to improve that. It is not just the white population that is putting these people down, either. There are black groups around against Mexicans also, "promoting to other African Americans in speeches and leaflets that Mexicans are taking away our jobs, our women, and everything else" (Ungar 365). Lastly, all Mexican immigrants are subject to the grossly unfair process of forced Americanization. They are given no slack when it comes to the English language. An immigrant cannot survive in America without knowing English, and even if they didnt want it, it would be forced upon them. For example, "as of 1997, twenty-two states have declared English as the official language" (Perea 79). It is also increasingly hard to get a job if you cant speak English. Furthermore, in July 1992, "Senator Robert C. Byrd stated during floor debate that the U.S. should stop accepting immigrants who do not speak English" (Hing 150). The government has been so concerned with assimilating all the immigrants, and making them all American, that sometimes it sounds scary. For instance, Americanization programs. Harris states that there was even one Americanization program aimed directly at Mexicans. Such programs taught American ways to an extreme. Sometimes, they were to "give up fried foods; tortillas would be replaced with bread, and lettuce served instead of beans." They even intruded into more personal traditions, like a normal lunch for a Mexican child, "a folded tortilla with no filling" which was forcefully changed because it was "supposedly the first step in a life of crime, since the child would be tempted to steal from others" (209). Reform Party presidential candidate Richard Lamm is even quoted saying, "America can accept additional immigrants, but we must make sure they become Americans" and going on later to say that "immigrants must demonstrate their desire to become one of us" (Against). Even in schools, Americanization is being push...
