By Bianca Machain, Feb. 25, 2024
Our Statue of Liberty reads “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
However, when it comes to Latino immigrants, the United States of America seems to forget the foundations our country was built upon. Latinos in America have been the subject of hate crimes and political disrespect for years. However, in 2025, there is a love for Latino culture but a disdain for the people themselves.
Latino music, a significant portion of Latino culture, has reached new heights of popularity. As reported by Variety Magazine, Latin music revenue in the United States had a 15% increase from 2022, the second consecutive year of growth. According to Billboard, Latin music consumption in the US grew by 24.1% in 2024. Popular artists like Kali Uchis, Bad Bunny and Omar Apollo are known for their bilingual music that captivates audiences. These bilingual artists have been gaining more popularity every year. Kali Uchis being nominated for nine Grammys and averages 12 billion streams a year, while Bad Bunny has won three Grammy awards and headlined for Coachella in 2023.
Despite Americans loving their taco Tuesdays and endless margaritas, Americans also keep their mouths full of disrespect for Latino families.
There is a small portion of the Latino population that own Mexican restaurants not including the 21% of immigrant restaurant workers in the US.
They want Mexican food on their table, but no Mexicans in their country. Latino cuisine has clearly enmeshed itself into mainstream culture, however, there is still a significant disdain for Latinos in America.
Hate crimes against all marginalized communities have increased within the last few years. From 2019 to 2022 hate crimes increased 47%, according to FBI reports. Over 60% of those crimes were race-related hate crimes. In 2022, hate crimes against Latinos increased spiking 48% from 2020-2021. The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism has noted that hate crimes increase when national news stories that involve Latinos are publicized. Hateful rhetoric is dangerous and impacts the lives of Latinos daily.
Julene Zamora, a Cal Poly Pomona business student, said that as a Latina in the US she has been treated unfairly. Zamora moved here from Mexico at 11 years old and did not speak any English. People often commented on her accent, not always negatively but enough to make it a significant aspect of her identity. Zamora also says she is left out of discussions and has made her feel uncomfortable.
“That’s what stops me from feeling confident, from feeling like I belong here,” Zamora said.
Zamora also urged people to “make informed decisions” and be more empathetic towards immigrants.
Following Trump’s inauguration there has been significant pushback on legal immigration. Zamora has been through the citizenship process several times and elaborates on the difficulty of the process. She said her mother tried over three times to get her citizenship and correct the paperwork to ensure her safety.
“The process required a lot of money being spent on lawyers, just for them to not even consider your case,” Zamora said.
Zamora said in the current state of immigration many Visa appointments have been canceled. and the process has become increasingly difficult for people who are seeking asylum. There is a consistent argument about coming here legally, but when the government is making it impossible, legal options become scarce.
No human being is illegal on stolen land.
The world does not get to love our culture and hate our people. We are not your vacation destination, not your cheap labor mules, not the evil rapists and murderers you claim we are. We are people, the people who were promised a better life. You were meant to be the promised land, but those promises are long broken.
Feature graphic by Connor Lālea Hampton