MexGen:

Profiling the Paradox

By Bill Dahl

Dehydration is a Process

Water is something we all take for granted. It’s all over the place. Approximately two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. If you fail to consume water within a 48-hour period, your body begins to deteriorate. You can die from thirst. Drought threatens human survival.

Water flows downhill. We rely upon the fact that winter snows in the mountains will become spring flows of life sustaining water. It takes time to transform a snowflake in the mountains into a drop of water in your kitchen. If this process is interrupted, we’re all in deep, deep trouble. Wells and reservoirs run dry if the sources and flow of life giving water are not nurtured.

There is no segment in American society where the threat of drought is more apparent than within the Hispanic community. The essential flow of emerging, capable and educated leaders to the reservoirs and wells that sustain the mainstream Hispanic community is being obstructed and diverted. This disruption in the flow of vital Hispanic generational leadership ( hereinafter “MexGen”) is intentional, unconscionable and will serve to impair the effectiveness of the Hispanic contribution to American society for decades to come, if this situation continues unabated.

James P. Smith, Chairman for labor markets and demographic studies at Rand Corp. recently led a panel for the National Academy of Sciences on the economic and tax effects of immigration. He writes, “The successes of previous immigrant generations happened in large part because schools worked for both immigrant children and their native-born classmates. If schools don’t similarly work for today’s immigrants — and there are ample reasons for concern — the success of future generations will be imperiled.”[i] This poignant perspective provides the basis of this article: Profiling the Paradox of MexGen.

Like my mom always told me, “If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Dehydration is a process, not an event” Let me explain.

Parched Throats:

MexGen is under siege in mainstream U.S.A. Media reporting would lead us to believe that the combatants in the U.S. culture wars are the left and the right. This may be valid, but the casualties are piling up and they are distinctly MexGen!

The Hispanic population in the U.S. is estimated to be around 40 million people, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Numerous studies have talked about the difficulty of determining the extent to which the undocumented immigrant is, or is not, included in this total. The 2000 U.S. Census figures have been characterized as “are widely recognized as incomplete.”[ii] Recently, Bear-Stearns suggested, “this figure may be as high as 20 million people.”[iii] For the sake of counting those who have probably not been counted in the 2000 Census, let’s say the Latino population in the U.S. in 2005 is approximately 50 million people, or 17% of the total U.S. population. The majority of U.S. Latinos come from Mexico. More than 35% of all Hispanics are under 18 years of age[iv] (although this number may be distinctly higher if figures for undocumented immigrant students were available). Thus, MexGen is in school, preparing to become the next generation of leaders for an increasingly important segment of American society.

There are twenty some Latino Congressmen, no senators, no Supreme Court justices and one governor. As Jorge Ramos writes, “We are numerous but we lack political representation commensurate with our numbers.”[v]

Becoming thirstier?

Generational Brain Drain

A study completed by the Rand Corporation revealed that, “Our results show that many immigrants and their offspring, especially Hispanics, are losing ground in educational attainment to other immigrant groups and to natives. Immigrants from most places of origin enroll in California’s primary, middle, and high schools at the same rates as natives and are as likely as natives to graduate from high school. This is not true of Mexican and Central American immigrant children, however. Their enrollment rates begin to drop off in middle school and fall progressively further behind during the high school years. By age 20, only 45 percent of Hispanic immigrants have graduated from high school, compared to 90 percent of non-Hispanic immigrants and 88 percent of natives. It appears that instead of dropping out of the school system in the traditional sense, many Hispanic immigrant adolescents never attend school at all—they have come north to find work, not to attend school.”[vi]

In March 2005, the L.A. Times reported the current state of graduation rates in the LAUSD. “The results of a “Harvard University study released this month showed that just 39% of Latinos and 47% of African American students in the district who should have graduated in 2002 managed to do so. Overall, the district’s graduation rate was 45.3%, the report found.”[vii] Only 15% of Latinos and 21% of African Americans who began their freshman year in 1999 graduated with enough of the courses to attend a four-year California university in 2003.[viii]

The results of a study by Pew Hispanic Center released in May 2005 states that “The concentration of Latinos in relatively low-skill occupations contributed to reduced earnings for them for the second year in a row. No other major group of workers has suffered a two-year decline in wages. The vast majority of new jobs for Hispanic workers were in relatively low-skill occupations calling for little other than a high school education. In contrast, non-Hispanic workers secured large increases in employment in higher-skill occupations requiring at least some college education. This polarization contributed to a growing gap in earnings between Hispanic and non-Hispanic workers. The fall in wages for Latinos was greatest among immigrants who arrived in the United States in the past five years. Thus, the new immigrants who are enjoying significant growth in employment are doing so at the expense of lower wages. This trend is, no doubt, exacerbated by their concentration in occupations calling for minimal skills and education. Despite strong demand for immigrant workers, their growing supply and concentration in certain occupations suggests that the newest arrivals are competing with each other in the labor market to their own detriment.”[ix]

If, in reading the above, you get the distinct feeling that “brain drain” has a trickle-down effect on the impact the 18 and under Hispanic generation (MexGen) may or may not be able to make in American society, you’re right. You don’t have to possess a PhD in generational sociology to figure this one out.

I agree with the author Dr. Charles Handy when he writes, “We grow more food than we need but cannot feed the starving. We can unravel the mysteries of the galaxies but not of our own families. To call it a paradox, however, is only to label it, not to deal with it. We have to find ways to make sense of the paradoxes, to use them to shape a better destiny.”[x]

It’s time to travel the route of the current trickle and determine what is causing this brain drain. I firmly believe that we must stop the daunting prospects of the forecast for a Hispanic generational leadership drought at the source. It’s time to heed the words of Rand’s James P. Smith when he writes, “Special efforts should be undertaken to encourage high school graduation and college attendance within the Hispanic community and to discover ways to enhance the educational achievement of Hispanics.”

What must be done now, to “shape a better destiny?”

The MexGen Profile

Yvette and Maria (not their real names although this is a real story) live in the same community in Santa Ana, CA with their families. Their families don’t own homes. They rent apartments. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government published a report in August 2004 entitled “An Update on Urban Hardship.” Santa Ana, CA was ranked as the #1 big city in America where it is toughest to make ends meet.[xi] Yvette has 7 sisters and one brother. Maria has two brothers and three sisters. They’re both 17, attractive, bright, hard working and fun loving. They work part-time jobs in a fast-food restaurant together. They help others in their community doing volunteer work.

They have received the entirety of their public education in the Santa Ana School District. Later this month, they will both graduate from a local high school with honors. This is an amazing feat when you appreciate the fact that almost 6 out of 10 adults in Santa Ana, CA over the age of 25 have less than a high school education.[xii] Both Yvette and Maria will graduate in the top 4% of their graduating class (in the top 20 students out of a graduating class of nearly 400). Both have earned college credits while in high school. They have each received numerous academic awards. Neither has ever received any sort of formal disciplinary action inside or outside of school. They are, in every sense of the term, model citizens.

Maria has worked very hard to earn acceptance to UC-Davis where she will begin her college studies in the fall of 2005. She intends to become a veterinarian. She’s ecstatic. Yvette has been accepted to UC-Irvine. She loves math and intends to apply her aptitude in a career that requires the same. These two young women represent the best of the best that MexGen has to offer. All together, each of these young women have pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America over 2,000 times.

That’s where the similarities end.

Taking Our Foot Off the Hose

A journey to the bottleneck of the trickle is not unlike any other, one step at a time. However, before we dash off, we should probably take a look at our present posture. If you’re wondering why MexGen is not blossoming in the U.S. at a pace that other groups of NextGen young adults are, we should probably begin the inquiry by examining the hose in our hand. If there is a trickle coming out and the water valve is wide-open, let’s examine the most immediate cause: Perhaps, we’re standing on the hose.

Maria was born in the U.S. Yvette was born in Mexico and was carried across the border in the arms of her mother when she was five years old. She had no idea where she was going. She didn’t possess the ability to argue, understand, discuss or stay behind in Mexico. Like any child, she followed the lead of her parents.

Yes, she has a phony social security card that allows her to work part-time at a fast food restaurant. She drives the family car without a license. She has no medical or auto insurance. Her three younger sisters were all born in the U.S.

She bought into what every generation in America has been told, “work hard in school, excel, get good grades, stay out of trouble, become involved in serving your community and everything will work out just fine for you.” At present, she does not qualify for federal financial aid for college due to her undocumented status. There’s no way her family can afford even in-state tuition at UC-Irvine.

Yvette is now considering postponing her entrance into college. Her father does not work due to the debilitating effects of a stroke. Her mom sews in a sweatshop. Mom and dad are not bilingual. The family is seriously considering moving to Washington State where it is cheaper to live. Her older, undocumented brother lives and works there now. Whether they move to Washington or stay in Santa Ana, Yvette feels that she needs to be there for her three younger sisters who are excelling in school, and bolster the family’s income by continuing to work at minimum wage.

The flow of hope in her life has become a trickle. Who’s standing on the hose?

Summary:

With tears in her eyes, a trembling voice, and a facial expression reflecting deep, disillusioned, torment, Yvette says, “Even though I have done everything I can to demonstrate that I am a person of character, ready and willing to contribute to the future of America, I now feel like I’m on the outside looking in. How can this be happening? It’s not fair.” It is a life-changing experience to sit with a victim whose soul has been raped of hope. As I sat there, I realized that I was being provided with a glimpse of the soul of MexGen.

As we have throughout the history of the United States, we are presently confronted with a tremendous opportunity captured in the question, “What must be done now, to shape a better destiny?” It’s time to confront the truth. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “To be honest is to confront the truth. However unpleasant and inconvenient the truth may be, I believe we must expose and face it if we are to achieve a better quality of American life.”[xiii] The soul of this nation is at stake here. Every demographic projection out there indicates that the Hispanic community will become the majority in this nation over the next 50 plus years. As author Leo R. Chavez points out, “Until the larger society imagines undocumented immigrants as part of the community, they will continue to live as outsiders inside American society.”[xiv]

The words of Dr. King uttered some 40 years ago are particularly appropriate in 2005: “There is a certain bitter irony in the picture of his country championing freedom in foreign lands and failing to ensure that freedom to twenty million of its own.”[xv] It is time to confront the truth that current misguided patriotic fervor has infected our discussion of U.S. immigration policy reform to the detriment of this nation’s soul, and our future. The character of the future of this nation is being formed today. It’s time to make amends. It’s time to take the first step in the right direction. Come on Congress! Pass some legislation that provides a path to citizenship for the millions of Yvette’s in MexGen.

We hold the hose of hope in our own hands. My prayer is that we will take our foot off the hose and water the MexGen garden of this nation. We must trust that God shall create a bountiful harvest, which will contribute to the nourishment of the soul of this country for generations to come. Do we trust Him America?

It’s about us America, not them.

NOTES:

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[i] http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-borderschizo1may01,1,3039177.story

[ii]http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:iH7cshuGZU0J:www.steinreport.com/BearStearnsStudy.pdf+%22bear+stearns%22+%22immigration%22&hl=en&start=3

or http://www.steinreport.com/BearStearnsStudy.pdf.

[iii] www.bearstearns.com/bscportal/pdfs/underground.pdf.

[iv] U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census 2000, Washington D.C.

[v] Ramos, Jorge The Latino Wave, HarperCollinsPublishers, NY,NY Copyright © 2004 by Jorge Ramos p.240

[vi] Rand Corp.- Kevin F. McCarthy and Georges Vernez, Immigration in a Changing Economy: California’s Experience. Source:http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR854.1/MR854.1.chap9.pdf.

[vii] http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dropout26mar26,1,4643939.story

[viii] http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-courses26apr26,1,7990870.story

[ix] http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=45

[x] Handy, Charles The Age of Paradox, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA Copyright © 1994 by Harvard Business School Press, pp. x-xi

[xi] Montiel, Nathan & Wright – An Update on Urban Hardship, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government – Public Policy Research Arm of SUNY. August 2004. http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:eVPVaFU9tDAJ:www.rockinst.org/publications/urban_studies/UrbanHardshipUpdate.pdf+%22hardship+index%22&hl=en&start=1

[xii] Montiel, Nathan & Wright – An Update on Urban Hardship, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government – Public Policy Research Arm of SUNY. August 2004. http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:eVPVaFU9tDAJ:www.rockinst.org/publications/urban_studies/UrbanHardshipUpdate.pdf+%22hardship+index%22&hl=en&start=1

[xiii] Scott-King, Coretta The Words of Martin Luther King Jr. NewMarket Press, NY,NY Copyright © 1964by the Nobel Foundation and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. p.89

[xiv] Chavez, Leo R. Shadowed Lives – Undocumented Immigrants in American Society, Copyright © 1992, 1998 by Thomson Learning, Inc. p. 188

[xv] Hoskins, Loette I Have a Dream – The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr. Gossett & Dunlap Publishers, Copyright © 1968 by Droke House Publishers, Inc. p.3

Peering behind us through the fog,
To the past, from present day.
I wonder what our forefather’s would think.
I Ponder what they might say.

Their incredible design,
A melting pot we would be.
Oppressed in other lands,
“In the U.S.A.  you ‘ll be free!”

In just over two hundred years,
My oh my how things have changed!
The wisdom of simplicity becomes complex,
Hearts hardened and rearranged.

Wars, partisan politics, and fear
We’ve become adept, wielding the sword.
The wealthiest nation on the planet,
We’ve idolized the necessity to hoard.

What are we attempting to keep?
Our motives seem rather odd.
Hope cannot be quarantined.
Giving freely is the essence of our God.

Fences, raids and deportation
“Keep them out! Take them away!”
The heart of America has spoken!
Evidencing hardness, and decay.

The songs of history seem to change -
Echoing the soul of our nation.
Perhaps it’s time to change our tune -
Sing a new harmony about U.S. immigration.

This new tune will require unlearning,
Poor attitudes we have sung in the past.
Our concert performances can be revamped -
Orchestrated with love; destined to last.

Lift your voice today my friends,
Belt out love from your heart.
A love for the other,
Those filled with hope for a new start.

It’s time to sing a new tune America -
A harmony that moves beyond all the confusion.
We can and must sing a new song,
Or remain mired in immillusion.

Across the border
We fled one black sky night.
Bundled in the arms of a parent,
Confused and paralyzed with fright.

Too young to understand,
Where this journey will ultimately lead.
Just following the hopes of mom and dad,
To a place where their dreams for something better might succeed.

Too young to stop and argue,
Too dependent to stay in Mexico alone.
What’s a child to do?
But trust, unable to discuss or bemoan.

Today, there are things they didn’t tell me.
Things I wish I would have known what they meant.
Things that now confront me,
In this country I call “home,” where I was brought without my consent.

I’m about to graduate from high school,
I obey the golden rule.
The United States is the only home I know,
To our flag I pledge heartfelt allegiance, Why then are it’s laws so cruel?

My friends in school have jobs,
Saving for college, they work so hard.
I want to work so badly,
But have no Social Security card.

My friends, we like to go places together
Teenage fun makes me feel alive.
We have to take the bus,
The Governor withholds the license I need to drive.

Some friends have asked me to join them on a family vacation
Trips to Hawaii, Washington D.C., and even Spain.
I have to tell them “I can’t make it,”
I’m without the government issued ID, necessary to board a plane.

My family needs better medical care,
During the rain this week, I wish I had a coat.
My mother and father deserve real employment,
Gosh, I wish that I could vote!

When I read my history books,
The migration from places called HopeLESS to HopeFULL fill it’s pages.
We just did what millions of others have done,
Can you explain what I’ve done wrong that cause politicians to fly into rages?

I have three younger sisters, all born in the U.S.A
I adore them oh so deeply however, it doesn’t make much sense.
How we live as one loving family and They’re citizens,
while my parents and I are undocumented immigrants.

My sisters, they see my tears
We pray this injustice will be healed.
We’re really not asking for much,
Just a level playing field.

Don’t tell me I should “go back,”
To Mexico to wander and to roam,
Don’t suggest I shut my mouth,
This is America! It’s my home!

I don’t want your sympathy,
My plight today never was my choice.
Although we would truly appreciate it,
If you would raise your voice.

There are millions of children just like me,
Whose hopes are unjustly contorted.
We can’t march or demonstrate,
For this we’ll be deported.

When I rise to pledge the American flag,
Mounted on our school wall.
I wish you could feel my heart leap,
When I speak “liberty and justice for all.”

My heart, it sings a song throughout each day,
It’s I Still Have a Dream by Dr. King.
The tears I let my sisters see,
Flow whenever I hear his voice cry, “Let Freedom Ring!”

You might find it silly,
To be inspired by America’s past.
It’s the basis for my hope, as I await the words today of Dr. King
“Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Note:

This poem is written for the students in Santa Ana, CA that my wife and I have the privilege to live life with. It is written with their tears, desires, energy and compassion.

Discrimmigration
Infects our nation.
Millions march
In demonstration.

Congress paralyzed
In consternation.
What might stop
This humiliation?

National Guardsmen deployed to the border,
Build those fences high.
Half-baked partisan political solutions,
Permeate pie-in-the-sky.

Elections on the horizon,
Incumbents don’t know which way to turn.
More bodies fall in the Arizona desert,
Yes, hope can die and burn.

Where’s Vicente Fox?
His people continue to flee.
Let’s not overlook a dimension of this dialogue:
Mexico’s responsibility.

“There’s nothing we can do.
It’s not our responsibility.”
Such is Mexico’s load of nonsense
That delays the plan for a self-sustaining economy.

Instead of wiring money to family in Mexico,
Send Vicente Fox a straightforward letter.
“Prepare a five year plan,
It’s about time you made things better!”

Rallies, marches and bullhorns in the U.S.
The voices becoming hoarse.
When will Mexico’s citizens rise up?
Confronting the bitter reality that Mexico is the source.

It’s time for the Mexican citizenry
To awaken from their siesta.
A nation wracked with poverty,
Is no reason for a fiesta.

It’s easy to focus on all the wrong things,
Struggling with the illegal immigration solution.
I wrote this little poem
So we won’t overlook the need for a Mexican revolution.

It’s tempting to deal only with the obvious,
Neglecting the causes that impact our nation.
While the government of Mexico
Hides silently in the shadows of discrimmigration.

The first question I hear asked,
Is, “Where do we begin?”
Discussing U.S. immigration reform,
We avoid the color of one’s skin.

Review the history of this country,
Slavery is only one example.
The parallels with today’s undocumented workers,
The evidence is more than ample.

We continue to spew the same old…
“They just need to trust us.
It simply a matter of time…
We’ll deliver the appropriate justice.”

U.S. industries thirst for cheap labor,
All across this nation.
“We’re just trying to survive!
That’s not economic exploitation!”

Laborers without papers,
U.S. employers provide the wink.
Paid less than minimum wage,
It’s a reality we must rethink.

Greedy demand outstrips supply,
The undocumented workers stand in line.
U.S. employers pick from the crop.
Families die on the vine.

Young adults brought here as infants,
On graduation day we call their name.
Prepared to make a citizens contribution,
We say, “You’re undocumented. That’s a shame.”

The names that we call them:
“Illegals, terrorists, and a blight on this nation.”
Used for our economic advantage,
Double-speak to legitimize the situation.

Forced to live in the shadows,
Hidden in this nation’s closet.
U.S. banks are delighted,
“Sure, we’ll take your deposit!”

When I see the faces,
There’s something that’s not right.
They have one thing in common,
The vast majority are not white.

Let’s conclude this outrage.
The end we must begin.
Let’s confess America,
It’s the color of their skin.

Now’s the time for healing,
It’s a process to become whole.
There’s a cancer in this nation,
Deep within our soul.

It’s time to admit our failures,
We’re the one’s to blame.
Racial discrimination is alive and well.
Discrimmigration is it’s new name.