As campaigns for the 2016 have begun, there have been a range of issues that have rushed to forefront. One of these issues is immigration. Most of the time, when it is discussed, it is in reference to how one side or the other wants to gain the “Hispanic” vote. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that because each side needs to do what it can to get more people to vote, but as important as the “Hispanic” vote may be demographically, there is problem here. The problem is that “Hispanic” vote really means Mexican vote, and that stems from the stereotype that all immigrants in this country are Mexicans.
Of course, there are issues with the term “Hispanic” itself in relation to Mexican nationality, but beyond that, it is unfair to make non-Mexican Hispanics (who may identify as Latinos) to group them all into this one term. Immigrant means so much more than just a specific ethnic group. Immigrants are, in most cases, doing what they can to get a better life for themselves. Because of all that people can achieve in the United States, we have large amounts of immigration. But, contrary to popular belief, most of the immigrants to the United States are not from Mexico.
During the August 6th GOP Debate, Marco Rubio made a great point when he said, “The evidence is now clear that the majority of the people coming across the border are not from Mexico.” In this case, he was pointing out that there are many undocumented immigrants who are coming from Central America. While he probably was not trying to, he was reaching at something much bigger here. This is the fact that the United States literally has immigrants from all over the world.
In fact, I recently read a report by the Migration Policy Institute that was discussing the number of Filipino immigrants in the United States and how the numbers have been increasing recently. This is extremely important information especially in light of upcoming elections because immigration will matter to them just as it would matter to Mexicans.
Personally, I think the immigration conversation needs go past trying to cater to Mexicans. Yes, they are a significant part of our population, and immigration is probably quite important to them, but there are many other issues that they are concerned about. More importantly, despite the efforts of many, I doubt they enjoy only be talked to about immigration just in return for some votes in November 2016.
As I close this piece out, I just want to encourage everyone to think bigger when it comes to immigration. There are so many people in this country from a variety of countries that immigration policies will affect. Additionally, to non-immigrants in the U.S., as tired as you may be of hearing “we’re a nation of immigrants,” the fact of the matter still holds true. The earliest immigrants to this country typically came in large numbers from European countries. All this together, I think the most important take-away is that all immigrants are not Mexicans, and as a nation we need to work to not only be more inclusive of Mexicans in politics beyond the immigration debate, but also more inclusive of others who this debate might be important to.
Migration Station 