Thread: MD - Struggles of the Second Generation

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Struggles of the second generation
U.S.-born children of Latino immigrants fight to secure a higher foothold

By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 7, 2009

Javier Saavedra slumped his burly frame into a worn, plaid couch in the cramped basement room he shares with his girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter, his expression darkening as he ticked off all the wrong turns that had gotten them stuck below the economy's ground floor.

Raised by Mexican immigrant parents, Saavedra was a gang member by 13, a high school dropout by 16 and a father by 21. Now 23, he has been trying to turn his life around since his daughter, Julissa, was born.

But without a high school diploma, Saavedra was unable to find a job that paid enough for him and his girlfriend, Mayra Hererra, 20 and pregnant with their second child, to move out of her parents' brick home in Hyattsville.

Even the dim, wood-paneled room piled with baby toys and large plastic bags of clothing was costing them $350 a month.

"I get so upset with myself," Saavedra said. "I should have a better chance at a job [than our parents]. I want to be helping them with their bills, not them still helping me."

Millions of children of Latino immigrants are confronting the same challenge as they come of age in one of the most difficult economic climates in decades.

Whether they succeed will have consequences far beyond immigrant circles. As a result of the arrival of more than 20 million mostly Mexican and Central American newcomers in a wave that swelled in the 1970s and soared during the 1990s, the offspring of Latino immigrants now account for one of every 10 children, both in the United States and the Washington region.

Largely because of the growth of this second generation, Latino immigrants and their U.S.-born children and grandchildren will represent almost a third of the nation's working-age adults by mid-century, according to projections from U.S. Census Bureau data by Jeffrey S. Passel, a demographer with the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center in Washington.

Not since the last great wave of immigration to the United States around 1900 has the country's economic future been so closely entwined with the generational progress of an immigrant group. And so far, on nearly every measure, the news is troubling.

Second-generation Latinos have the highest high school dropout rate -- one in seven -- of any U.S.-born racial or ethnic group and the highest teen pregnancy rate. These Latinos also receive far fewer college degrees and make significantly less money than non-Hispanic whites and other second-generation immigrants.

Their struggles have fueled an outcry for stricter immigration laws, with advocates saying that the rapid increase in Latino immigrants and their children has strained the United States' resources and social fabric.

"The last 30 years of immigration have made our country more unequal, poorer than we would have been otherwise, more fractious and less cohesive," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which favors tighter restrictions on immigration.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 9120602845

This will only pose a problem for this country if these illegal interlopers are allowed to remain in the country!

The children of the illegal criminal aliens ARE NOT American citizens; it is not the responsibility of the American people to clean up the mess made by these arrogant, insufferable criminals!

We must insist on deportation of each and every one of them, or we will lose the legacy left to us by our hard-working, selfless ancestors.

I refuse to be emotionally blackmailed by the corrupt pro-amnesty, open-borders pimps and whores who are wreaking havoc on my country.

I can't wait for 2010!!! Can you???

FedEx had come through with a steady delivery job, and between the 12-hour workdays and evenings taking care of Julissa and his newborn son, Anthony Javier, so Hererra could go to class, Saavedra said, "I'm not even focused on my GED right now."

At $500 a week, his wages still aren't enough for the couple to get a place of their own. There are nights when Saavedra wonders whether they ever will.

I have friends that work for FedEx in management. I was told that FedEx doesn't hire individuals without a high school diploma or the type of background that this person has. There are probably a lot of 23-year old American citizens that would love to have a job with FedEx making $500 a week.

Originally Posted by Skippy

FedEx had come through with a steady delivery job, and between the 12-hour workdays and evenings taking care of Julissa and his newborn son, Anthony Javier, so Hererra could go to class, Saavedra said, "I'm not even focused on my GED right now."

At $500 a week, his wages still aren't enough for the couple to get a place of their own. There are nights when Saavedra wonders whether they ever will.

I have friends that work for FedEx in management. I was told that FedEx doesn't hire individuals without a high school diploma or the type of background that this person has. There are probably a lot of 23-year old American citizens that would love to have a job with FedEx making $500 a week.

He probably stole someone elses' ID. He's whining about his bad breaks and crying poor, but keeps having more kids? He is his own worst enemy and we get stuck paying for their welfare!

Just get them out! They are multiplying like rabbits and no one is doing a damn to remove these illegals from our country. I live in Maryland and I am tired of watching my state being trashed by illegal aliens and their families. Its like Americans are being FORCED to live under worse conditions than what they had 20 years ago. Nice neighborhoods are being left behind by long time residents because these people move in take everything over. It looks like Mexico in some places. JUST GET THEM OUT BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS THEM HERE!

Birthright citizenship must be stopped. Anchor baby citizenship is why they will not self deport, even if they lose their jobs. These illegals should be turned in and deported the minute they show up demanding taxpayer funded prenatal care!

Any one else wish that SOB stories like this be required to include ALL THE FACTS. How much social service assistance is this family receiving at taxpayer expense? How is he paying for the tattoo removal? Is it really necessary to have a $106 monthly cellphone bill and internet access? How did his parents afford that home? etc., etc.,...

It would help if they stop producing mouths to feed.

Yep my kids need jobs, not a bunch of illegals. Who crash are
nation.

When I was first married my hubby and I were living in a house with a cramped living room, kitchen and bedroom. Two of the rooms had paneling and we were using hand me down lawn chairs for furniture. We couldn't afford a worn plaid couch at the time and if the paneling was bugging us that much we would have painted it as paint is cheap. We were probably stuck below the economy's ground floor but never even realized it. When we had our first child the baby slept in the same room as we did. Oh the horrors of it all!(sarcasm here) Looking back on those days we were as happy as could be! We worked our way up little by little and learned to live frugally without any government assistance or sob story in the newspaper.

Earlier in our married life our house payment was $350 and we made less than $500 a week. We also had two small children at the time. We made our payment every month without government assistance. These sob stories are RIDICULOUS!