Life and the Future of Latinas/os in the United States

                                  Y Que Pasara Con Jovenes Como Miguel Fernandez?"

Education, Immigration, and the Future of Latinas/os in the United States." Pedro A. Noguera

            This article by Pedro A. Noguera mentions a young man by the name of Miguel Fernandez who came to the United States at 11 years old from the Dominican Republic. When he arrived to the United States, he moved to the South Bronx, in New York City. A presidential candidate once mentioned the South Bronx as a “hell hole” due to the violence and poverty of that neighborhood.  The South Bronx has been known to include many people on public assistance, house people who live in projects and have a high crime/murder rate.

 

Most people who come to the United States migrate to escape severe poverty in their countries.  This applies to people from all over the world.  They want to live the “American Dream.” They leave the poverty in their country and trade it in for what the American people consider poverty. However, in the United States, you can still receive a free education, (including college) and prosper and still make some money for yourself and to send back to your country.  Whereas, in their countries of origin they do not have any opportunities to prosper or receive an education.

 

            Many people who come from Latin countries come to these underprivileged neighborhoods, such as the South Bronx, the Lower East Side (in lower Manhattan, NYC), Bushwick, (Brooklyn, NYC) and Queens as a temporary home with the hope of one day moving to the suburbs in New Jersey. Both my parents were born in New York City. My paternal grandparents came from Puerto Rico in the mid 1960’s and moved to the South Bronx where they currently reside.  I was raised mainly by my maternal side.  I come from Queens, NYC.  My maternal grandparents came to the United States in the late 1960’s from Colombia and moved to Queens, NYC, where they also currently reside.  Although Queens had a little less crime than the South Bronx, it was still considered an underprivileged neighborhood. When I was 8 years old, my mother accomplished my grandparents’ “American Dream” and moved to the suburbs of New Jersey.

 

            Once in the United States, most Latinas/os parents are forced to matriculate their kids into overcrowded and underfunded schools, such as the one Miguel attended in the South Bronx. Rich kids end up in private schools and do not have to endure the meagre education that unfortunate children receive. These schools do not allow the children to thrive. The school Miguel attended is full of violence. Miguel was also not able to pass his regents because he was never properly taught the English language. When he had to the take the Regents exams, he failed. His failure did not allow him to obtain his Regents Diploma and he was not allowed to attend a public college. This is all a cycle which some or most Latinas/os experience when they come to this country. This all correlates with living in a poor neighborhood, such as the South Bronx.

 

Latinas/os are most likely to be employed but they are also underpaid, therefore, are the poorest.  I remember seeing Mexicans working in my old neighborhood in Queens, working so many hours while in apartments with 11 other family members who also worked hard. “We are the backbone to the US economy……..” (Noguera, P.A.). This is true because for example, if there were workers being paid $15 an hour (current minimum wage) in New York City for cleaning, washing, and doing labor type work, retailers would need to charge everyone more money for their services.