Lecture 3 Outline

Crossing Borders:  The Immigrant Experience

NOTE: Immigration is the primary cause of Latino diversity in the United States: ethnic,
generational, regional, level of acculturation, language preference.

1. 1.Mexican Immigrants
1. Largest U.S. Latino group
2. Some continued to migrate to the Southwest after 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
3. Mexican Revolution and its aftermath led to repopulation of Southwest and spread of Mexican communities to Midwest and elsewhere
4. Some 1 million Mexican citizens migrated to the USA from 1910-1925 (border was still open)
5. First significant colonies of Mexicans in industrial centers of the Midwest – part of process of urbanization of Latino population
6. Cristero Rebellion (1926-1929) brought new immigrant waves, including many priests, sisters, and bishops due to anti-clerical sentiment
7. Depression of 1930s – many deportations even of U.S. citizens, official church often silent, love/hate relationship with immigrants that continues today (cheap laborers wanted, but when they are finished working they are expected to disappear)
8. bracero program (1942-1964) – 5 million more immigrants, established pattern of northward migration
9. World War II – turning point in Latino history – Zoot Suit Riots – soldiers return demanding rights – GI Forum
10. New immigration bills 1965, 1986 – immigration has continued to the present
2. Puerto Ricans
1. Puerto Ricans are migrants, not immigrants to mainland – “citizen immigrants” as Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth or estado libre asociado of the United States since 1952
2. Some 19th-century immigrantss, e.g. businessmen in sugar and other industries and political refugees
3. Increased slowly in first decades of 20th century, especially as U.S. began to transform island economy
4. First massive migration waves followed World War II, when “Operation Bootstrap” accelerated process of industrialization in agriculture and other business pursuits on the Island – this increased the size of the middle class but also displaced many workers and poor farmers
5. Now Puerto Ricans second largest U.S. Latino group, primarily in New York but, like Mexicans, also spreading out to many other locales
3. South Americans
1. More than ¼ of the world’s Roman Catholic population lives in South America (though Africa now growing rapidly)
2. Varied geographies, histories, and experience of church
3. Recent trend of rapid urbanization and subsequent displacement of peoples
4. Relatively low number among U.S. Latinos – today Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru predominate – dispersed but tend to live near other Latinos in New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, Washington, D.C.
5. Most are recent immigrants and they tend to be better educated, more middle to upper class, and more confident of themselves and their ethnic identity
6. In church they often serve as a bridge between the Latino and Anglo communities (a disproportionate number have positions in diocesan offices) – often have a developed social consciousness and contribute to church’s social justice and social outreach efforts – however, because of their relatively higher social class status they sometimes fail to recognize the racism and prejudice other Latinos face
7. Bring into focus the pastoral need to recognize the distinctiveness of each Latino group, e.g. many South Americans want more challenging religious education classes and the celebration of their national feasts, such as Nuestro Señor de los Milagros, San Martín de Porres, and Santa Rosa de Lima among Peruvians
4. Response of Church to Latino immigrants
1. Historically often little effort to defend people’s rights
2. Efforts often associated with Protestant threat
3. “Americanization” efforts (as with European immigrant groups, e.g. Irish approach to ministry with Germans in late 19th century)
4. National parish – scandal of segregated parishes (e.g. in some small Texas towns) – Cardinal Spellman of NY set tone of ending national parishes due to desire to avoid abandoned inner city parishes, Americanization process of previous immigrant groups made ethnic parishes seem unfeasible, “desire for unity” – integrated parishes have had mixed results in terms of Hispanics feeling a sense of ownership in U.S. Church
5. Lack of Latino priests and efforts of non-Latino priests, religious, laity in Hispanic ministry
5. Immigrants engage Catholicism as a means to express and retain their faith and sense of
       identity (see ¡Presente!, pp. 96-98) though others “blend” into existing parishes and other
       structures of U.S. Catholicism
1. De facto national parishes
2. Continuing ethnic religious traditions like the San Juan feast day
3. Forming parish organizations like the Caballeros de San Juan Bautista
4. Renewal movements like the Cursillo and Charismatic Renewal in which they can retain their language and cultural means of expression
5. In short, Latinos have supported organizations and religious practices that allow them to replicate the national parish model (“national parish dynamic”)
6. Other immigrants engage Catholicism as a way to blend in with a wider U.S. Catholic
       Church
7. Theological reflection
1. Mission of the church among immigrants a central question U.S. Catholicism has faced
2. Evangelization and “Americanization”
3. Theology of migratio
4. Catholic Social teaching on immigration, five principles from Mexican and U.S. bishops’ joint pastoral letter Strangers No Longer (2003, #34-38)
1. Persons have the right to find opportunities in their homeland
2. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families
3. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders
4. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection.
5. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected.