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Diaspora in Latino(a) Evangelical Tradition
Description
Diaspora refers to the "scattering [of a people] throughout the world from one geographic location” (Ashcroft 425). The diasporic person looks in two directions – “towards an historical cultural identity on one hand, and the society of relocation on the other” (Ashcroft, 425). “Cultural identity… is a matter of ‘becoming’ as well as of ‘being’. It belongs to the future as much as to the past…. Cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But, like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation…. Identities are the names we give to the different ways we are positioned by, and position ourselves within, the narratives of the past” (Ashcroft 435).
While about two-thirds (68%) of Hispanic Catholics are foreign born, just a bit more than half (55%) of Latino evangelicals are immigrants (The Pew Forum). Many immigrants come to a city by themselves, often fleeing wars or oppressive situations in their country of origin. They are away from their families and their points of influence for maybe the first time in their lives. There is very little familiarity with their new country. One thing that is familiar is the church where they felt they had a community that was speaking to their need.
Latino Diaspora from 2000 
In part due to the Mexican Civil War, between 1900 and 1930, the Mexican population in the Southwest grew from an estimated 375,000 to 1,160,000; the majority of them had been born in Mexico. About 25,000 crossed the border during the first decade; then another 170,000 between 1910 and 1920. The greatest surge occurred during the 1920s, when nearly half a million Mexicans arrived in the U.S. (Takaki 317). In the end, though, we can't know for certain exactly how much immigration from Mexico occurred during this period. Because of the length of time and openness of the U.S.-Mexican border, a great deal of immigration took place outside of legal channels. Undocumented immigrants tended to live on the margins of society and were especially vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers, or by the coyotes, or guides, who smuggled them across the border (Library of Congress).
Another significant period of Latino(a) immigration occurred between 1985 and 1990 when approximately 334,000 Salvadorans reported entry. Although many Salvadorans applied for asylum in the 1980s, only approximately two percent of applications were approved. As a result, many Salvadorans remained in the United States without documents. The legalization provisions in the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 gave 146,000 Salvadorans legal status (Migration Information Source).
Stories
In 1991, a group of religious organizations and refugee advocacy organizations won its class-action lawsuit against the federal government for its discriminatory treatment of asylum claims from Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The American Baptist Churches v Thornburgh (ABC) decision compelled the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) to offer de novo (initial) asylum hearings under new and fairer regulations to all Salvadorans and Guatemalans whose previous applications were denied in the 1980s (Migration Information Source).
Juan Carlos Rivera of Primera Iglesia Evangelica Libre in Los Angeles fled El Salvador in 1989 during the Salvadoran Civil War. He fled because of the high probability he and his family would die due to his government job. He traveled through Guatemala and Mexico on his way to the United States. Juan Carlos attempted to cross into Mexico from Guatemala. He was caught three times by Mexican border patrol and was finally able to cross with the help of an elderly Mexican woman who allowed Juan Carlos to pose as a servant of hers. As he was travelling through Mexico, he was caught as an illegal immigrant and put in jail. The second time, as he was approaching the border to the U.S., he and another Salvadoran man got on a bus to travel close to the border. Juan Carlos expressed an uneasiness about this situation to the other man. As the bus was about to leave, the doors opened and Mexican special forces officers entered the bus and arrested the illegal immigrants including Juan Carlos. The officers operated a form of Mexican mafia and sold him to the "coyotes" who knew they would receive money from members of Juan Carlos' family living in Los Angeles. He was smuggled into the U.S. hidden in the engine of a truck. The smugglers built a compartment near the engine that could hold multiple people. Whenever they came to a crossing, the driver would knock twice which would signal that they must be quiet. After the checkpoint, the driver would signal that they were free to talk again. In Los Angeles, they were able to meet up with his family members who paid the smugglers for bringing him across.
Dreams
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus). This saying is inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. For many of the immigrants to this country, this speaks a reassurance that this land will be welcoming to them with open arms. For people in other countries that are at war, like El Salvador was, the United States can be a haven for them after leaving their home.
References
Diaspora refers to the "scattering [of a people] throughout the world from one geographic location” (Ashcroft 425). The diasporic person looks in two directions – “towards an historical cultural identity on one hand, and the society of relocation on the other” (Ashcroft, 425). “Cultural identity… is a matter of ‘becoming’ as well as of ‘being’. It belongs to the future as much as to the past…. Cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But, like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation…. Identities are the names we give to the different ways we are positioned by, and position ourselves within, the narratives of the past” (Ashcroft 435).
While about two-thirds (68%) of Hispanic Catholics are foreign born, just a bit more than half (55%) of Latino evangelicals are immigrants (The Pew Forum). Many immigrants come to a city by themselves, often fleeing wars or oppressive situations in their country of origin. They are away from their families and their points of influence for maybe the first time in their lives. There is very little familiarity with their new country. One thing that is familiar is the church where they felt they had a community that was speaking to their need.
Latino Diaspora from 2000
23 States Where Latinos are the Largest Minority
Another significant period of Latino(a) immigration occurred between 1985 and 1990 when approximately 334,000 Salvadorans reported entry. Although many Salvadorans applied for asylum in the 1980s, only approximately two percent of applications were approved. As a result, many Salvadorans remained in the United States without documents. The legalization provisions in the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 gave 146,000 Salvadorans legal status (Migration Information Source).
In 1991, a group of religious organizations and refugee advocacy organizations won its class-action lawsuit against the federal government for its discriminatory treatment of asylum claims from Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The American Baptist Churches v Thornburgh (ABC) decision compelled the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) to offer de novo (initial) asylum hearings under new and fairer regulations to all Salvadorans and Guatemalans whose previous applications were denied in the 1980s (Migration Information Source).
Juan Carlos Rivera of Primera Iglesia Evangelica Libre in Los Angeles fled El Salvador in 1989 during the Salvadoran Civil War. He fled because of the high probability he and his family would die due to his government job. He traveled through Guatemala and Mexico on his way to the United States. Juan Carlos attempted to cross into Mexico from Guatemala. He was caught three times by Mexican border patrol and was finally able to cross with the help of an elderly Mexican woman who allowed Juan Carlos to pose as a servant of hers. As he was travelling through Mexico, he was caught as an illegal immigrant and put in jail. The second time, as he was approaching the border to the U.S., he and another Salvadoran man got on a bus to travel close to the border. Juan Carlos expressed an uneasiness about this situation to the other man. As the bus was about to leave, the doors opened and Mexican special forces officers entered the bus and arrested the illegal immigrants including Juan Carlos. The officers operated a form of Mexican mafia and sold him to the "coyotes" who knew they would receive money from members of Juan Carlos' family living in Los Angeles. He was smuggled into the U.S. hidden in the engine of a truck. The smugglers built a compartment near the engine that could hold multiple people. Whenever they came to a crossing, the driver would knock twice which would signal that they must be quiet. After the checkpoint, the driver would signal that they were free to talk again. In Los Angeles, they were able to meet up with his family members who paid the smugglers for bringing him across.
Dreams
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus). This saying is inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. For many of the immigrants to this country, this speaks a reassurance that this land will be welcoming to them with open arms. For people in other countries that are at war, like El Salvador was, the United States can be a haven for them after leaving their home.
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References
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Latest page update: made by awheeler
, Dec 12 2008, 7:41 PM EST
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