article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/28/tom-brokaw-apologizes-after-saying-hispanics-should-work-harder-assimilation/?utm_term=.f67b37545f42

In this article, it discusses the remarks made by Tom Brokaw, a former anchor for NBC Nightly News, towards Hispanics and assimilation. Brokaw made an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press”  in January and while discussing Trump and the border wall said that Hispanics need to work harder towards assimilating in the U.S. . Brokaw received heavy backlash from many but also some support from conservatives towards his comment. Brokaw apologized multiple times for his comments. Evidenced in some of the readings this week and discussed in the article, Hispanics and Latinos have been continuing to grow in English proficiency and have been assimilating at the same rate as any other immigrant community has in the past. However, many Americans still look down on the Hispanic community and have ideas that Hispanics do not/do not want to assimilate into U.S. culture or society, as claimed in the Huntington reading and arguments.

Discussion:

  1. Do the media/politicians need to do more or vocalize more on this topic in order to end this stigma and negative view against Hispanic assimilation, or how else can this be achieved?
  2. What should the balance be between assimilation or integration of immigrants in U.S. culture and how much responsibility should be on both sides of U.S. politics/institutions and immigrant communities to increase or help this integration?