Commentary: Latins for Trump? It Could Happen

When I was young, I hated being Latin and was embarrassed by it. All the macho overcompensation, the loud talking, the even louder clothes made of colors and fabrics not found in nature, the old-country ways, the conniving emotionalism, and the obstinacy I thought vulgar and crude. It turned me at a young age into an Anglophile. But as I grew older, I noticed something. Along with the crudeness there is a certain raw energy.

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Analysis: Lack of Assimilation is Economically Harming Latino Immigrants and Society

Early in 2019, a firestorm of criticism descended upon veteran journalist Tom Brokaw because he said on NBC’s Meet the Press that Hispanics “should work harder at assimilation” and shouldn’t isolate themselves “in their communities.” NBC condemned his comments as “inaccurate and inappropriate,” media outlets ran articles and editorials calling them racist and factually wrong, and Brokaw apologized.

Contrary to the blowback against Brokaw, scholarly sources show that modern Latino immigrants are not assimilating like previous generations of immigrants. Furthermore, this is having negative economic impacts on them and the nation at large. These facts have nothing to do with race and everything to do with factors that can foster or impede economic prosperity.

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