ABSTRACT
In the US, the white elite, principally white men, always represents the dominant and superior racial group. Mexican nationals were the first Latin American group to be racialized in the US, a process brought about by nineteenth-century US expansionism that resulted in the seizure of half of Mexico’s territory. By the early twenty-first century, the mostly white agitation against Latin American immigration was becoming even more extensive and heated, including in mainstream media discussions and among leading politicians. Mainland Puerto Ricans make up the second largest group among US Latinos. They are a distinctive US group, one whose heritage is centuries-old and significantly diverse. Today the umbrella group termed “Latinos” is one of the two fastest-growing US racial-ethnic groups, increasing at about 2 percent annually. For decades, whites in many areas have demonstrated much hostility to the Spanish language and its speakers.
