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  1. #1
    Senior Member mapwife's Avatar
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    Mixed Latino families are new trend

    Published: 12.24.2007

    Mixed Latino families are new trend
    By Daniel Gonzalez
    THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
    PHOENIX — Santiago Chavez spotted Bibiana Arzeta at a Latin nightclub in Phoenix and asked her to dance.
    Where are you from? Arzeta asked. Mexico, Chavez replied.
    Chavez gave Arzeta his phone number, and later, the two began talking regularly. That's when Arzeta, who is originally from Acapulco, noticed Chavez didn't speak Spanish with an accent like hers.
    Where are you really from? Arzeta asked. This time, Chavez told the truth. Guatemala. (She lied)
    The couple now have a 1-month-old son, Leo. Their union represents an emerging demographic trend taking shape in Phoenix and other cities throughout the Southwest: Growing numbers of Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants are marrying and having U.S.-born children, creating mixed Latino families with ties to three countries at once.
    These new inter-Latin American families are also less likely to return to their home countries, their children tend to integrate into American society faster and more are converting from Catholicism to evangelical Christianity, immigration experts and community leaders say.
    The mixture has become so common in Phoenix, some community members have even coined a name "Guatemexicoestadounidenses," or Guatemexiamericans, to describe the families.
    The trend is being driven by an influx of immigrants from Central America, mainly Guatemala, who are settling in communities long dominated by Mexican immigrants, experts say. Although no specific data exist about the number of mixed Latino marriages, the trend is undeniable. As more Central Americans arrive, the more they meet and marry Mexicans.
    "There is a great mixing taking place," said Nestor Rodriguez, a sociologist at the University of Houston who studies immigration trends.
    Latinos, he said, are becoming like other Americans with European ancestry, with ties not to a single nationality but many.
    "If you ask an Anglo, where is your family from, they'll say something like, my mother is Irish, my father is German and my grandfather was Norwegian. The same thing is happening to Latinos. One parent may be Mexican, the other Guatemalan, or Salvadoran or Honduran."
    Newly arrived Guatemalan immigrants tend to settle in the same neighborhoods as Mexican immigrants. They also share the same language and similar cultures, so it's not surprising that more Guatemalans and Mexicans are marrying, said James Loucky, an anthropologist at Western Washington University who studies Guate-malan migration.
    Guatemalans, however, often pass themselves off as Mexicans to blend in, Loucky said.
    "Guatemalans know that oftentimes Mexicans look down on them," Loucky said.
    Chavez, 24, said he fibbed about being Mexican when he met Arzeta because he thought it would make it easier to ask her out. Chavez speaks Spanish, but his first language is Mam, a language spoken by Mayan people where he comes from, the highlands of western Guatemala.
    Chavez came to the United States in 2000 and works in the housing-construction industry building roof trusses.
    Arzeta, 20, is from Acapulco. She has lived in the U.S. since she was 5 and grew up in a Mexican neighborhood in south Phoenix. After she became pregnant, Arzeta moved in with Chavez in a Phoenix neighborhood known for its high concentration of Guatemalan immigrants. Now, Arzeta is learning to say words like "ear" in Mam and cook Guatemalan food.
    In Arizona, a surge of Guatemalan immigrants has made them the second-largest Latino immigrant group behind Mexicans, according to the Census Bureau. In 2006, there were about 14,100 Guatemalan immigrants living in Arizona, the bureau estimated. Guatemalan government officials, however, believe the number is at least double that.
    There are 30,000 to 35,000 Guatemalan immigrants in Arizona, and about two-thirds live in the Phoenix area, said Oscar Padilla Lam, who runs the Guatemalan consulate in Phoenix. In contrast, there are more than 608,000 Mexican immigrants living in Arizona, according to 2006 estimates by the bureau.
    Many of the Guatemalans coming to the U.S. are young single men looking for work. Many end up marrying Mexicans because there aren't as many Guatemalans, Padilla Lam said.
    Many Latino immigrants come to the U.S. for work with the intention of returning someday to their home countries. But mixed Latino immigrant families are less likely to return home because it becomes difficult to pick one country over another, said Cecilia Menjivar, a sociologist at Arizona State University and an expert on Central American migration. She pointed out that little research has been done about mixed Latino families.
    But she said it's possible that children of mixed Latino families may adopt American culture faster. Children from families where both parents share the same nationality tend to develop a "hyphenated" identity, for example, Mexican-American or Guatemalan-American, she said. But children of mixed Latino families have a harder time choosing, so they become more oriented toward American culture, making them more likely to be involved politically and civically down the road.
    A higher proportion of Guatemalans also have converted from Catholicism to evangelical Christianity than Mexicans. As more Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants intermarry, the number of Mexican evangelicals could go up, she said.
    Joel Lugo coined the term Guatemexicoestadounidenses about five years ago when he started meeting more families like his. Lugo, 44, a native of Mexico, and his wife, Mayra, 38, a native of Guatemala, have been married for 20 years. They met when there were relatively few Guatemalans living in metro Phoenix. The couple now have four children ranging in age from 6 to 20.
    Lugo, who owns a landscaping business, said he is raising his children to be American, but they maintain ties to both Mexico and Guatemala.
    Both Joel and Mayra were raised Catholic. They now attend an evangelical Christian church with a mixture of Mexican and Guatemalan families.
    "I see this mixture of Guatemalans and Mexicans more and more," Lugo said. "It's a nice mixture."
    arizona
    http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/217608
    Illegal aliens remain exempt from American laws, while they DEMAND American rights...

  2. #2
    Senior Member WhatMattersMost's Avatar
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    Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants are marrying and having U.S.-born children, creating mixed Latino families with ties to three countries at once.
    I am sick and tired of the emphasis on "American Born" when 2 illegal aliens conceive a baby. If the 14th Amendment isn't revised to clearly state that at least one parent MUST be an American citizen in order for that child to receive any American benefits, pretty soon being American will be a joke and our culture will cease to exist.
    It's Time to Rescind the 14th Amendment

  3. #3
    Senior Member Richard's Avatar
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    It is not clear that any of the Latinos mentioned in the article is an illegal alien.
    However being from two countries should not be used as an excuse if they are.


    If an American born child has illegal alien parents they should still be treated with the same policy which is global standard practice. A child should be deported with their parents. It would be good if Mexico were to open their doors wider to their citizens families regardless of where there spouses came from.


    I do not think that even with that the Mexicans would grant visas merely to allow adult sibling reunification.
    I support enforcement and see its lack as bad for the 3rd World as well. Remittances are now mostly spent on consumption not production assets. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4
    ronaldlion123's Avatar
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    Everybody is responsible for their decisions.

    They stayed here because they expected an
    amnesty. But now they must pay for what
    they did by returning to their countries,
    wether they are good or bad does not change
    the fact that the law was broken.

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