Politics

Shikha Dalmia on the Latest Restrictionist Myth About Latino Losers

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Hispanic Immigrants
Stephen C. Webster / Foter / CC BY

Every time immigration reform gathers steam, writes Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia, restrictionists come up with new reasons as to why a more open southern border would be injurious to the health of the United States. In the past, they've accused Latinos of being crime-prone welfare queens with high illegitimacy rates. This time they are arguing that the great grand children of Latinos are ambitionless economic losers because they shun college.

But such arguments tell us more about conventional elitist notions of success than the actual success of Latinos. A recent study by scholars at the University of California, Irvine, found that Latinos are doing quite well in achieving the American dream without obtaining fancy degrees.