Report: Learning English Is Biggest Concern for Recent Immigrants

The last few days have been pretty intense for political news in this country, and there are no signs of slowing down. But that shouldn’t mean that we here at The Latino Newsletter should ignore newsworthy studies about our community.

The New Hispanic Immigrant Report, released on the same day as the 2024 first presidential debate (remember that?), is another example of how complex the U.S. Latino community is becoming. Produced by Sensis, a cross-cultural marketing agency, in partnership with Welcome Tech, the research, which surveyed more than 500 recent immigrants, aimed to examine their adaptations and purchasing habits.

Here are some of the findings from the report’s media release:

• “Despite cultural diffusion brought about by globalization, learning English is by far the biggest concern for recent immigrants.”

• “Other barriers preventing Hispanic immigrants from fully acculturating to the U.S. include immigration status, feeling isolated and lack of resources.”

• “64% of survey respondents said they feel much safer in the U.S. than in their home country.”

• “Only 23% of survey respondents, no matter the length of time in the U.S., prefer to purchase brands from their home country.”

“These findings challenge existing narratives and underscore the realities faced by Hispanic immigrants living in the United States,” Sensis President José Villa said. “It’s crucial to distinguish how new immigrants view the world versus those who arrived in the United States a decade ago to understand the evolving needs of Hispanic immigrants across different stages of their journey.”

The organizations plan to release more findings later in the summer and fall.

America’s Voice: SCOTUS Immunity Ruling Has ‘Terrifying Immigration Implications’

Reaction to Monday’s Supreme Court ruling about former President Trump and immunity has been strong, to say the least. We have read a lot of tweets, opinion pieces and, of course, seen all the posts sharing Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s already historic “With fear for our democracy, I dissent” quote.

The Latino Newsletter did want to highlight one statement released by the immigrant rights group America’s Voice since it talked about “terrifying immigration implications” and what it thinks will happen if Trump were to be elected in November:

Today’s ruling promises to replace our system of checks and balances with bright green lights to empower the nativist fever dreams of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. This is terrifying from the perspective of immigration, American values, democracy, and our national economic interests.

There are no longer legal constraints to what a president can and cannot do in an ‘official’ capacity unless both houses of Congress agree to impeach and remove from office the sitting president.

The prospects are terrifying—from military and red state National Guard troops terrorizing American communities and putting long-settled immigrants into military detention camps to bombing Mexico with impunity to virtually every other horrific immigration scenario one can conjure up. And all of these things have been openly discussed in Congress and on the campaign trail by Republicans. We fear there will no longer be constitutional and criminal constraints on whatever cruel and chaotic policy Stephen Miller and his extremist friends have, including Project 2025.

The statement also noted past American history of extreme immigration enforcement, translating an excerpt from a recent Spanish-language BBC Mundo story about the “Operation Wetback” operations under the Eisenhower administration:

The Republican presidential candidate has shown that when he talks about mass deportation, he plans to follow a specific model: Operation Wetback, carried out by Dwight Eisenhower’s government in the summer of 1954, exactly 70 years ago… it has also been denounced by its critics as a ‘terror’ campaign that not only affected undocumented immigrants but also American citizens of Mexican origin, separated families, and marked the beginning of the use of military tactics to control migration.

Historian Delia Fernández commented in an article by Ohio State University: ‘This new policy marked the beginning of the modern deportation raids and militarization of the border that we know today.’

What We’re Reading Today

Another Plebiscite: On Monday, the Associated Press reported that pro-statehood (and outgoing) governor Pedro Pierluisi announced a political status plebiscite for the November general elections. The non-binding plebiscite, the AP reported, will not include the island’s current territorial status as an option. (Story here)

A Win for Migrant Shelters: From El Paso Matters, a district court judge ruled Tuesday that “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to shut down the Annunciation House network of migrant shelters” were rejected because “the state was harassing its employees and guests.” (Story here)

Want to know more about our mission statement and team? Go to our new About section.