Latinos in America are Americans

Hispanic Americans are usually viewed as foreigners even if they have lived and were raised their whole lives in the U.S. Even worse, their are times when Hispanics are sometimes viewed as illegal immigrants and then are discriminated against. Many times discrimination can be based on clothing, economical standing and English speech fluency.  

The media portrays Latinos very often in a very stereotypical Mexican format. Cowboy hat, short, brown, bad accent, poor, janitors, construction workers and etc.  These stereotypes can and do hurt Hispanic Americans because they are often treated as second-rate citizens. This hurts them socially because it creates unnecessary stress and adds discriminatory obstacles to any goals or objectives they wish to accomplish to grow socially, economically and educationally. 

These stereotypes have long-reaching effects especially on youth. Self-confidence to succeed in education is significant diminished when representations of your ethnic group is often negative and/or of poor standing. It also creates a barrier for many Hispanics that love this country and those that judge them as outsiders. Hispanic Americans are Americans in every sense of the word and want the same things that every American wants, joy and equality. 

Below is a link to a blog post about an incident where a Hispanic American is viewed as an illigal immigrant.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/29/opinion/valencia-racism-latino/index.html