Mexicans and the Future of the American Dream

Mexicans and the Future of the American Dream PDF

Author: Maria Regina Martínez Casas

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-02-17

Total Pages: 119

ISBN-13: 1000836843

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Mexicans and the Future of the American Dream examines the lives of Mexican society and government officials in the United States. The 2016 U.S. presidential election marked a defining moment in the lives of Mexicans in the United States. It rekindled nightmares in many Mexicans and pitted a new generation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans against a shift in politics. In this book, national experts and former government officials explore the direction and magnitude of Donald J. Trump’s shifts in immigration policy in three areas: consular strategies put in motion after the election, drugs, and bilateral relations. Insights from 19 Mexican consulates throughout the U.S. territory, in states both favorable to and against immigration, demonstrate shifting perspectives of government officials and Mexicans visiting consulates for formalities, getting orientation on a range of topics, or just asking for help. Mexicans and the Future of the American Dream will be of interest to advanced students and researchers of politics, sociology, history, ethnic studies and American studies.

The Latino/a American Dream

The Latino/a American Dream PDF

Author: Sandra L. Hanson

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2016-05-15

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1623493900

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The “American Dream” means many things to many people, but in general it can be said that it connects the idea of freedom to the opportunity for prosperity and upward social mobility. Sandra L. Hanson and John K. White have joined together with a group of social scientists to explore the attitudes, experiences, and expectations of Latinos in their quest for the American Dream. The Latino/a American Dream asks many timely questions, including: how do Latino/as view the American Dream? Has the recent economic downturn affected their hopes of achieving the Dream? What about recent immigrants? What about Latina women? The answers to these questions and more draw on sociology, political science, and history to paint a multifaceted portrait of Latino/a opportunity in America, both real and perceived.

Italians Then, Mexicans Now

Italians Then, Mexicans Now PDF

Author: Joel Perlmann

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2005-11-17

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1610444450

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According to the American dream, hard work and a good education can lift people from poverty to success in the "land of opportunity." The unskilled immigrants who came to the United States from southern, central, and eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries largely realized that vision. Within a few generations, their descendants rose to the middle class and beyond. But can today's unskilled immigrant arrivals—especially Mexicans, the nation's most numerous immigrant group—expect to achieve the same for their descendants? Social scientists disagree on this question, basing their arguments primarily on how well contemporary arrivals are faring. In Italians Then, Mexicans Now, Joel Perlmann uses the latest immigration data as well as 100 years of historical census data to compare the progress of unskilled immigrants and their American-born children both then and now. The crucial difference between the immigrant experience a hundred years ago and today is that relatively well-paid jobs were plentiful for workers with little education a hundred years ago, while today's immigrants arrive in an increasingly unequal America. Perlmann finds that while this change over time is real, its impact has not been as strong as many scholars have argued. In particular, these changes have not been great enough to force today's Mexican second generation into an inner-city "underclass." Perlmann emphasizes that high school dropout rates among second-generation Mexicans are alarmingly high, and are likely to have a strong impact on the group's well-being. Yet despite their high dropout rates, Mexican Americans earn at least as much as African Americans, and they fare better on social measures such as unwed childbearing and incarceration, which often lead to economic hardship. Perlmann concludes that inter-generational progress, though likely to be slower than it was for the European immigrants a century ago, is a reality, and could be enhanced if policy interventions are taken to boost high school graduation rates for Mexican children. Rich with historical data, Italians Then, Mexicans Now persuasively argues that today's Mexican immigrants are making slow but steady socio-economic progress and may one day reach parity with earlier immigrant groups who moved up into the heart of the American middle class. Copublished with the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College

We ARE Americans

We ARE Americans PDF

Author: William Perez

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-07-03

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1000971341

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Winner of the CEP Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary ScholarshipAbout 2.4 million children and young adults under 24 years of age are undocumented. Brought by their parents to the US as minors—many before they had reached their teens—they account for about one-sixth of the total undocumented population. Illegal through no fault of their own, some 65,000 undocumented students graduate from the nation's high schools each year. They cannot get a legal job, and face enormous barriers trying to enter college to better themselves—and yet America is the only country they know and, for many, English is the only language they speak. What future do they have? Why are we not capitalizing, as a nation, on this pool of talent that has so much to contribute? What should we be doing?Through the inspiring stories of 16 students—from seniors in high school to graduate students—William Perez gives voice to the estimated 2.4 million undocumented students in the United States, and draws attention to their plight. These stories reveal how—despite financial hardship, the unpredictability of living with the daily threat of deportation, restrictions of all sorts, and often in the face of discrimination by their teachers—so many are not just persisting in the American educational system, but achieving academically, and moreover often participating in service to their local communities. Perez reveals what drives these young people, and the visions they have for contributing to the country they call home.Through these stories, this book draws attention to these students’ predicament, to stimulate the debate about putting right a wrong not of their making, and to motivate more people to call for legislation, like the stalled Dream Act, that would offer undocumented students who participate in the economy and civil life a path to citizenship. Perez goes beyond this to discuss the social and policy issues of immigration reform. He dispels myths about illegal immigrants’ supposed drain on state and federal resources, providing authoritative evidence to the contrary. He cogently makes the case—on economic, social, and constitutional and moral grounds—for more flexible policies towards undocumented immigrants. If today’s immigrants, like those of past generations, are a positive force for our society, how much truer is that where undocumented students are concerned?

My (Underground) American Dream

My (Underground) American Dream PDF

Author: Julissa Arce

Publisher: Center Street

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1455540250

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A National Bestseller! What does an undocumented immigrant look like? What kind of family must she come from? How could she get into this country? What is the true price she must pay to remain in the United States? JULISSA ARCE knows firsthand that the most common, preconceived answers to those questions are sometimes far too simple-and often just plain wrong. On the surface, Arce's story reads like a how-to manual for achieving the American dream: growing up in an apartment on the outskirts of San Antonio, she worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, and landed a coveted job on Wall Street, complete with a six-figure salary. The level of professional and financial success that she achieved was the very definition of the American dream. But in this brave new memoir, Arce digs deep to reveal the physical, financial, and emotional costs of the stunning secret that she, like many other high-achieving, successful individuals in the United States, had been forced to keep not only from her bosses, but even from her closest friends. From the time she was brought to this country by her hardworking parents as a child, Arce-the scholarship winner, the honors college graduate, the young woman who climbed the ladder to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs-had secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant. In this surprising, at times heart-wrenching, but always inspirational personal story of struggle, grief, and ultimate redemption, Arce takes readers deep into the little-understood world of a generation of undocumented immigrants in the United States today- people who live next door, sit in your classrooms, work in the same office, and may very well be your boss. By opening up about the story of her successes, her heartbreaks, and her long-fought journey to emerge from the shadows and become an American citizen, Arce shows us the true cost of achieving the American dream-from the perspective of a woman who had to scale unseen and unimaginable walls to get there.

Death and the American Dream

Death and the American Dream PDF

Author: Daniel Cano

Publisher: Bilingual Review Press (AZ)

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13:

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Fiction. Latino/Latina Studies. The year is 1915. Although he lacks newspaper experience, Mexican emigrant Pepe Rios lands a job as a Spanish-language reporter in Los Angeles, thanks to the wealthy husband of a former lover. While most newcomers end up working in the fields, Pepe is thrust into a new milieu rife with political unrest. Robber barons, anarchists, and communists struggle with one another, and the news is filled with the exploits of Hearst, Darrow, Flores Magon, and Zapata. Awash in political intrigue and high society, Pepe attempts to uncover the truth about his best friend's death, but his quest for truth just might unravel his new life and force him to face an uncomfortable realization about his past. The author peppers this tantalizing and suspenseful novel with Pepe's journal entries, giving the character depth and dimension as he describes his former life in Mexico and his dreams for the future.

Spreading the American Dream

Spreading the American Dream PDF

Author: Emily Rosenberg

Publisher: Hill and Wang

Published: 2011-04-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1429952253

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In examining the economic and cultural trs that expressed America's expansionist impulse during the first half of the twentieth century, Emily S. Rosenberg shows how U.S. foreign relations evolved from a largely private system to an increasingly public one and how, soon, the American dream became global.

A Race for the Future

A Race for the Future PDF

Author: Mike Gonzalez

Publisher: Forum Books

Published: 2014-09-02

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0804137668

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A landmark work examining the impact of Hispanic immigration on American politics, with a blueprint for what conservatives must do to recapture the American electorate. Since 1965, millions of people have come to this country from Latin America and the Caribbean, seeking freedom and the chance to make a better life. Now accounting for more than 16 percent of the population, His­panics have emerged as a decisive voting bloc that overwhelmingly skews liberal as they influence pivotal electoral races. But it doesn’t have to be that way forever. In A Race for the Future, Mike Gonzalez describes what the term Hispanic means, correcting the erroneous assumption that it is a homogenous group and presenting an un- varnished look at the challenges each nation­ality—Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and many others—faces in America. Despite their growing political power, His­panics have largely been kept separate from mainstream America, and many of them are consigned to an underclass status. A Race for the Future reveals exactly how bureaucratic decisions that encourage public assistance and discourage assimilation hinder Hispanics and allow them to be politically monopolized by progressives. Gonzalez shows how conservatives can begin to reverse this damaging trajectory by supporting policies that would help Hispanics thrive—education choice, family values, and financial freedom. By returning to their core values of community, industry, and independence, conservatives can actively court the vital Hispanic vote. The fate of too many key battleground states, from Texas to Florida—analyzed in depth here—depends on the Right’s ability to successfully do just that. A powerful take on a rapidly changing and diverse community, A Race for the Future is a much-needed course correction on how our country can successfully enable Hispanics to flourish while standing firm on our principles.

I Was Their American Dream

I Was Their American Dream PDF

Author: Malaka Gharib

Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Published: 2019-04-30

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 052557512X

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“A portrait of growing up in America, and a portrait of family, that pulls off the feat of being both intimately specific and deeply universal at the same time. I adored this book.”—Jonny Sun “[A] high-spirited graphical memoir . . . Gharib’s wisdom about the power and limits of racial identity is evident in the way she draws.”—NPR WINNER OF THE ARAB AMERICAN BOOK AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews I Was Their American Dream is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid. Malaka Gharib's triumphant graphic memoir brings to life her teenage antics and illuminates earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised. Malaka's story is a heartfelt tribute to the American immigrants who have invested their future in the promise of the American dream. Praise for I Was Their American Dream “In this time when immigration is such a hot topic, Malaka Gharib puts an engaging human face on the issue. . . . The push and pull first-generation kids feel is portrayed with humor and love, especially humor. . . . Gharib pokes fun at all of the cultures she lives in, able to see each of them with an outsider’s wry eye, while appreciating them with an insider’s close experience. . . . The question of ‘What are you?’ has never been answered with so much charm.”—Marissa Moss, New York Journal of Books “Forthright and funny, Gharib fiercely claims her own American dream.”—Booklist “Thoughtful and relatable, this touching account should be shared across generations.”– Library Journal “This charming graphic memoir riffs on the joys and challenges of developing a unique ethnic identity.”– Publishers Weekly

Mexican Americans

Mexican Americans PDF

Author: Julian Nava

Publisher:

Published: 1973

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13:

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Traces the history of Mexicans in the United States and describes their social, political, and cultural contributions to their new country. Includes a brief history of Mexico.