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Summary

Hispanics are one of the minority groups benefiting from group-differential treatment in the form of special rights and recognition in American society. This paper focuses on three case studies illustrating how Hispanics are accorded group-specific rights and recognition, and raises the question of whether these group-specific policies, as currently implemented, are justified. Drawing on data from Census 2000 and the 2004 American Community Survey, the argument is made that Hispanics show significant differences among themselves, thus defying common categorization for group-benefit allocation purposes. 

More specifically, the evidence shows that with regard to bilingual voting rights on the grounds of limited English proficiency, English is widespread among Hispanics, although notable deficiencies do remain. Additionally, whereas some subsets within the general Hispanic category show sharp deficiencies with regard to English proficiency and educational attainment, others do not. Thus not all Hispanics are disadvantaged with regard to the general population.

It is suggested that as part of modifying policies towards Hispanics in order to reflect more accurate conditions, policies designed to address deficiencies among Hispanics should center on raising the level of achievement for future generations. The focus on achievement, rather than special rights and recognition as such, makes it crucial to distinguish the subsets under the Hispanic rubric and determine whether the subset at stake does indeed need and would benefit from the integrative measures. The final goal of measures towards Hispanics is to design and implement policies and strategies that acknowledge the different circumstances of Hispanic individuals and subsets with an eye towards full integration and the possibility of achievement in American society.

José Enrique Idler is a research fellow at AEI.

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