Prejudice+Of+Mexican+Immigrants+in+America

=The Difficulties Mexican Immigrants Face Due to Language Barriers and Prejudice in the United States =

Throughout the history of the United States, immigrants have flocked to the country in hopes of achieving a brighter future economically and socially. The United States has captivated prospective citizens with the concept of the “American Dream”, a dream in which many consider to be real and tangible due to the economic flourish that the United States has achieved. However, as the country becomes increasingly developed, it faces a problem. This problem comes from the decreasing birth rate in the country, which eventually causes a population triangle that resembles that of other industrialized nations in Western Europe and Japan. The problem that these nations face involves the working population becoming much smaller relative to the older population in the country, causing problematic infrastructure within the economy, as the working population can’t support the amount of non-working citizens (http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/natchart.html). In order to remedy this, the United States must accept enough immigrants into the country in order to increase the working population to the increasing older population. Many of these immigrants in recent years have been of Mexican descent and, although this is beneficial to the economy in terms of a larger working age population, the language barrier that many Mexican immigrants have poses a problem to their success within the United States. Many Mexican immigrants face problems in gaining citizenship, acquiring a job, and gaining educational opportunities because of language barriers and prejudice within the United States.



Mexican Immigrants difficulties searching for work

Although there are many Mexican immigrants who immigrate legally, there are still many Mexicans who do not. The amount of illegal immigrants as of 2004 was approximated to be around 20 million, in which a majority is thought to be from Mexico (http://www.migrationinformation.org/usfocus/display.cfm?ID=208). Because of this, Americans tend to categorize many Mexicans that they see on a daily basis as ‘Illegal Aliens’. This negative connotation often is the source for prejudice against Mexican-Americans, and gives them a disadvantage as they search for the opportunities that they had hoped to achieve as they gained entry into the country. In addition, if Mexican immigrants (illegal or not) have thick Mexican accents or any kind of language barrier, Americans tend to be more prejudiced and have more of a reason to believe that these Immigrants may be illegal. From such prejudices, Mexican immigrants face problems in acquiring jobs of reasonable pay and educational opportunities for themselves and their families. Language barriers that many Mexican immigrants have tend to cause difficulty in acquiring a job because a lack of skill in English can greatly inhibit the amount of work they are able to do within the country. The primary language spoken in the United States is English at 82.1%, so if one does not belong to this percentage they are at a great disadvantage (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html). Even American citizens who have English as a first language can have difficulty in the proper use of their own native language, so it becomes increasingly more difficult to master English when it is not one’s primary language. When an immigrant’s English is not up to par, many Americans will mistake this for lack of intelligence or competence. Although a lack of complete understanding of English certainly does not equal unintelligence, many people will still categorize it as such. When an American employer seeks an employee, they will likely choose the candidate who can speak English fluently over one that can’t. Because of these language barriers, Mexican immigrants often resolve to accept jobs of lower incomes, which often involve various forms of manual labor, or other jobs with wages that typically are under the average salary of the United States over all. This demonstrates how language barriers inhibit Mexican immigrants, because it decreases the likelihood of the obtainment of a quality job with a steady income.

Mexican Immigrants struggle to obtain an education

In addition to difficulties in acquiring a steady job, language barriers that many Mexican immigrants face causes obstacles in obtaining educational opportunities, both in education through high school and higher education. The lack of a complete understanding of English can cause learning new subjects to be quite difficult. Even with a basic understanding of English, when learning more difficult topics, there often times are words used that are well beyond the realm of Basic English vocabulary. This increases the difficulty that many students with language barriers face in doing well in school, because it causes their comprehension of a subject to decrease drastically if they cannot understand what is being taught to them. This can greatly discourage a student, and may lead to an unsatisfactory grade point average, or may even cause the student to drop out of school altogether. With an inadequate grade point average, gaining access into higher education can then become very difficult. However, without a high school diploma, the chance of finding a well-paying job once again becomes increasingly more difficult. The language barriers that many Mexican immigrants have can greatly inhibit them from succeeding in the United States because a language barrier can decrease the likelihood of obtaining educational opportunities.

There is often a vicious cycle between not being able to overcome a language barrier, succeeding with an education, and obtaining a well-paying job. With an overwhelming language barrier, it becomes very difficult to do well in school and graduate or obtain a degree in higher education. Without a high school degree or some college education, it can be difficult to obtain a well paying job. Without a well paying job, it can be difficult to fund higher education for one’s children when there comes a time for them to attend a University of other form of college. This once again can cause one to not attend higher education, and allow the cycle to continue. However, this can be remedied if people are able to overcome such language barriers.

What the U.S does to help Since there is such a high percentage of immigrants within the United States from Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, the United States has began taking steps to incorporate programs to help ensure the success of Immigrants in the United States. There are now many programs in schools that facilitate to the needs of students whose primary language is not English in order to help them comprehend the language with clarity. Currently, the United States is the country with the most English as a Second Language programs in the world, most likely due to the influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants in recent decades.(http://www.esldirectory.com/esl-program-search/usa) In addition, it is becoming increasingly more popular for American citizens to take Spanish classes in both high school and college, thus increasing the population of bilingual Americans. The increase in English as a second language programs and Spanish-speaking throughout the United States provides better opportunities both educationally and economically for Mexican immigrants, because it allows them to better overcome their language barriers.

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