HOUSING POLICIES AND STRUGGLES FOR INEQUALITY

 

LATINO HOUSING DISCRIMINATION

BY STUDENT

Throughout the history of the United States, Latinos have been pushed aside in the search for the American Dream. While Latinos encompass many different nationalities and ethnicities stereotypes that effect all Latinos still persist. In the housing market there has been an unfortunate history of housing discrimination on the Latino population of the United States. While discrimination based on national origin in the housing market was prohibited by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, there are still more than four million incidents of housing discrimination within the United States every year (NCLR). How can this sort of discrimination in the United States and how is it seen in places like San Antonio, Texas, which has a growing Latino presence?

In the United States housing discrimination is unavoidable for those of Latino descent that fit the mold of the typical Latino. These stereotypes are harshest on Latino men that have a thick accident. A major belief is that Latino men are dangerous and are working with the major cartels that are found within nations that they descend from. The stereotypes of what a Latino “looks” like allows relators and those working within the housing market to discriminate in various ways. In the view of some Americans there is a standard that they place on all Latinos. These stereotypes vary from that they are violent to that all Latinos are dependent on government for assistance to that Latinos were not productive economic actors within their communities. In a recent study performed by the University of Cincinnati, 2,150 Ohio phone surveys led the research team to determine that Latinos were viewed the most negatively in comparison to Asian, European or Middle Eastern immigrants. (Gates) Those who were surveyed also shared that they believed that Latino immigrants would lower the quality of education in school districts, leads to a higher rate of unemployment and a lower degree of wealth. These stereotypes carry over into the housing markets in that in many places throughout the United States Latino families are struggling to get affordable homes. In an experiment that was conducted in San Antonio, Texas in recent years, Latino and white non-Latino potential buyers with nearly identical profiles tried to receive assistance in mortgaging a home. In this study, it was determined that housing agents were less likely to even schedule an appointment with the Latino clients to their white counterparts. Also from this study it was seen that the agents that did meet with potential Latino buyers “quoted higher fees, costs and/or more extensive application requirements.” (NCLR) When looking at this study it is clearly evident that there is housing discrimination that is placed on the Latino population. Something that is also to be noted is that a 2010 census showed that San Antonio was ranked number nine on the list of the metro areas within the United States with the largest Latino population. (Frey) As an increasing population, they will require homes to house the new influx of Latinos and there is a struggle for the incoming population to find reasonably priced homes. In places like San Antonio and throughout the country as a whole, scores of the Latino population are struggling to obtain fair mortgage rates and adequate agents. As discussed by Steven Bender in his book “Tierra y Libertad: Land, Liberty and Latino Housing” he made an observation that communities that were seen to have a high level of minorities were considered to be “red zones” in which they would raise the interest rates on the mortgages of this population and therefore many Latinos with prime credit scores were struggling to keep up with the growing rates.

           

To look into housing discrimination of the United States is just a portion of the problems that face the Latino population every day. While Latinos strive for the American dream of owning a home and living in a good community, housing discrimination is preventing the dream from flourishing. While the Fair Housing Act is a good start, it must be enforced in order to be able to truly effective and other steps must be taken to stop the over four million instances of housing discrimination.  

Works Cited

Bender, Steven. "Lenders and Loss: The Destructive Legacy of Subprime Mortgages in Latino/a

Communities." Tierra Y Libertad: Land, Liberty, and Latino Housing. New York, NY: New York UP, 2010. N. pag. Print.

Frey, Williams H. "The New Metro Minority Map: Regional Shifts in Hispanics, Asians and

Blacks." Metropolitan Policy Program. State of Metropolitan America, n.d. Web.

Gates, Sara. "Impact Of Latino Stereotypes: Latin Americans Viewed Most Negatively In

Immigrant Comparison Study." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

NCLR. "New Report Uncovers Housing Discrimination Against Latinos." NCLR Blog. N.p., 22

July 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.