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Lazy Stereotype
Hispanics are misperceived as “lazy” or “unintelligent” people because of the stereotypes of Latinos strictly occupying blue-collar jobs (construction, factory work) and older generation Latinos being unable to speak English.

Ethnic-minority students, who are in the lower-income bracket, are more likely to attend schools that are overcrowded, dangerous, and limited in the opportunities they offer for advanced course work with experienced teachers. Because of these inequalities in education, the graduation rate for Latino students is substantially below the rate for white students. Without a sufficient education, Hispanics have a harder time obtaining white-collar or professional jobs.

Contrary to the belief that Hispanics are “lazy,” a study by Andrew J. Fuligni has shown that “students from ethnic minority backgrounds often have higher levels of motivation than their equally achieving peers from European backgrounds…Latin American and Asian families have significantly higher values of academic success and a stronger belief in the utility of education.” This high level of motivation comes from Hispanics having a greater sense of obligation to support, assist, and respect the family.

A common misconception about Latinos and language learning is that not being able to speak English is a sign of unwillingness to learn. Some immigrants, from Mexico and other countries, live in the United States for decades without acquiring a basic command of the English language. The primary reason for this being that it is difficult to learn a second language as an adult. Another reason is that finding time to learn a new language, while struggling to financially support and spend time with family, may be impossible.

Job-stealing Stereotype
The “job-stealing Hispanic” stereotype is also false. According to Pastora San Juan Cafferty and William C. McCready, “a preliminary study of labor market competition among the Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White population (Borjas, 1983) found no evidence that Hispanics had a negative impact on the earnings of the other two groups.” Hispanics are not “taking away” jobs that whites or non-Hispanic groups want. The blue-collar jobs Hispanics obtain are low paying and have few fringe benefits, leading to little or no health insurance coverage.

Criminal Stereotype
The aggressive “Hispanic gangbanger/criminal” stereotype, which we often see in movies and on television, is inaccurate. Gang-suppression approaches of numerous police departments have become “over-inclusive and embedded with practices that create opportunities for abuse of authority.” This means most of the gang enforcement police stops are based off of racial profiling. These stops involve no reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and oftentimes include non-gang members.

Trouble Establishing Identities
Hispanic youths have a more difficult time establishing a positive school identity because of the negative academic stereotypes regarding their racial-ethnic group. These academic stereotypes, which have been proven to negatively affect the academic performance of Latinos, focus on inability, laziness, and a lack of interest and curiosity.

Research shows that many Latinos in the United States do not identify as “American” but instead with their or their parents’ or grandparents’ country of origin. One of the reasons for this occurrence is the misbelief that in order to be an American, one needs to be White. Latinos who have experienced racial discrimination are more likely to identify as Latino or Latino American than simply American because they feel they are not treated as “real” Americans.

Mental Instability
A study by Suárez-Orozco and Suárez-Orozco (2001) has shown that the internalization of perceived stigmatized identity of Hispanics can lead to resigned helplessness, self-defeating behavior, and depression.