Last updated:
July 3, 2003
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Panel
Kansas City Latinos: Past,
Present, and Future
A report contributed by  Moderator: Corinne Valdivia, Research Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural
Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia
- Panelists:
Steve Driever, Professor of Geography, University of Missouri-Kansas
City
- Thomas Longoria, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration,
University of Kansas
- John Glaser, Pastor, Pilgrims of Peace, Community
of Christ
- Melinda Lewis, Special Projects Coordinator, El Centro,
Inc.
An estimated 38 percent of the Kansas City-area Latino population is
not reflected in the 2000 Census, according to Melinda Lewis of El Centro.
Many of them were not even here at the time of the survey; others didn�t
choose to participate for a variety of reasons.
Lewis gave an analysis of the Kansas City Latino population, the results
of which were obtained through an exhaustive survey of the community
which is reflected in the attached report. The report reflected:
- An increasing level of suburbanization (60% are now commuting to
work);
- A declining proportion of the population from Mexico (78%, with increasing
numbers from El Salvador, Honduras Colombia and Guatemala);
- A large number being drawn to the area for employment reasons (60%);
- Many have been joined by a family member since they got here (70%);
- About half had arrived with legal permission, but they report that
it is getting more difficult to do so;
- Many report that the arrest and detention process has also gotten
more difficult;
- About 76 percent are working without authorization, putting them
at greater risk for exploitation;
- About 70 percent are living in a �mixed-status family,� that is,
with both documented and undocumented family members;
- In about 15 percent of the cases, everyone in the family was documented,
and in an additional 15 percent, everyone was undocumented;
- 52 percent were employed in the service industry, and 30 percent
were skilled or semi-skilled;
- The median level of education is 10th grade, with many
having an education below the 6th grade and many more having
an advanced education.
- Many don�t have bank accounts, and many don�t have drivers� licenses;
- Their median income was $17,500 for a family of four, which is above
the poverty level, so they are not eligible for support;
- 92 percent want their children to receive a higher education, regardless
of the educational level of the respondent;
- 93 percent hope to become US citizens in the next 10 years.
�We see a population that is bringing a lot, and they are hoping to
bring even more,� summarized Lewis.
John �Juanito� Glaser, Pastor, Pilgrims of Peace, Community of Christ
Church, spoke of his experience working with the Latino community in
Northeastern Kansas City.
�I hope we�ll be able to capitalize on the spiritual resources these
people have brought,� he said.
About 7/10 of them are people who have questionable legal status, he
said, speaking of the networks of family and friends that bring them
here. The population is extremely mobile in general, he said.
�It is one thing to settle, and it is another to become incorporated,� he
said. �Our challenge is to incorporate a larger part of the population.�
But that challenge can�t just be met by the incoming population, he
emphasized. �That is a decision made by the host population, not by the
new immigrants. The host population has to make changes to bring the
new immigrants in.�
Glaser spoke of the enormous change he�s seen in the past few years
in his area, with more Latinos buying their own homes through informal
lending structures that have emerged in order to help them. �I�ve heard
people speak of Kansas City, Mo.; Kansas City, Kansas; and Kansas City,
Mexico,� he joked. �Our census hasn�t been able to keep up.�
He noted the lack of Latino participation in the state�s political structures,
however, and expressed a hope that that will change in the near future.
�We do need to see the new immigrants enter into politics as soon as
possible and have true representation instead of having outside people
represent them,� he said. �We�re finding ways for people to enter into
the public arena.�
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