Dominican Immigration Case Study

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1. During July 4, 1992, after rumors that a white policeman had fatally shot a young Dominican male, hundreds of Dominican immigrants rioted in the Washington Heights in New York City. City officials were scared that L.A riots was going repeat because for several days neighborhood youths torched cars, looted Korean and white owned businesses, and threw rocks and bottle at policemen. Even after a jury concluded the policeman acted in self-defense, this was first Dominican riot in the U.S that suddenly sparked national spotlight on a new Latino immigrant group. “Between 1961 and 1986 more than 400,000 people legally immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, and another 44,000 moved to Puerto Rico, while thousands more entered both places illegally” (Gonzalez 116). By 1990, more than 300,000 Dominicans lived in New York City, but it is believed that in a millennium the number of Dominicans will increased to 700,000. During the 1950s, Dominicans went largely unnoticed and were often mistaken as blacks who speak Spanish. Like every other Latino group, Dominicans were also blame by the whites for violent crimes and drug trafficking.

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Some of the push factors of the Dominican emigration were racism, rivalry, and discrimination. “Puerto Ricans assisted Dominican migrants in the 1960s to navigate the hostile and inscrutable Anglo world the newcomers found. But in recent years, sharp tension has emerged between the groups, both here and in Puerto Rico” (Gonzalez 126). Like whites, Puerto Ricans believed Dominicans were stealing jobs. Another reason Dominicans were driven back were because of the poverty, drugs, and low-wage labor they faced in the U.S. Dominicans that were doctors were earned up to $160 a month and teacher were earned about $70. “Overall, more than 60 percent of the population earns poverty wages” (Gonzalez

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