Hispanic population is steadily rising in the United States. As the second largest ethnic group in the United States, Hispanic Americans account for 14.4 % of the total United States or almost 47 million nationally. While some Hispanic Americans are improving socially and economically, others are slowly declining. They also struggle with social, political, and linguistic acceptance. There are concerns over rights and regulations of Hispanic immigrants. Some of these Hispanic Americans include Mexican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, and Dominican Americans, amongst many others.
Whether they are American born, legal immigrants, or illegal immigrants, Mexican Americans make up the majority of Hispanics in the United States today. Thus, rather than forming a group that is increasingly separating itself from the U.S. mainstream, Mexican Americans turn out to be a highly diverse population in many respects?socioeconomic attainment, linguistic assimilation, racial appearance, and legal status. (Alba, 2006) Many Mexican Americans are living the typical ?American Dream?.
Flag of Hispanic America including also North Amer...
San Jose, California May Day March
Mexican AmericanA significant minority, however, because of a lack of legal documents, the absence of economic and educational opportunities, or racial and ethnic discrimination, is excluded from this attempt. (Alba, 2006) Educational and economic opportunities seem to be related in the Mexican American community. Due to the lack of available bilingual education in the United States, many Mexican Americans drop out of school. On average, only 56% of Mexican Americans are high school graduates, and only 7% are college graduates. The reasoning for this could be that many Mexicans migrate into the United States solely for work and not educational purposes; it could also be from limited bilingual educational resources. Additionally, a lack of proper legal documentation could hinder the obtaining of education for many Mexican immigrants. Without a high school diploma or a college degree, many Mexican immigrants (or even American born Mexicans)...