History of Hispanic immigration to the United States

The history of Hispanic immigration to the United States refers to the immigration to the United States of people from Central America, South America and the Caribbean, and dates from the very beginning of the country.. Hispanics have affected the United States culturally, economically and socially for good; but also each Hispanic country has had different immigration policies and patterns, usually motivated by their individual needs. Immigration patterns differ from country to country, and it is important to study them both as a whole and individually.
The first Hispanics to immigrate north were Mexicans after the Mexican-American war (1846-1848). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the United States the present-day states of California, Nevada, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and parts of Arizona. The government of the United States gave the Mexicans who inhabited these lands the opportunity to become American citizens. Eighty percent (80%) of the residents took that opportunity, becoming the first Mexican-Americans. After these New Mexicans settled into the United States, thousands more followed trying to escape the political and economical instability of Mexico during the Mexican Revolution of 1910. These New Mexicans immigrants became the first major group of illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. They took mostly agricultural jobs and those who went into rural areas took low wages jobs that still surpassed what they could earn in Mexico. This made it a lot easier for Puerto Ricans to migrate to the mainland. During the early and mid 1900’s the migration was steady, mostly marked by the economic situation on the island, but in 1980 with the economy in shambles, and unemployment at around twenty percent for several years, the immigration pattern changed. Immigrants were well-educated professionals who could not find jobs on the island, and were searching for better luck on the mainland. There is also a large number of immigrants who enter the country illegally; in 1996 this number was about three million a year. These illegal immigrants are divided into two categories, the ones that cross the borders without a visa, and the ones who overstay their nonimmigrant visas.
Immigration policies
The 1882 Immigration Act was the nation’s first major attempt to dictate who could enter the country and who was not allowed. Some of these immigrants are smuggled in the back of trucks, or others simply walk across the desert and cross the Rio Grande, the river that divides Texas and Mexico. All of these are very dangerous acts, and each immigrant puts their lives at risk when they decide to cross the frontier. If not caught by death, another possibility is to be caught by the Border Patrol. In any of these ways, crossing the border without a valid passport is a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses. These immigrants, who are captured at the border are finger printed and immediately sent back to Mexico.
Economic effect of Hispanic immigration
There are two important views of the economic effect of immigration in the United States. The first view is the one that sees America as the land built from the hard work of immigrants. Many Hispanic immigrants are actually taking unglamorous jobs such as restaurant workers, construction workers, manufacturing line workers, hotel service workers, and landscape workers. The biggest concentration of Hispanics is in the southwest, and in places like Los Angeles, Mexicans outnumber any other immigrant group. By 2010 it is estimated that Hispanics will make up more than half of L.A.’s population. Cubans can also be found in high positions in Universities as well as well known American companies like Sears for example. The 2000 census shows that Cuban-Americans have the highest level of education among Hispanics in the U.S., with twenty-three percent of Cubans who are twenty-five or older holding a college degree.
Mexican-Americans are the biggest Hispanic group in the United States. Mexican Americans live primarily in the Southwestern United States, especially in Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The large numbers of Mexican Americans has made it possible for them to influence in some cases the U.S. government. Among this group, there is also a great presence of poverty and a feeling of not belonging in the United States who does not accept them, or Mexico who could not provide for them.
Immigrant groups are also believed to bring crime and violence, and drug activity to the areas where they settle. Many cities with large number of Hispanic immigrants report increases in crimes such as drug trafficking, human smuggling rings, prostitution, and gang activity.<ref nameStavans/> Crime and violence borough very high number of immigrants to prisons in the U.S. A 2005 study of illegal immigrants by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found that more than half of illegal immigrants had been arrested between two and ten times, mostly for crimes like murder, robbery, assault, and rape.<ref nameMiller/> The GAO also estimated that in 2004 illegal immigrant make up twenty-seven percent of the U.S. federal prison population.
Criminal activities in the areas where Hispanic immigrants settle make these areas very unsafe and add on the cost of police, prisons, and health costs. The government provides support to the areas where most immigrants settle to compensate for these loses, but in most cases the help is not enough. California, for example, spent around $635 million in 2003 to incarcerate illegal immigrants in state prisons, but was only reimbursed $ 77 million.<ref name=Miller/>

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu