Journal of Hispanic Policy

I spent most of my childhood skateboarding next to a covered landfill near my home in San José, California. From the late-1800s to the mid-1900s, a brick company mined clay along the nearby creek where millions of bricks were made that were used to build San Francisco’s skyline – until it was closed and used […]

What happens when a piece of a puzzle is lost? Can one still complete the puzzle? What about losing ten pieces? How many pieces can be lost until the puzzle can no longer be assembled? The U.S. immigration system is a complex puzzle that dictates the social, political, and economic integration of immigrants into American […]

Listen Here! Welcome to our second HJHP Podcast for the 2019-2020 academic year. For the second episode of our series, Pain to Power, we interviewed Mayor of Topeka, KS Michelle De La Isla. In our conversation with Mayor De La Isla, we learned about her journey from New York to the Mayoral office in Topeka. […]

Listen Here! Welcome to our first HJHP Podcast episode for the 2019-2020 academic year. We kick off this year’s series, Pain to Power, with an interview with Delia Garcia, Kansas Secretary of Labor. In our conversation with Secretary Garcia, we learned about her journey from her family’s restaurant in Wichita to her role as an […]

Walt Disney himself made a research trip to Latin America, named the Goodwill Tour.  At the behest of the Roosevelt Administration in 1941, Disney and a team of artists and animators traveled to several Latin American countries to draw inspiration for filmmaking. The culmination of their efforts produced several WWII-era films, including Los Tres Caballeros. […]

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico causing widespread destruction, including the total loss of the power grid and potable water systems. It was the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in almost 90 years. “Make no mistake — this is a humanitarian disaster involving 3.4 million US citizens,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo […]

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico, leaving 3.4 million people without power and with scarce access to potable drinking water and food. Two weeks later, less than 50% of people can access clean water and only 5% have power.  Due to the slow response, it is unclear when electricity will be restored, let […]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement that President Trump has decided to rescind DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, came as a shock to some and is disappointing to us. Although DACA recipients come from places as wide-ranging as Jamaica and the Philippines, the vast majority of them are from Latinx communities. (Latinx is […]

Despite more than three decades of empirical evidence from sociological and anthropological research that clearly shows that culture plays a significant role in the health care decision making process within Latino society, Latino cultural beliefs still remain the least understood among service providers in the American health care delivery system. This is in part due […]

While on a recent trip to the Ellis Island museum, I had an opportunity to reflect on the 12 million immigrants that shaped and continue to define this great nation we call America. I am always disappointed when critics pose the dueling question why do we need Comprehensive Immigration reform? Seldom do I argue with […]

My Dean is Better Than Trump’s Celebrity Secretary of State Reality Show This year’s presidential election brought about some of the most controversial rhetoric – concluding with, for many voters and political experts, a shocking and unexpected result. It was surprising for everyone to witness that most “experts” provided erroneous predictions. Perhaps the most shocking […]

In 2012, a record 11.2 million Latinos voted in the presidential election. Despite the record turnout, another 12.1 million eligible Latinos still chose not to vote. The 48% voter turnout rate amongst Latinos is no small feat, but it paled in comparison to the 66.6% voter turnout rate of Blacks and the 64.1% of Whites.[i] […]