Why is my friend designated as white on government documents, when he is hispanic?

Question

Apparently, my friends name is Gonzales, he is Mexican. But when he showed me his parking ticket, his probation report and his other government documents, he was listed under white. I work at a clinic that brings in juveniles from detention centers and I checked out all of the hispanic kids papers and they were all designated as white.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_American#Hispanic_Americans
Wikipedia even points this out.

What I want to know is why is there this big racial gap between Hispanics and Anglos in the US, when on paper they are both fall under the catagory of white?

I know that you can be white and hispanic, but he is more indegenous looking that white. So I dont see how the government counts him as white just because he has a Hispanic last name.

Answer 1

Because you can be hispanic and also be white. I am hispanic, but my hispanic ancestors are of European Spanish descent. I am not of indigenous native or African ancestry.

I don't think there is a huge racial gap. I think Puerto Ricans are a good example of this. Most Puerto Ricans are a mixture of different races. Some are very fair, some are dark. It is all under the umbrella of hispanic. There are also Europeans who are black, Asian and mixed race. Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race.

Answer 2

with the advent of new computer classifcations and all of the stereotyping it is illegal to ask for racial info on all formal documents, frequently there is no longer any vairence in definitions, leave well enough allone, he knows what he is just say amen and be done. the only time you`d find true racial info is if hes wanted by the law or the corrections people, then that pops up promently, front and center for identifcation purposes(for that reason whom ever typed that info into his records left your friend an out, if hes picked up by the law, he can always say that hes white, and theres the proof in official documents)

Answer 3

properly first to procure to appreciate what hispanic, Latino, Mexican, and white recommend. •Hispanic means anybody from ANY race whose first language is Spanish. simply by fact of this there are white Hispanics (spaniards), community American Hispanics (Peruvians), and black Hispanics. Hispanic may additionally comprise people who dot communicate Spanish yet grew up in a hispanic subculture. •Latino means anybody from ANY race who speaks a Latin language (Italian, French, Spanish, etc). simply by fact of this brazilians (who communicate Portuguese) are categorised as Latinos. they'd be from any race. •Mexican is a nationality. this suggests ANY from ANY race could be a Mexican. as long as you have a Mexican citizenship you're Mexican. •white isn't a race. whether this is used to discernible Caucasians ,many times Europeans. There at the instant are not this manner of issues as Mexican, Hispanic, or Latino race. There are additionally no such undertaking as being Mexican, hispanic, or Latino looking. you may elect which ever, yet i could elect the subculture that maximum concerning you. Do you relate your self to hispanic subculture or American subculture. interior the tip, its as much as you.

Answer 4

because he is considered caucasian by scientist. There is no such thing as a hispanic race check your biology. There are only three blacks, whites, and asians. Also middle eastern people are considered caucasian and they are dark skinned people. It all has to do with bone structure. If your friend is having a problem with his discription perhaps folks of latin decent should challenge it.

Answer 5

Those things are just silly. Even if it said Hispanic, would that really define who your friend is? And even if he was white. Does WHITE actually help explain who some one is?
In today's day and age especially here in America, each individual is so diverse that even if they had a hundred DESCRIPTIONS to check off they still couldn't capture who we really are they're just silly. I never fill those things out.

Answer 6

I don`t think this is a racial problem. It seems to be a CULTURAL problem.

Answer 7

And this offends you howwwww?

Answer 8

if he looks more wite than black and indian then yes.