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A New Beginning: Immigration and the Changing Face of Rural Minnesota
Presented by:Francisco J. Gonzálezattorney and community activist.March 21, 2002 from 3-5pm at the Summit Center, Mankato
I. Welcome and Introductions
Good Afternoon. Buenas tardes. Galab wanaagsan.My name is Francisco J. González, and I want to thank you all for being here today andfor your interest in participating in what I hope will be a good conversation on the topic of immigration. But before that, I would like to take care of a couple of house-keeping details.Please make sure that you grab one of the packages I am distributing, with the agenda for thisafternoon and also additional information that I thought would complement our conversation.I hope that we can have a informal discussion, and feel free to ask questions at any time, but alsonote that I have reserved time at the end for a full question and answer period. Also please helpyour self to the Mexican cookies and treats.Like I said, my name is Francisco J. González, and I am currently working as an attorneywith Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services or Legal Aid, here in Mankato. However, as of May 1
st
, I’ll be changing careers and joining the law firm of Somsen, Schade and Franta also herein Mankato. I hope to concentrate my practice on immigration law. I also have about 10 years of involvement with the local immigrant and minority populations of our area, and helped create twonon-profit organizations that serve these communities.I am also an immigrant, but not from a foreign country. I grew up in the US Territory of Puerto Rico. My father is Puerto Rican, and my mother is from Spain. I came to Mankato in 1988to study at Mankato State University. I did not know anyone here, I spoke horrible English, andthe first winter made me extremely homesick for the warms tropical waters and sandy beaches of Puerto Rico. However, I stayed, and 13 years later I am proud to call Minnesota “home”. After finishing a Master’s degree in History at MSU, I worker for several years at the local welfareoffices here in Mankato., an experience that opened my eyes to the issues of poverty and social justice. In 1997 I decided that the world needed ANOTHER lawyer, and went to HamlineUniversity Law School in St. Paul. I graduated in the year 2000, and began to work for Legal Aidshortly after.During my years here in Mankato, I could not help but notice the growth of the immigrantcommunities. Those of you who a e life-long residents of this area undoubtedly remember thedays when there was hardly a non-European face to be seen anywhere around here. However, it isimportant to remember that immigration is not a new phenomena, but an integral part of theAmerican experience. For centuries, the US has accepted millions of eager immigrants fromEurope, as well as forced “immigrants”(slaves) from Africa. However, immigration into the USacquired a new dimension in the later part of the 20
th
century, as the “newcomers” now originatemostly from Latin American, Africa and Asia. These new immigrants came in search of economicand political freedoms, grateful for the opportunities available to them in the US. At the same1
 
time, these newcomers (for reasons outlined below) are both unwilling and unable to justdisappear into the mythical “melting pot” that swallowed earlier waves of immigrants.The dramatic growth in the non-European population of the US, fueled by immigration, willchange the social, political and economic face of the nation. America in 2050 will certainly notonly look different, but also be better.
II. Immigration into Minnesota: what’s new?1. Native American tribes and early European settlers
For centuries, Minnesota has attracted different groups of migrant populations. During the 17
th
and 18
th
centuries, the Ojibwa and Dakota Native American peoples moved into the area, escapingintertribal conflict and European expansionism farther east. At the beginning of the 19
th
centuryScandinavian and Central European settlers came to the forests and prairies of this territory.During the 20
th
century, immigrants form all parts of the globe came too, seeking refuge andopportunity. The current pattern of migratory agricultural laborers arriving in Minnesota duringthe summer harvest months developed during the 1940's, as mostly Mexican and Mexican-American laborers were recruited to work in the fields and processing plants all across ruralMinnesota. While the vast majority of these migrant laborers moved on at the end of everyharvest season, small groups began to settle in scattered pockets around the state.In view of the history of this state (and indeed, of the United States as a whole), it is certainly notunusual to see a large and diverse immigrant community in Minnesota.
2. Trends since the 1980's: economic and political factors
Since the 1980's, the immigrants settling in Minnesota have come from non-European countries.This is the result of a number of factors: reforms to immigration laws beginning in the 1960's and1970's eliminating restrictions on immigration from Asia and Latin America. Another importantfactor was the US policy of accepting unlimited numbers of refugees fleeing from Communistcountries. During the late 1970's, many Protestant and Catholic churches in Minnesota established programs to sponsor and assist the resettlement of refugees from South-East Asia and, later,Central America.In addition to people fleeing from war and political unrest, the 1980's also saw a marked increasein the movement of economic migrants. Meat packing and agricultural processing industriesactively recruited Hispanic workers from Texas and northern Mexico in order to replace thedwindling, and more expensive, local workforce. Towns like Austin, St. James, Le Sueur, andAlbert Lea experienced a rapid growth of their Hispanic populations at this time.
III. Local impact of immigration:1. Demographic trends in rural Minnesota
Population growth in most or rural Minnesota has stagnated, and some counties have in fact lost population steadily, since the 1970's. Lack of well-paying jobs, the demise of the family farm, andthe expansion of suburbs all have attracted young adults away from rural areas. In addition, the2
 
 population in rural counties is aging. All of the counties in which more than more than one-fifth of the population was 65 years or older in 1995 are in rural Minnesota. The percentage of Minnesotans 65 years or older is expected to rise from 12.5 percent in 1995 to 20 percent in theyear 2025. Another measure of significance for rural Minnesota is the elderly dependency ration,which is the number of people age 65 and older for every 100 people of working age. Up untilnow, Minnesota’s elderly dependency ration has been relatively stable at 18 or 19, but is expectedto rise to about 31 by the year 2025. This means that in the year 2025 there will be 31 elderlyindividuals for every 100 workers. Communities with high elderly dependency ratios typicallyhave a reduced demand for an assortment of services and products, and therefore support fewer  businesses. The ability of these communities to general additional tax revenue is also limited.
2. Role of immigrants in our economy
The importance that immigrant workers have in the current labor market does not represent just atemporary trend. Instead, and regardless of the economic downturn in Minnesota or across thenation, the role of these workers in the state’s economy can only increase in the future due to thedemographic trends outlined above. In addition, immigrant workers tend to be concentrated inlow-skilled and low-paying jobs, since most lack the skills (technical and also knowledge of English) needed in managerial and professional work. Moreover, most native-born Minnesotansare not interested in these types of jobs in the service and food processing industries.
3. Social services and immigrants
While immigrant labor provides an essential component to Minnesota’s economy, they also useless social services and welfare programs than native-born population. The prevalent stereotype of immigrants as drains on the social services and welfare programs is not accurate. First, mostimmigrants (those who are here legally as well as undocumented aliens) simply are not eligible for many of the programs available to US citizens. In addition, even those immigrants who areeligible are reluctant to apply for welfare, since the receipt of public assistance would make themineligible, under immigration laws, to sponsor their relatives so they can join them here in the US.Last, but not least, many immigrants are simply unaware of these programs, while others(specially refugees fleeing repressive governments) are distrustful of government agencies andreluctant to be involved with them.
IV. So, who are these new immigrants?
The two largest immigrant groups in south-central Minnesota are
Latinos
, and
Somalis
. Below Iwill give a general introduction to these two cultures, beginning with the largest population, theLatinos:
1-Latinosa- What’s in a name? Hispanic, Chicano, Mexicano, Latino, Latin-American
It is important to begin this discussion by addressing the confusing issue of what to call this particular population. The US Census Bureau created the term “Hispanic” in the 1960's as ageneral category under which to classify the diverse racial, ethnic populations of Spanish-speaking peoples living in the US. However, many US individuals or Mexican heritage preferred to developtheir own self-identification name: Chicano, which is a derived form the English pronunciation of the term “Mexican”; of course Mexicano, is Mexican in Spanish. Latino was also created in the3
of 00

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