A new report from the American Bar Association finds that Latinos in the United States are more numerous than ever, are key contributors to the nation’s economic growth and a potent political force, but legal barriers “impede the ability of many Hispanics to fully engage in fundamental aspects of civic life.”
These conclusions and more are contained in a major report from the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. The report, “Latinos in the United States: Overcoming Legal Obstacles, Engaging in Civic Life,” will be released Aug. 3 at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The report includes findings in six critical areas:
Education – “Latino children often face a segregated educational system where they attend schools with insufficient resources to meet their needs.”
Labor and employment – “Hispanics experience higher unemployment rates, lower wages, harmful working conditions and persistent workplace discrimination.”
Health and wellness – “Latinos have limited access to health insurance, which is compounded by language, cultural, technological and other unique barriers to quality and accessible healthcare.”
Housing and credit – “Hispanics experience disproportionate rates of homelessness, discriminatory lending, neighborhood segregation and unequal housing opportunities.”
Voting rights – “Latino voters are subjected to suppression and harassment, purged from registration rolls and have their vote diluted by redistricting and gerrymandering efforts.”
Criminal Justice – “Hispanics are unfairly profiled by police, subjected to increased rates of incarceration and routine acts of hate, and forced to pay discriminatory fines and fees in the criminal justice system.”
There are more than 63 million Latinos in the United States – nearly 1 out of every 5 U.S. residents – and Latinos account for more than half of the nation’s population growth in the past decade.
“While highlighting the significant contributions from Hispanics and Latinos to the fabric of our country, the report details the continuing discrimination that America’s Hispanic community continues to face in our legal profession, the justice system and civic life,” ABA President Mary Smith wrote. “This report should be a call to action to all of us to work together to ensure that our country lives up to its ideal of equal opportunity for all, including those in the Hispanic and Latino communities.”
Louis Lopez, chair of the ABA commission, wrote that “significant legal obstacles” remain for many Latino residents. For example, he wrote, “Growing anti-Latino sentiment continues to fuel discriminatory laws and policies, stir hateful rhetoric, inspire violence against Hispanics. and threaten democratic institutions. This atmosphere has helped breed distrust within the Latino community of the rule of law, the justice system and the legal profession.”
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