The number of Latinos who say they have been discriminated against has more than doubled from the previous decade, according to a new report from online journal Social Science & Medicine – Population Health.
“68 percent of Latino men and women in the United States reported discrimination, a rate comparable to that reported by blacks, which was more than twice the 30 percent rate of findings from 2003,” notes the New York Times.
In addition to undocumented immigrants, immigrants in the US legally say they have also been targeted, an important finding following the racist, dangerous campaign of Donald Trump.
Since his Presidential victory earlier this month, the nation’s minority groups have been terrorized by a surge in hate crimes, many of which have been committed by Trump’s supporters. We’ve documented many of these incidents on our “Trump Hate Map” here.
Trump’s hometown of New York City has also seen a string of hate acts targeting Muslim-American women, including an off-duty police officer who was verbally harassed by a white man screaming “ISIS!” Another Muslim-American woman was harassed by three Trump supporters who attempted to rip off her hijab.
More on the Social Science & Medicine – Population Health study from the NYT below:
The study found that those living in U.S. states with tougher anti-immigrant policies such as Arizona were more likely to report discrimination.
Joanna Almeida, assistant professor of social work at Simmons College in Boston and lead author of the study, said links between discrimination and anti-immigrant policies are “chilling” given the hard-line stance toward immigrants taken by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump, who takes office in January, has promised mass deportation of the estimated 11 million migrants in the United States illegally and vowed to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Our findings are especially concerning in light of President-elect Trump’s promise to take a hard line on immigrants and immigration including carrying out mass deportations,” Almeida said in a statement.
The research suggests an “increasingly negative immigration policy environment and anti-immigrant sentiment is likely to engender higher levels of discrimination,” she said.
The reported rise in discrimination could be due to a shift in anti-immigrant attitudes in the United States and perception that discrimination is sanctioned by state governments, the study said.
