Leo Chavez The Latino Threat Analysis

The first of two essay questions focuses on Leo Chavez’s book , “The Latino Threat”. The questions and statements that will be answered include “ What is the Latino threat?, ‘How does he define citizenship?” ,“Identify and discuss two examples of the Latino threat” and “ Identify one policy recommendation and discuss whether you think it is achievable”.

Leo Chavez’s book focuses on the guise of Latinos threatening the American way of life. He defines this as “The Latino Threat” , He states that the Latino threat narrative positions Latinos as not sharing similarities with any previous migrant groups into the U.S. and that they are unwilling and incapable of integrating and becoming part of the national community (Chavez,3). This is merely

Leho chavez states that in simple terms, citizenship for many is about the legal recognition that comes along with it, the formal membership in an organized political community (Chavez, 12). For those that are anti-immigration, citizenship is also about the rights, privileges and responsibilities (Chavez,12). There is a harsh effect when not being a citizen, since the 1996 welfare reform act made it harder for immigrants to achieve citizenship and also barred non-citizen immigrants from getting many social services like food stamps and medicare(Chavez, 13). Citizenship is further discussed with the discussion of anchor babies. Anchor babies, which are babies born to take advantage of 14th amendment. Babies that are born in the United States and are instantly U.S. citizens and thus can apply for their families citizenship once they are of age citing the reason of “ family unification”( Chavez,193). Birthright citizenship differs from traditional citizenship as it is a guaranteed right for the baby; which leads to discussions of whether they deserve to be citizens of the U.S. or not (Chavez,192). Parents of these anchor babies could be taking advantage of this birth right and thus giving them a surefire way to get citizenship of their own once the baby comes of age. While these types of citizenship differ, the definition of citizenship shown by Chavez is one that has emphasis of having a legal reason of belonging, while social stigmas

The arguments for and against donation of organs to illegal immigrants are tough to stomach for both sides because one way or another the person not getting the donation can die. There is also the financial side of it, where illegal immigrants must secure donations in order to afford it, there are a couple examples in the book that shows the need for money in order to get donated to as an illegal. The first is the son of a butcher, Leonardo Sanchez, who needed $250,000 in order to get a transplant, so his father brought him to the U.S. in order to receive treatment(Chavez,115). Another case about Edgar Gutierrez shows that money is a necessity in order to receive a organ donation as he got financial backing from a CNN executive and a retired pilot(Chavez,115). Something that I feel isn’t realized when people donate to causes like these, is that their donations are providing someone who isn’t a citizen to receive an organ that could and most likely would have gone to a U.S. citizen. One who is paying or is going to pay taxes, one who belongs to United States of America and didn’t just cross a border. While yes it’s a tragedy that these illegal immigrants are coming into the country just to receive treatment that isn't available or is even harder to require in their native country, it’s wrong that they are getting organs over citizens of the U.S. . They, as