainly after them, they experienced discrimination in the United States. Stereotyping and bouts of xenophobia sparked deadly riots against the most prominent minority group in the United States. Early experiences for foreign-born Mexican immigrants, and even first-generation Mexican Americans, was filled with discriminatory behavior aimed at them by police authorities and other citizens of the country.
During World War I, the influx of European immigrants decreased, leaving many jobs in the …show more content…
In Reyna Grande’s narrative, “The Distance Between Us,” she details her family’s attempts to cross into the United States from Tijuana. The first two times they attempted to cross, they were caught by security officers guarding the border. This situation is very dangerous and many did not make it to the United States. Grande states in her narrative, “I am glad I did not know about the thousands of immigrants who had died before my crossing and who have been dying here ever since” (The Distance Between Us, 98). This is just one example of the hardships people will put themselves through to achieve a better life in the United States. As stated by Grande, some who try to enter America at this time do not make it. They are either stopped by border patrol officers or perish making the trip.
After arriving in the United States, the living situation for most, if not all, immigrants was poor. Ernesto Galarza, in his narrative, “Barrio Boy,” writes about the living situations he experienced with his mother when they arrived in the United States. He describes the hotel they were living in as a prison because they were new in the country and afraid to venture into the …show more content…
This caused a feeling among students that their culture was not welcomed or allowed in American schools. Because discrimination in schools was so predominant, many Mexican American students did not finish school. According to Daniels, “in 1987 only 45 percent of Mexican Americans twenty-five years of age and older had a high school diploma” (Daniels, 318). When students are in schools that are severely underfunded and punished for speaking their language in their free time, it can be expected that many are not going to continue their education.
Education and income have a strong relationship in the United States and because so many Mexican American citizens were not getting higher education, most not even having a complete high school education, their incomes were predictably low. The annual median income for a Mexican American family in 1987 was $19,970, compared with the average income of a white family, $32,270 (Daniels, 318). The vast difference in income and discrimination in education are two factors that show the inequality that the Mexican Americans
During World War I, the influx of European immigrants decreased, leaving many jobs in the …show more content…
In Reyna Grande’s narrative, “The Distance Between Us,” she details her family’s attempts to cross into the United States from Tijuana. The first two times they attempted to cross, they were caught by security officers guarding the border. This situation is very dangerous and many did not make it to the United States. Grande states in her narrative, “I am glad I did not know about the thousands of immigrants who had died before my crossing and who have been dying here ever since” (The Distance Between Us, 98). This is just one example of the hardships people will put themselves through to achieve a better life in the United States. As stated by Grande, some who try to enter America at this time do not make it. They are either stopped by border patrol officers or perish making the trip.
After arriving in the United States, the living situation for most, if not all, immigrants was poor. Ernesto Galarza, in his narrative, “Barrio Boy,” writes about the living situations he experienced with his mother when they arrived in the United States. He describes the hotel they were living in as a prison because they were new in the country and afraid to venture into the …show more content…
This caused a feeling among students that their culture was not welcomed or allowed in American schools. Because discrimination in schools was so predominant, many Mexican American students did not finish school. According to Daniels, “in 1987 only 45 percent of Mexican Americans twenty-five years of age and older had a high school diploma” (Daniels, 318). When students are in schools that are severely underfunded and punished for speaking their language in their free time, it can be expected that many are not going to continue their education.
Education and income have a strong relationship in the United States and because so many Mexican American citizens were not getting higher education, most not even having a complete high school education, their incomes were predictably low. The annual median income for a Mexican American family in 1987 was $19,970, compared with the average income of a white family, $32,270 (Daniels, 318). The vast difference in income and discrimination in education are two factors that show the inequality that the Mexican Americans