Collectively called the emerging Hispanic American population, it is comprised of culturally distinct groups such as Mexican Americans, Peurto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans and El Salvadoran Americans. Of all the four groups, Mexican Americans stand out in terms of their involvement in mainstream American politics. The dissenting voices of Mexican Americans were first heard during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. Although African Americans were predominantly seen as the leaders of the movement, significant contributions were made by such Mexican American luminaries as V. Mendoza, Reies Lopez Tijerina and Rodolfo Gonzales. Their political activism ranged from basic rights for farm workers to rights of electoral franchise at all levels of governance. (Jokisch, 2006) Parallels could be observed in Puerto Rican American history as well. One of the more recent immigrants to the country, Puerto Ricans are poorly represented in politics. However, to their credit, they succeeded in forming trade unions to demand for worker rights during the second half of the twentieth century. Given such an initiation, it is only natural that their worker movement graduated into a socialist one. Given the strong capitalist roots in America, this movement did not make much impact though. (Jokisch, 2006)
Any description of Cuban Americans will have to be made in the context of Cuba’s hostile political relation with the United States. The primary reason for migration through human trafficking to their more affluent neighboring country is economic opportunity. Yet, the totalitarian and sometimes repressive regime of Fidel Castro would mean that the migrants are also political asylum seekers. Hence, the acculturated Americans view Cuban Americans as ‘outsiders’. This perception had not helped the community in their genuine efforts toward cultural assimilation. (Hope Cheong, 2006) A recent survey found that most El Salvadorian Americans intend to go back home once the political situation stabilizes there. It would not be exaggeration to say that this community lives in a world of its own oblivious of the socio-political developments around them. Hence their political participation in the United States is most minimal and their condition the most deprived. (Frykholm, 2007) Of all the Hispanic groups being trafficked into the country, the El Salvadorians are the most economically impoverished. This is understandable given the fact that most El Salvadorian migrants escape grinding poverty and a war-ravaged native environment. The El Salvadorians also maintain links with their relatives back home, for whom a regular remittance from the United States can mean life or death. The immigration policies of the United States government over the last few decades had grown considerable stringent. Most El Salvadorian immigrants to the U.S. do not gain recognition legally as a result. (Jokisch, 2006)
In many ways, the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960’s was an important historical mass movement in that it galvanized racial and ethnic minorities in a show of solidarity against injustices incurred to their lot. Economic opportunities being the prime motive behind their northbound migration to the United States, the community is essentially working class – casual laborers and blue collar workers. While they may have seen relative prosperity coming from an underdeveloped Central American country, their participation in the political and economic system in their adopted land has only been marginal. While the civil rights movement saw greater concessions given to minority communities, the Latinos were not benefited due to this change. Since large number of Latinos in California and elsewhere are illegal immigrants they don’t have any basic political entitlements that the rest of the minorities enjoy Further, the lack of political entitlements translates into corporate exploitation, as illegal workers do not have recourse to courts for earning below the levels of minimum wages. In contrast, the African American community, which does not have a big presence in California, does fall within the purview of minimum wage legislations and to the extent are more fortunate. Hence, it is a fact that human trafficking into the United States is intricately related to poverty and suffering. (Espenshade, 1996)