Latinos, as well as Asians, are an increasing population in New York City. Many of these new and recent immigrants have been settling in Queens and Brooklyn, with a few exceptions in Washington Heights and lower Manhattan. Most notably, the Latino community has been growing rapidly in Corona and in Jackson Heights. Unlike the immigrants before them, who had filled manufacturing jobs and other blue-collar jobs, these immigrants are taking jobs that are primarily “low-skilled…low paying…” (Jones-Correa 19)
Based on some of the former readings, there is an understanding that most of New York City was originally white; this population has reportedly been on the decline as more minorities are moving in and settling in white neighborhoods. Amongst this immigrant wave are Latinos. For this week, the readings focused on Corona and Jackson Heights. Here is where two articles disagree with one another; whereas Miyares states that Jackson Heights has been increasingly diverse, Jones-Correa states that there is a strong Latino community there. Either way, the growing numbers contribute to Queens’ diversity.
As previously proven with the influx of Chinese immigrants who settled in previously suburban Flushing, white residents will only go so far to tolerate new immigrants. Likewise, there was also a backlash against immigrants moving to Corona and Jackson Heights. In one situation, a neighbor complained that the Latinos didn’t speak English. “They never consider this their home…these kids, they are talking…in Spanish and they were born here.” (Jones-Correa 27-28) This has been a reoccurring theme in the articles and in class: immigrants who refuse to learn and speak English. In another article by Ricourt & Dante, a particular situation had a group of young Italians in Corona use violence against the Latinos.
What seems to be the issue that affects both the Chinese and Latino community is that they are simply not “good guests.” This goes back to the metaphor used in Jones-Correa’s article. The initial residents (hosts) will allow foreigners (guests) into their midsts, because they believe that the guests have had a hard life before their arrival. Yet, the hosts will expect that the guests will learn the rules and toe the line. Immigrants in the 19th and early 20th century struggled to adapt to their new homes: willingly dropping their last names to new “American ones” and forsaking their cultures to become an “American.” That does not seem to be the case for these new immigrants, who instead of “assimilating,” (as that word is so often thrown around) choose to live in enclaves with people who are similar to them in ethnicity and culture and do not live by the rules. These immigrants, therefore, ignore the rules. As a result, they must “pay the price.”
