The American Dream for Latinos/Hispanics.

The American dream is the National ethos of the United states. The idea of representative democracy, liberty, rights, equality, and upward mobility. is the Pursuit of individual prosperity and also success for oneself and their next generation. Hard work, sacrifice and risk-taking are the elements to achieve the American dream. This term has changed throughout the times, from the 18th century to the 21st century so it has many meanings. An idea popularized by James Truslow Adams in 1931 saying that “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or conditions of birth.

Nobody really knows what exactly is the american dream, Nobody is really sure about if it really exists. Immigrants come to this country looking for that thing that they heard before. About a place with a better future for all, with justices, with space for everyone to create a base in their life and to do what they can’t do in their countries… That idea might not be real, it’s way more complicated than what they have told. The American dream is dierent for every single person and it has too many interpretations that sadly are not talked about enough.

Individuals and families come to this country looking for The American Dream. Dreams of economic success, social mobility and the chance to build a brighter future for themselves and their descendants. The Idea of hard work and determination can lead to prosperity becomes the courage for many immigrants to leave their mother country and embark their journey to a whole dierent country. Many individuals not just immigrate because of those reasons, also they are not safe in their countries.

The corruption that exists in many countries is also a factor of why immigration is so massive. People who are facing persecution or limited opportunities based on their political or religious beliefs may immigrate to The United States to enjoy the freedom and protections provided by the USA government, the idea of Liberty and equality.

The search for a better education. They understand that their children deserve a better education and in their country it’s not possible. A lack of equal education is a root cause of poverty and economic inequality which in turn drive people the option of migration. To seek job opportunities, improve their lives and provide for their families.Having a degree in latino-americans countries is equal to nothing, the corruption maintains the poor in poverty no matter their educational level. You can finish 4 years of college, working hard to get that goal to end up working your entire life in a supermarket because you couldn’t find a job.

The strong corruption and inequality in their country. The government is the main factor why individuals and families decide to leave their country and start over in the USA. They see their country as “their playground”. Their desire for power and selfishness have led many countries to economic and social ruins. Stealing from their people, being part of malicious organizations that aect the country, naming unknown people leaders of important companies In order to maintain themselves at the top and untouchable, not giving those who worked hard to have an education the opportunity to social mobilice. All In order to not let their empire fall and to maintain the poor in poverty and the rich to get even more richer.

The Opportunity to learn a dierent language. Having a good education is an important factor but having a good education and also being bilingual is the top of the top. The dierence between person A-finish college/university and person B-who also finish college/university but knows two or more languages is that person B has more opportunities to find a better job and even faster than person A in The USA. Having the ability to communicate with foreign countries is beneficial for the company looking for employees and for the country. That’s also one of the reasons of immigration mainly for Hispanic people. Spanish and English are the two most common languages but the opportunities of being bilingual apply globally for any language that includes English and any other one.

Family reunification. Family reunification is a significant factor in immigration to the USA. People often immigrate to join with family members who are already living in the country. Most of the time it’s individuals reunifying with their parents who haven’t been together for many years or even their children’s entire life. Fortunately U.S immigration policies prioritize family reunification, allowing U.S citizens or permanent residents to support family members for immigration status adjustment.

Cultural exposure and diversity. It’s well known that the United States has a big percentage of people who come from a dierent country with dierent cultures, which makes it a country where they can somehow feel like your mother-land. Also to connect and learn from other countries and to expand your knowledge about the world and its people. That would also give individuals dierent types of opportunities like educational, economic, influential, ect.

All these factors are main reasons why individuals and/ or their families immigrate to The United States, but also all theseThese concepts are derivative from the idea of “The American Dream”. Despite the promises of opportunities, immigrants don’t have an easy journey to achieve their goal of the American Dream. The struggle to secure and stable employment, explore the unfamiliar culture, the struggle of not knowing English (Mainly for adult immigrants) and also the racial and cultural discrimination that still exists in the USA are factors that we also have to take into account.

Equality and Justice. Two topics that are connected to the term of “The American Dream” , it reflects the aspirations of opportunity for all, regardless of the factor of race, ethnicity, gender, ect. But that’s not true, It’s not for everyone.

The United States is an example of social injustice, racial discrimination, gender discrimination and ethnicity discrimination. Starting from the very beginning when the first British colony came to this land and killed the Native American to steal their land or when they started to steal Africans from their continent and enslave them. After slavery they created segregation and Jim Crow colorism laws, and till this day black people are still fighting for equality Women still fight for equal treatment, equal wages, equal job opportunities. Immigrants are also not treated equally and are deported to their countries for no other reason than the fact that White Americans do not want them here.

Homeownership. Owning a house is considered a cornerstone of the American Dream. It represents security, stability, and a sense of belonging. But in the last few years the price of houses has been increasing in an extreme way, inflation is responsible for the prices to go up, and not just in houses but for everything. The living expenses are so much higher now than how it was 10 years ago. Inflation increases house values making low class, middle class society dicult the goal of owning a house.

So many factors that put in doubt the existence of The American dream in the last few years, at least for any other race besides White Native American but also depends on wealth. No matter your race or ethnicity. If an individual is wealthy enough she/he has the opportunity to have the popularized definition of the American Dream.

The percentages are important to know how races are dierent from each other in society. In 2010, The educational high school percentage of latinos was 62.9, blacks 84.2 and Whites 87.6. 13.9 percent of latinos had at least a BA degree, compared to 19.8 percent of blacks and 30 percent of whites.The latinos household income in The United States was 38,039, compared to 32,584 of black households far below the 51,861 of white households. Unemployment rates for latinos were 10.8 percent, Blacks 13.4 percent and for whites 7.5 percent. The rate of poverty was 25.3 and 25.8 percent for latinos/as and Blacks, but the rate of poverty of whites was 12.3 percent. Somehow the White race stays in the

We have to take into consideration that The American Dream is a dynamic concept, Jennifer Wolak and David A. M. Patterson claimed in their book “The dynamic American Dream”. Its meaning changes and varies among dierent individuals and communities. It means that the american dream is simply a name to multiples definitions, It’s the simple way to call dierent experiences, There’s no expecific definition for the term American Dream.

Cites

1. “Asylum based on political persecution. J. Sparks Law PLLC” ( Sparks, J., 2023)
2. Initiative, K. B. (2018, September 18). Education: a major reason for migration – Kino Border Initiative. Kino Border Initiative.
3. https://refugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Understanding-Corruption-Migration-U SCRI-brief-May2021.pdf
4. https://www.americathebilingual.com/the-surprising-truth-about-american-bilingualism- what-the-data-tells-us/
5. https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/Z TAwMHhuYV9fMjIyMjIwMF9fQU41?sid=d9bf7adf-8c4c-4038-9d20-cb42b5c7dd9c@r edis&vid=0&format=EB&lpid=lp_119&rid=0
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_reunification
7. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3203265/Waters_ImmigrationEthnic.pdf
8. https://thehub.santanderbank.com/what-inflation-means-for-homeowners/

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