Analyzing Political Science Perspectives on Migration Issues
The 2008 and 2012 elections showed how much of a dominant force minorities can be in this country. A hot topic for both elections was immigration. It would be for this reason that Latino Americans attended the polls in large numbers. The United States is becoming more racially diverse, despite the fact that it is still mostly White.
One of the issues that’s addressed in this article are the laws enacted against people of color who forcefully migrate from their country of origin. One such group are Haitians, who do not receive the same fanfare and acceptance of their Cuban counterparts due to the color of their skin. Whereas the Cuban Adjustment Act assures that Cubans are able to seek asylum in the United States, it’s not extended to Haitians. Latinos want the same support from African Americans for immigration reform that they give to Haitians (Reyes, 2014). The politics involved show the racism involved in immigration policies in the United States. The first immigrants from Cuba were white, middle class professionals and the law offered them advantages that just were not available to other migrant groups seeking asylum or citizenship (Reyes, 2014).
Though the length of this article is very long, it addresses several issues from a political science perspective including biased laws, economic policy such as S. 744 that would grant citizenship to 11 million immigrants who are here illegally, STEM Jobs Act and its implications for Latino Americans, to Arizona v. United States, which addresses the Supreme Court case that would usurp the government’s ability to regular immigration laws. The article is all encompassing when it comes to the issues of Latino Americans, law, and the implications it has with African Americans, whose support for immigration reform has been sorely needed (Reyes, 2014).