Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Way of Life
The eastern USA is a compelling mix of accents and rhythms, big-city finan-
ciers and small-town farmers, university students and sun-seeking retirees,
Yankees and Southerners.
The US holds the world's second-largest Spanish-speaking population, behind Mexico
and just ahead of Spain. Latinos are also the fastest-growing minority group in the nation.
In the east, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York have the largest Latino popula-
tions.
Multiculturalism
From the get-go, cities in the East were 'melting pots,' with a long and proud heritage of
welcoming newcomers from all over the world. So it's no surprise that the region's di-
versity is vast.
In the Northeast, Irish and Italian communities have been well established in the urban
areas since the 19th century. In Chicago, Latinos (mostly from Mexico) comprise roughly
one-quarter of the population. The upper Great Lakes states are home to the nation's
biggest enclaves of Somali and Hmong immigrants, a result of the area's long tradition of
resettling refugees. In Florida, Cubans lead the multicultural pack. They began arriving in
Miami in the 1960s following Castro's revolution and created a politically powerful com-
munity. Nicaraguans followed in the 1980s, fleeing war in their country, and now number
over 100,000. The city's Little Haiti adds 70,000 Haitians to the mix. The South, more
than any other region, is a culture unto itself; over half of all black Americans live here.
These examples are just a fraction of the complex whole.
The East, like the rest of the country, can never quite decide if the continual influx of
newcomers is its saving grace or what will eventually strain society to the breaking point.
'Immigration reform' has been a Washington buzzword for over a decade. Some people
believe the nation's current system deals with illegal immigrants (there are 11 million of
them, compared to 480,000 legal immigrants) too leniently - that the government should
deport immigrants who are here unlawfully and fine employers who hire them. Other
Americans think those rules are too harsh - that immigrants who have been here for years
working, contributing to society and abiding by the law deserve amnesty. Despite several
attempts, Congress has not been able to pass a comprehensive package addressing illegal
immigration, though it has put through various measures to beef up enforcement.
