| Six of every ten identify it as a major problem at the workplace.
Recent findings from the Pew Research Center and Pew Hispanic Center provide background on a range of issues raised by the new Arizona law. The findings are drawn mainly from nationwide surveys conducted in 2008 and 2009.
• Americans see Hispanics as the racial/ethnic group most often subjected to
discrimination:
A 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center found that nearly one-in-
four (23%) Americans said Hispanics are discriminated against “a lot†in society today, a share higher than observed for any other group (Pew Social and Demographic Trends, 2010). This represents a change from 2001, when blacks were seen as the racial/ethnic group discriminated against the most in society. Then, one-in-four (25%) Americans said blacks were discriminated against “a lot,†while 19% said the same about Hispanics.
A majority of Hispanics worry that they, or someone they know, will be deported.
Nearly six-in-ten (57%) Latinos, in a 2008 Pew Hispanic Center survey, said they worried that they themselves or a family member, or a close friend may be deported. The foreign born were more likely than the native born to say this—73% versus 35% (Lopez and Minushkin, 2008).
A sizeable minority of Hispanics say they, or someone they know, has experienced
discrimination.
According to a 2009 Pew Hispanic Center survey of Hispanics ages 16 and older, one-third (32%) say they, a family member, or a close friend have experienced discrimination in the five years prior to the survey because of their racial or ethnic background (Pew Hispanic Center, 2009). This is down from the 41% of Latino adults who said the same in 2007, but is not much different from the share of Latinos in previous Pew Hispanic Center surveys who said they or someone they know had experienced discrimination. When asked about specific instances of discrimination, 64% of Latino adults identified discrimination against Hispanics in schools as a major problem and 58% of Latino adults said the same about the workplace (Pew Hispanic Center, 2007).
Vol.10 #13
, |