Abstract
Latinos in the United States, by Rogelio Sáenz and Maria Cristina Morales, fills a much-needed gap in the literature of ethnic and migration studies. The book captures contemporary demographic trends and perspectives about the bourgeoning Latino population in the United States in multiple issue-areas. Anyone interested in exploring in-depth ethnographic or historical narratives of the Latino immigrant experience will be disappointed with the particular approach this study follows. There is also no attempt to incorporate Latino voices. The colossal amount of data analyzed for practically every conceivable significant sociological issue, with the exception of housing, more than makes up for the absence of experiential illustrations. In short, what the book lacks in contextual historical depth, it more than makes up for in empirical analysis.
From the outset, Sáenz and Morales assert that despite shared language and cultural heritage, Latinos still constitute a multiethnic, stratified community who experience different levels of incorporation. This idea is unequivocally stated right at the end of the first chapter: “This book will examine the varying groups that constitute the Latino population as well as how they vary across different social, economic, political, and demographic dimensions” (p. 6). To analyze social stratification trends within the Latino population, the data is organized along eleven tables and an almost equal number of graphics. After reading this study, no student of Latino affairs should have any doubt concerning the rich and complex presence of this community in America.
The book opens with two contextual chapters. The first examines the historical connections between the United States and Latin American and how immigration flows have become a by-product of this relationship. Students of migration will find that it is not a coincidence that overrepresented Latinos groups in the United States happen to have come from the nations where the United States has had the most troubling diplomatic involvements. This historical fact, along with other considerations, explains why would-be immigrants from the Caribbean basin, for instance, generally risk their lives to journey north more often than trekking to neighboring South America, despite a common language and similar culture. Chapter Three, the second of the two contextual chapters, walks the reader through five current theoretical perspectives representative of the copious literature on migration studies. The chapter closes with an overview of major U.S. migration policy initiatives like the Bracero Program and the more recent state of immigrant criminalization we witness in the United States today.
Table 3.1 summarizes rather well the demographic history of the Latino presence in the United States. By the period 1820 to 1829, Latinos already constituted the largest population among ethnic groups from the South, second only to Europeans in numbers. This trend remained fairly constant until the 1960s, when migration flows shifted from an east/west to a south/north pattern and Latinos surpassed Europeans only to be outnumbered by Asians beginning in 2010. In addition, we find that overall between 1820 and 2010 to 2012 three Latino nationalities tended to predominate: Mexicans, Cubans, and Dominicans.
The rest of the book consists of chapters examining such distinct issues as civic engagement, religiosity, education, labor markets, family life, health-related issues, crime and victimization, and mass media. Obviously, it is nearly impossible to analyze each of these topics at length or even comment on the merits of each in this review; however, some general observations can be made. There is much in this book to support a claim about the ripple effects of human capital accumulation in the new economic division of labor. When one compares the effects of educational attainment between Colombians and other Latinos, for instance, we observe that the gap between these two groups could not be wider in any of the indicators measured in the study. Colombians lead Latinos in the percentage of college attendance and also in median household earnings. A healthy number of Colombian families live in two-parent households and hold health insurance.
The data from these chapters also speak to other levels of social stratification besides a within-case comparison. Latinos show the lowest level of educational attainment when compared with other ethnic and racial groups. They edge blacks in terms of economic well-being, as measured by median household income and poverty rates, only to fall short of whites, who are decisively ahead in these categories. In some senses these finding are not that surprising. What is more interesting is the comparison between Central and South American groups. Although the book only presents data from selective nationals from each region, the overall picture shows that migrants from South America tend to fare better than their counterparts from Central America. As I have shown in my own work, this trend sheds some light on the structural effects different levels of development generally have on the rates of immigrant incorporation, a topic that deserves further study.
If I have to assess the overall merits of this book, undoubtedly its biggest accomplishment is the impressive data accompanying each chapter. In this sense the book can be regarded an indispensable primer for courses in Latino and immigration studies. Sáenz and Morales also perhaps unintentionally do a great service to public sociology when they dispel the notions that Latinos are still an alien community whose achievements could easily be overlooked. I particularly appreciate the emphasis on diversity and social stratification throughout the book.
Having said this, the book, like any other study, is not without its limitations. To begin with, although each chapter opens with a short overview of the relevant theoretical literature, the authors do not consistently incorporate insights from the cited perspectives to explain the trends and patterns they analyze. The glaring disconnects between theory and empirical findings leave the reader on many occasions looking for explanations of current issues and trends. Finally, taking into consideration the limited amount of attention dedicated to the historical narrative in the first two chapters, the story would have been more effectively organized chronological rather than along the particularities of some Latino groups.
These limitations notwithstanding, I strongly recommend this book to any reader inclined to study the different rates of incorporation among Latinos in the United States. The authors should also be specifically commended for their tireless efforts to support the unraveling of complex issues related to the immigrant experience with rich empirical evidence.