Jeffrey Cohen sees Mexican immigrants as an important part of America’s past, but Ruben Martinez considers them a crucial link to America’s future.
Martinez, director of MSU’s Julían Samora Research Institute, invited Cohen, an anthropology associate professor at Ohio State University, to discuss Mexican migrants in the U.S. on Monday as part of a lecture series on transition relations.
The lecture was sponsored by MSU’s Julían Samora Research Institute and MSU’s Department of Sociology.
Cohen has spent more than 20 years completing research in Mexico, specifically in the state of Oaxaca, studying cultural changes and developments.
“One of the things I think is very important … is where contemporary movers come from. It tends to focus what’s going on in the present,” Cohen said.
“There’s this idea that nothing came before it, but there’s a history to this and a long process, and part of the outcome we see today is dependant on things that aren’t going on today, but that involve the historical process.”
Martinez said Cohen’s message of the importance of immigrants will play a prominent role in America’s future.
“College kids … are going to face a highly diverse global reality where there are more and more transnational workers crossing national boundaries every year,” Martinez said. “Globalization is taking hold. We need more open borders as we head into the future.”
Cohen discussed Mexican migration both within the country and into the U.S., explaining the current issues facing Mexican immigrants.
“The situation is different then when I began (working in Mexico) 10, 15 years ago,” he said. “It was easy to go back and forth (between Mexico and the U.S.).”
Inflated travel costs have forced Mexican immigrants to remain in the U.S. for longer periods of time before returning to their homes, Cohen said. In 2000, a migrant’s trip to the U.S. typically lasted a year compared to the eight years migrants can expect to stay in the U.S. today.
As baby boomers head toward retirement, Martinez said the gap between the number of senior citizens and people still in the work force most likely would be filled by Latinos.
“Latinos are best positioned because of their size,” Martinez said. “(They’re) the biggest group next to white Americans.”
Cohen said he observed how the Oaxacan culture has spread in the Midwest.
“They (have) established a Hispanic chain of commerce,” Cohen said. “They have a newspaper they run in part of the Columbus Dispatch. They even have a radio station. Their culture has caught on.”
Communication senior Allyson Rogers said she enjoyed Cohen’s presentation because of the topic’s relevance.
“I thought it was very interesting,” Rogers said. “He gave a lot of insights on issues we’re not taught about.”
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