The Parallel Histories of Latin American and Jewish Immigrants

Immigration is a pressing and divisive issue in modern American society. Recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, has increasingly targeted Latin American immigrants. Similar prejudice has also been a defining aspect in Jewish immigration stories. Although from two different time periods, immigrants from Latin America are facing many of the same difficulties that Jews have faced throughout history.

Jewish immigration began thousands of years ago, resulting in diverse Jewish communities scattered around the world, from India to Argentina, and from Russia to the United States. One key reason Jews left Europe, in particular, was to escape pogroms, violent riots where perpetrators would rob, attack, rape, and even murder Jews. One infamous pogrom was Kristallnacht, translated to “Night of the Broken Glass.” Ordinary German citizens joined Nazi supporters as they vandalized Jewish-owned businesses, destroyed over a thousand Jewish synagogues, and killed hundreds of Jews, without interference from law enforcement. Around this time period, an estimated 37,000-38,000 Jews emigrated from Germany, according to the U.S. Holocaust Museum. These high numbers were a direct result of the dangers German Jews were facing. People left their homes because they needed to in order to survive. 

Today, people from certain Latin American countries are similarly fleeing their homes to escape extreme danger, only to face prejudice in the United States. Recently, there has been much gender based violence in South and Latin America. This is one of the many reasons that women decide to uproot their lives and move to the United States. However, it is extremely difficult to cross the border legally and safely. Many women experience rape and trafficking while trying to immigrate to America. Like Jewish people, Latin American women are taking this dangerous path in the hope of reaching a better future.

Another major similarity between Jewish and Latin American immigration experiences is overcoming economic barriers. Poverty was a major incentive for Jewish immigration in the early twentieth century, and it is as well for many people fleeing from Latin American countries today. When Jews came to this country, they often began in low-paying and dangerous jobs. They became prominent in the American labor movement, promoting better wages, safer working conditions, and protesting unfair labor practices. Specifically, most of the victims of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 were young immigrant Jewish women. Positions in factories such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were often filled by immigrants because they did not require advanced education or previous skills. 

Many Latin American women today are in similarly low-paying jobs, such as laborers, cleaners, and more. This does not mean that their work is insignificant; on the contrary, studies show that nearly 19% of the American workforce is made up of immigrants, and 48.9% of house cleaners and maids are Latina women. They work mainly in manual labor jobs that rarely pay a livable wage, and this can lead to financial struggle. Jewish women dealt with these issues just as many Latina women do today.

In short, immigrants are what make America such a diverse and culturally rich country, and we should continue to welcome people in need of a safer home. The Jewish value of tikun olam, repairing the world, means that we stand up for communities facing similar injustice to our ancestors. ICE’s current stance is an insult to all Americans because the vast majority of U.S. citizens are descended from immigrants. There are similarities in the ways in which Jewish women and Latina women came to this country and began new lives here, and we should therefore respect and welcome each other. Our struggles are connected, and we therefore should be able to empathize with each other and stand together.