Modern America from the Latin American Perspective

Author(s)

Annie SymonsFollow

Major

Global Business Management

Second Major

Spanish

Advisor

O'Connor, Barry

Advisor Department

Honors Program

Date

5-2020

Keywords

Modern; America; Latin; Immigration; Spanish; Law

Abstract

Immigration in the US today is widely controversial and has become more of a humanitarian issue than a lawful reality for the ‘melting pot’ nation of freedom. While racial profiling and civil discrimination have always been issues for minorities living in America, most recently American society and government entities have targeted Latin American immigrants as ‘invaders’ of our nation. Latin American populations have become an integral part of the US economy, workforce, culture, and diversity and rather than being celebrated, recent policies have denounced them for undeserved and discriminatory reasoning. Analyzing the dangers of xenophobia as well as the origin for their racial discrimination is a goal of this research. These studies are an attempt to demonstrate the minority’s perspective in political and civil immigration conflict in America. This research focuses on the ‘Conservative American’ contemporary treatment of Latin American immigrants, and how to best combat the misinformation about Latin American immigrants within a humanitarian scope. My research includes both historical sources and contemporary journals, as well as interviews conducted with Rhode Island legislators on the subject. My research seeks to examine the following questions: Why is America so resistant to the growing Latin American immigrant population? How can we help Latin American immigrants feel welcomed, valued, and safe in America? To spread knowledge of my research and to advocate for justice and equality for Latin American immigrants, I created a social media platform as a resource for policy activism, English class materials, citizenship resources, and much more! This account can be reached on Twitter @LatinEquality.