Today is the 150th anniversary of a Mexican uprising against a French army taking over Mexico during the rule of Emperor Napoleon III in France. Although the Mexican people did not overthrow French influence and control until five years later, this is seen as a celebratory Mexican national holiday.
This celebration of Mexico’s history should remind us that Mexican Americans are part of the largest minority group in America, with over ten percent of the nation being from Mexican heritage, and almost two thirds of all Hispanics-Latinos being of Mexican heritage, and all Hispanics and Latinos being 16 percent of the nation, more than the 12.5 percent of the country which is African American.
Mexican Americans who vote have always voted overwhelmingly Democratic, although about 40 percent did vote for George W. Bush when he was Governor of Texas in the 1990s, and in his two terms as President.
The growth in the Mexican population, and the fact that they are very young as a group, makes them prime factors in the future of American politics, as with the growth of Mexican American population, states that have been Republicans and anti immigrant in their politics are starting to move toward a situation where the Republicans will lose those states over time.
With over 60 percent of Mexican Americans already residing in California and Texas, California is already lost to Republicans in the Presidential race, and it is believed that Texas will turn Democratic in the next decade.
The same is likely in Arizona, the ground zero of nativism toward Latinos, and it is already so in Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico,
Additionally, the Hispanic and Latino population is affecting the politics of Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, as well as Florida, with much of the transition being because of Mexican Americans.
So while there is a lot of anger about an estimated 7 million illegal immigrants from Mexico, the actual Mexican American population which is legal is growing and coming of age, and will have a dramatic effect on the future of Congress and the Presidency over the coming decade, including having a great influence on the upcoming election in November.
Hello Professor,
I feel that the true strength of this country is the fact that we are the “Great Melting Pot†to form a country that we want to belong to called the United States of America. “Our Strength Comes From Our Diversity!â€
My Great Grandfather came to this country from Germany at the turn of the 20th century to be educated here and when he was in his late teens, when WWI broke out, he joined the U.S. Army….even though his mother was still living in Munich Germany…..because He was an American!
When WWII broke out, his sons enlisted in the U.S. Army. One was in the 101st Airborne and landed behind the German Lines of France on the “D†Day invasion…..because they were Americans.
Japanese descendents who after having their homes and property stolen from them, and were shipped off to the “Internment Camps” from the West Coast for the simple crime of being Japanese…..but whose sons were the bravest and most tenacious fighters in the Italian Campaign during WWII suffering many injuries and lives lost….because they were Americans.
But once again today when those “Ultra Right Wing Conservative Racist Nut Jobs,†who want to throw out the Mexican Immigrants in this country; those who are passing State Laws to be able to stop people for simply appearing to look “Mexican†by racial profiling…..meanwhile at the same time many of their sons and daughters have joined and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan Wars….because they are Americans.
I can only hope that saner minds will prevail in the long term in this country and especially this next national election, or at some given time in the future we could see ethnic cleansing much like the Armenians were from the Turks, the Jews were from the Germans, Bosnians were from the Serbs, etc.
I will follow up that the “Ultra Right Wing Conservative Racist Nut Jobs†have already committed the atrocities in this country with the 1838 Cherokee Nation’s death march of the “Trail of Tears.†NO DIFFERENCE!!
There are too many examples of what happens when the “Ultra Right Wing Conservative Racist Nut Jobs†have prevailed politically…..no matter what country THEY came from!
It is sad that there is STILL that element today that could prove just as dangerous to mankind here in this country.