Civic organizations seem to provide an excellent support structure for immigrants, especially undocumented individuals with few official resources on which to rely. Information on the ares of Mexico in which such organizations are based correlates strongly with areas in Mexico that have the highest immigration rates to the United States, meaning that ties to home communities remain, and HTAs continue to be formed at roughly comparable rates. The information presented makes a clear argument for the worthwhile nature of such organizations, given the fact that they make political issues accessible to Spanish-dominant individuals, who are frequently shut out of political dialog by virtue of language. Further, the article addresses the issues of gender disparity, in that women and men play very different roles in organizations. Unaddressed by the article was whether or not this disparity was the result of traditionally held gender roles, and whether those roles changed the longer immigrants...
This may effect the way in which individuals choose to participate in the
political system, a fact which was not explored by the article. However, the presence of HTAs none the less serves to begin to bridge the gap between involved and uninvolved in both Mexican and
American politics.
Discussion Questions:
1. How does the fact that HTA meetings are conducted in Spanish promote political involvement for traditionally disenfranchised individuals?
2. In what ways can and do HTAs act as advocates for undocumented individuals?
