tional debate about illegal immigra-
W o r l d T r e n d s & F o r e c a s t s
Demography
Latinos in America’s Cultural Laboratory
Immigrating for diverse reasons, Latinos complicate U.S. policy choices.
A merica is a land of immigrants,
but also a country that has
struggled with immigration is-
sues in nearly every generation. Back
in the nineteenth century, Americans
of English descent resisted the on-
slaught of Irish settlers. Massachu-
setts was alarmed at the “alien
horde” of French Canadians in the
textile factories “taking good jobs
from real Americans.” Around the
turn of the twentieth century, xeno-
phobic critics wrote diatribes about
how the criminal mind of Italian im-
migrants would surely ruin Amer-
ica. And in the latter part of the
twentieth century, America was fig-
uring out how to incorporate the
teeming masses from South and
Central America. Thus, current con-
troversies about Latino immigration
to the United States are hardly new.
However, the events of 2006 illus-
New Song for a New Future
I realized the changing values
among Latino immigrants as the
result of an unlikely experience. A
close friend of mine, Colombian
salsa singer Verny Varela, asked
me to translate a song from Span-
ish into English. This song was
about the mixed races of the Latin
culture, and how this mixed blood
would keep the Latin people mov-
ing forward. He wanted to re-
record the song for an English-
speaking audience.
No song translates exactly, so in
order to make the song hang to-
gether, I changed “moving for-
18 THE FUTURIST January-February 2007
By Eric Garland
trate that the Latino experience is
now profoundly different in many
ways. For a country so interested in
border security and requiring work
permits, it says much about the
United States that Latinos were able
to gather recently to demand rights
for those without legal papers. The
Latino community is such a power-
ful bloc that large groups of them
can assemble, essentially admit their
illegal status, and return to their
homes without fear of deportation.
Whether legal residents or illegal
newcomers, Latinos are a force in
American society.
Yet, this powerful immigrant com-
munity is putting a strain on na-
tional policies for border control and
labor. As shown by the recent na-
ward” (echa pa’lante) to “seeking
freedom.” It rhymed, it was rhyth-
mic, I used it a couple times.
Verny was concerned. He ex-
plained, “Eric, we already had
freedom in Colombia. I can write
anything I want, even about the
government. We all came here
because the pay is better.”
While this isn’t as poetic in
terms of song lyrics, his point was
well taken—not all Latinos come
to America to stay and adhere to
the American culture for reasons
as abstract as freedom.
—Eric Garland
tion, many find it untenable to have
millions of Central and South Amer-
icans simultaneously driving the
economy while bypassing laws that
are designed for the whole world.
Some say the United States should
build a wall. Others suggest simply
granting amnesty to those who are
hardworking and attempting to im-
migrate. For both business and gov-
ernment, neither solution is simple.
Several trends indicate how the
current wave of immigration is dif-
ferent from any in the nation’s past
and will bring new challenges and
opportunities.
Not all Latinos are coming to live
in the United States permanently.
Immigrants are coming to America
more to find high-paying work for a
while than to become part of U.S.
society. Historically, people emi-
grated to the United States to escape
political repression or crushing
poverty. America has represented for
many people the chance at a good
life and unequaled freedom.
Latino immigration today is hap-
pening for a more mixed set of rea-
sons. As society in South and Cen-
tral America has progressed away
from military juntas and instability,
basic political freedoms have been
more assured, but the poverty re-
mains. The drive to come north is
more likely to be economic than any-
thing else.
Many Latinos are now coming to
work for short periods of time, make
enough money to send home to Peru
or El Salvador, perhaps work until a
new house is built, and then return
to their families. If you take a trip to
any store in a Latino neighborhood
you will likely see a man with a fist-
ful of dollar bills filling out the forms
for Western Union, sending money
to family members. The Salvadoran
government calculates that the
largest contributor to its economy is
money sent in from its people in the
United States—more than $50 billion
per year.
On one hand, this new kind of im-
migration is beneficial to all in-
volved. Clearly, Latinos are finding
work, and the money is providing
economic opportunities in other
countries where economic develop-
www.wfs.org
ment has not always succeeded. But
this phenomenon is precisely what
many fear about illegal immigration.
Millions are coming from the south,
not to seek freedom and become part
of the American experience through
citizenship, but to “sneak” in, make
some money, send billions to other
countries, and leave when the work
is done.
Thus, a conflict could rise between
those Latinos who immigrate tem-
porarily, returning once they’ve
earned enough money to pay for a
new house back home, and those
who intend to stay and integrate into
U.S. society. Those who stay will
have to face the political pressure
aimed at those who do not.
Unlike other groups of immigrants
in past centuries, Latinos keep their
language and culture much longer.
This will become a new experiment
in bilingualism in the United States.
Fully 66% of the planet is bilingual—
most people live in places where
there are neighbors who don’t speak
the same language, and so you need
extra language skills to do business.
Today, America is increasing its
population that truly lives in two
languages. In less than two genera-
tions’ time, there will be Latinos who
will never have known a time when
they couldn’t receive services in the
United States using Spanish. At that
point, Spanish will be a bigger force
in the culture, resulting in even
greater political tension.
The world is watching how the
United States manages its immigrant
issues, because other countries face
similar problems. There are fourth-
generation Turks in Germany, North
Africans who have lived in France
for several generations, and Koreans
and Filipinos in Japan. Whereas
America’s “melting pot” tradition of
equality has encouraged immigrants
to quickly shed their nationality and
declare themselves American, other
countries have no history of admit-
ting new ethnicities into their na-
tional identity.
The French recently had riots
because of the persistent economic
exclusion of their immigrants, and
now the government is wondering
how to encourage employers to hire
those with non-French names. The
Netherlands, normally an inclusive,
peaceful society, is experiencing a
backlash due to the tensions caused
by immigration.
The United States, as a cultural
laboratory, could lead the world in
learning to manage immigration and
meet the challenge of integrating
many nationalities.
Eric Garland is principal of Competitive Fu-
tures Inc. (www.competitivefutures.com) and
author of Future, Inc.: How Business Can
Anticipate and Profit from What’s Next
(AMACOM, 2006). ■

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