From the Brooklyn Ink:
At Community Board 7's monthly meeting, about 30 of the attendees were white. There was a considerably smaller amount -between five and ten- of Asian participants. Less than five were Hispanic. Yet, Sunset Park's population, according to the Census, is distributed the other way round: Hispanics make up almost half of the local population. They are the largest ethnic group. So why are they not participating in local politics and community activities? "I would expect that unauthorized immigrants generally have higher levels of expectations of returning to the country of origin, but this shouldn't be surprising. Their status ensures that they are able to develop fewer or weaker connections to the U.S.," says Professor Louis DeSipio, a specialist on Latino political assimilation at UC Irvine. This is what is called the "Myth of Return." But DeSipio also adds that "even in unauthorized communities, the ties to the U.S. relatively quickly become stronger than the ties to the country of origin."

For the full story, please visit http://thebrooklynink.com/2011/12/14/39063-too-tired-to-live-the-america....

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