Pro and Anti Latino Immigration

Pro Latino Immigration

The 'National Council of La Raza' is the USA's largest Latino advocacy, nonprofit group and was founded in 1968. This date is significant as it coincides with the stage of the African American Civil Rights movement, where young African Americans were encouraged to find out about their heritage and take pride in their cultural background. Along with the African American movement, there was also a lot of activity from other minority groups in the US, such as the East L.A. walkouts of 1968 (also known as the Chicano Blowouts), which were organised with the goals of bilingual bi-cultural education, with more Latino teachers, smaller class sizes and overall improvement of the quality of education available to Latino youths. With 1968 such an active year for Civil Rights, it is no surprise that the 'National Council of La Raza' was established in order to "create opportunities and open the door to the American Dream for Latino and other families".

This website is extremely easy to navigate and clearly identifies the issues with which it deals. The issues addressed include: 'Civil Rights & Criminal Justice', 'Economy', 'Education', 'Health', 'Immigration', 'Voting' and 'Youth'. It is most clear when reading the 'Immigration' section, that this website is not just for Latinos to use. There is a link entitled, 'what you should know when dealing with immigration enforcement officers', which suggests that the majority of readers may be Latinos worried about what to do if confronted by the border authorities. However, there are also areas that aim to inform outsiders on the positive implications of the immigration of Latinos, suggesting they expect people of all races and backgrounds to view their website. There is a section called, 'Seven ways immigrants enrich our economy and society', which does this. The use of 'our' in this title, highlights this websites views towards Latinos and assimilation into the US. They want Latinos to be viewed as a respected part of US society without any stereotypes or prejudice towards them. 

This website does an excellent job of discussing and assisting Latinos in the wider context of the USA. There is a link entitled, 'In USA Today', which is a news forum of the activities relating to Latinos in the USA. However, it does not only focus on Latinos, as they recognise the importance of assimilation into American society, without diminishing the heritage and history of Latinos. This is important as it suggests their goal is not entirely one sided, as it incorporates the needs of people crossing different races and backgrounds.

Anti Latino Immigration

The 'Minuteman Civil Defence Corps' does not state that it is 'anti Latino'. However, with features on its website, such as an 'illegal alien' counter, which supposedly shows the live numbers of illegal immigrants in the US, it is fair to say that it is not overly fond of Latino immigration to the US. They take their name from a colonial militia who were so named because they were said to always be ready 'at a minute's notice'. Immediately from viewing their introductory page, it is evident that this group attempt to get support through displaying their patriotism. Behind the image of an original Minuteman is a the US flag. The Minuteman appears as if he is protecting the flag, and it is important to note that this Minuteman is armed. Contrary to this depiction, the contemporary Minutemen do not, or at least do not disclose, the use of force when fulfilling their purpose. Indeed, their mission statement states that they will "employ all means of civil protest, demonstration, and political lobbying" in order to secure the US' borders and coastal boundaries against any illegal immigrants. The use of the gun with the original Minuteman, along with the barbed wire, probably highlights the groups limitations and perhaps the contrast of what they could want to be and what they are able to be in reality. It implies that back in the 'good ol' days' of the original Minutemen, it would have been much simpler to deal with issues such as unwanted immigration, as they would have been able to use force and not be questioned. However, in reality they are restricted by constitutional laws. It would be unwise for this group to break these laws, as they are supposed to be in favour of upholding immigration laws themselves, so it would be hypocritical to break other laws.

The language used on this website is often fairly aggressive and forced upon the reader. In their 'about us' section, which is at first difficult to find due to the basic and underdeveloped way in which the website has been set up, the reader's views are already decided for them  by the group. An example of this is when it says, "you are considering joining in this activist protest because you are done talking". There is practically an entire page with this type of language, which is incredibly hard to read without feeling patronised. However, for many middle to old aged Southern men, this patronising garbage is likely to be viewed as patriotic and as a rallying cry to join the Minutemen. The use of 'you', which is mentioned almost every other word on the page, gives the impression that it is up to the reader to act on the issues they mention. The general issues mentioned are that too many people are entering the US illegally and the Minutemen feel the government are focusing too heavily on endeavours abroad, so they do not have the resources to do so. As previously mentioned, this website is not explicitly hostile towards Latinos. However the fact that the majority of their issues surround the Southern border, they are evidently the 'illegal aliens' that they mention so often. 

References:

http://www.nclr.org/

http://www.minutemanhq.com/

http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/east-los-angeles-students-walkout-educational-reform-east-la-blowouts-1968
https://www.nps.gov/mima/learn/education/who-were-the-minute-men.htm