Huntington The Hispanic Challenge Summary

The manner in which an immigrant is described largely depends upon the time period and the national origin of said immigrant. The manner in which Latinx populations are characterized can be described as “The Latino Threat.” The Latino threat narrative asserts that Latinx immigrants are a threat to American culture, creed, and identity. This narrative claims that this threat stems from non-assimilation into the existing American culture (Chavez, 24). This is most obvious in Huntington’s “The Hispanic Challenge,” in which he argues that Latinx immigrants and their descendents are a threat to the American ‘creed.’ Huntington uses Miami as an example of his fears realized. He argues that the city has become characterized by large populations of Cubans. He describes this as a “Cuban takeover” and claimed it led to “major consequences” for Miami, and then proceeded to describe only positive economic outcomes for the city and many of its inhabitants, as well as developments in arts and entertainment influenced by Cuban culture (Huntington, 42). The implication here seems to be that Latinx communities should only be successful if they sever their ties to their culture and adopt the predominate American creed.
In the introduction of “The Hispanic Challenge,” Huntington explains that American identity was once defined by “race, ethnicity, culture, and religion,” and follows by claiming that race and ethnicity were later removed from the concept of American identity (Huntington, 31). However, Huntington doesn’t explain why he believes American creed cannot be changed again. He seems to simply assume that the reader already views this as a threat, an attack on the reader and their