Latino Immigration Pros And Cons

Reny and Manzano anticipate that by the year 2042, the Latino population in the United States will “reach a historic milestone as the White, non-Hispanic population drops below 50% of the total” (195). The changing demographic has triggered varying responses and reactions including welcomes, discrimination and prejudices formed about the Latino immigrants, and even vitriolic diatribes. The Latino immigration is often constructed as a threat to the social and legal fabric so much so that political wins have come off of it. Even as the Latino immigrants try to build their lives in academia and other professions, they continue to face stereotypes often stoked by the media “as law-breaking, permanent foreigners” (Reny and Manzano 195).
In their

research, Reny and Manzano have found that Latino immigrants are viewed as “less educated” and as refusing to learn the English language (200). As a persistent target, Latino immigrants can experience “dire consequences such as risky behavior, self-endorsement of negative beliefs, decreased self- and cultural-identity, lowered self-esteem, decreased efficacy, and decreased academic performance” (qtd. in Holmes 1). Literature indicates that continuous exposure to negative stereotypes especially with “less acculturation and stronger ethnic could leave Latino/as more aware of Latino/a stereotypes, causing a greater susceptibility to stereotype threat” (qtd. in Holmes 4). In addition, exposure to negative stereotypes can be also be externalized displaying what is known as “performance burden” (qtd. in Holmes 44) wherein Latino/a individuals try to represent their ethnic group in a favorable light. In such cases, underperformance comes from anxiety over having to perform with an additional sense of responsibility. This affects academic performance among students who then are viewed as burdens or liabilities on the education system triggering a cyclic pattern thereby reinforcing the stereotype. Over a long period, generations of Latino immigrants that remain exposed to negative stereotypes devalue their own performance in academic and professional spaces.
Another aspect which gets affected owing to negative stereotypes is self-efficacy, which can also be extrapolated to social self-efficacy. Studying the social self-efficacy of a group such as Latino immigrants helps understand how it relates its capabilities against that of others’. “Stereotype threat is defined as a situational phenomenon in which one feels vulnerable and worries about being judged by the stereotype or fear that he or she will confirm the negative social stereotype” (qtd. in Holmes 48). Studies indicate that the presence of stereotype threat can decrease self-efficacy and social-efficacy especially leading individuals to form poor evaluations about themselves and their groups.
In workplaces, for instance, this hinders the ability of the individual to form good interpersonal relationships with co-workers.

In school settings, individuals who do not experience peer support are more likely to find the environment unfavorable and challenging. In the case of Latino immigrants, these social situations trigger “anxiety, fear, and decreased confidence in social contexts” (qtd. in Holmes 49). In situations which demand collaboration, social feedback, communication, stereotype threat acts as a barrier hindering successful display of performance and abilities. The effects are, however, not only restricted to the aforementioned but can be seen in a group’s efficacy in music, sports, health, and intellectual and cognitive

performance.
Another common stereotype against Latino immigrants is the one which characterizes them as lawless criminals or prone to crime, a content that is regularly portrayed through mainstream media. TV programs between the years 2014 and 2016 had roughly half of their Latino-immigrant characters commit a crime (Recinos, “Why are half of Latino immigrant TV characters portrayed as criminals?”). Most Latino immigrants come to the U.S. looking for work and a decent living condition and while there is no research that shows a co-relation between Latino immigrants and crime, the stereotypes continue to thrive (Marotta-Walters, “The Effects of Stereotypes are Taking a Toll on Latino Immigrants”). According to Reny and Manzano, a new category of citizenship of “illegal alien” has been invented to accommodate Latino immigrants since the 1920s (196). Although triggered debates over immigration policies at the local and national levels have repeatedly come up, the efforts to immigration reform have died down owing to lack of political will and negative stereotypes.
A phenomenon worth noting is that of the decline in Latino immigrants reporting any crimes happening in their communities.

As victims or witnesses to crimes, Latino immigrants fear approaching the police or the law believe it can get a family member deported. Even when they have a citizenship status, they hesitate to go to the police because they believe that such an attempt can possibly lead to deportation. The fear is further compounded as the local police has acted as “immigration officials to raids conducted inside sensitive locations” (Cruz, “Latinos Are Afraid to Report Crime as Debate Around Immigration Intensifies”). This indicates that Latino immigrants live in a state of constant fear of eventually being discovered and deported, without any sense of security especially of their livelihood, preferring to remain silent than taking action. Cunningham-Parmeter calls this “penalized silence” a result of a victim or a witness self-incriminating themselves and the potential “risk of removal from the United States…”

(48).
In a situation with an aggressive legal structure and the mainstream media reinforcing stereotypes against them, Latino immigrants find themselves at a high risk. They experience anxiety, psychological problems, abuse alcohol, and have adjustment-related disorders. The threat of being detained or deported puts them in distress and impairs their health. In addition, the “stigma of being ‘illegal’ and the stereotypes associated with that label (e.g., criminal, poor, and uneducated)” (Hinojos 46) has caused Latino immigrants to view themselves as inferior as against their Caucasian counterparts. The hostility and discrimination Latino immigrants experience also affects their chances of belonging, participation, and self-perception.
However, the entertainment industry is leading change with its increasing focus on “acute portrayal of immigrants and immigration” (Recinos, “Why are half of Latino immigrant TV characters portrayed as criminals?”). Latino immigrants have learned to become more aware of the immigration policies and have advocated for education (Hinojos 133). Even as they struggle against the stereotypes, Latino immigrants find themselves hopeful especially of the young people from their community who are pursuing education. They continue to hope for simple things including an “ability to work freely… to drive legally and without fear…” (Hinojos 133).