Subjective Culture and the Workplace: Comparing Hispanic and Mainstream Naval Recruits

Hispanics have migrated across U.S. borders since the earliest stages of American history. This pattern of migration has, at various points in time, encountered considerable resistance. The 1994 passage of California Proposition 187 provides a recent historical example. This proposition is primarily directed toward illegal Mexican immigrants. It deprives illegal immigrants of welfare benefits, education, and all but emergency medical care. It also requires that teachers, police officers, and welfare workers report any knowledge of illegal immigrants to the Office of Immigration and Naturalization for purposes of deportation. Endorsement of California Proposition 187 may reflect American prejudice against Hispanics, or alternatively, an attempt to protect the United States against perceived economic threat (Lee, Ottati, & Hussain, 1997).