IN any event, as a factual matter, Latinos have, as a class, been subject to pervasive racial discrimination in this country for centuries, regardless of whether many or most are recent immigrnats.
As for another comment by Yvette: "In any event, whether many Latinos think that they are white, whatever that means, is not relevant.� even if true which I doubt. They, as a class, have unique experiences which contribute to the diversity of educational institutions," is it not the case that a major part of O'Connor's argument was the importance of people thinking that elite institutions are representative of society? If most Latinos think of themselves as white ethnics, (Mexican-American, Cuban-American, etc.), wouldn't that argument not work for such Latinos?
Finally, as for this argument: "Latinos, as a class, have a diverse perspective because of their unique experiences in this country, and are underrepresented on our nation's campuses, and thus they are certainly within the state's compelling governmental interest in attaining racial and ethnic diversity."
I think this would apply (a) to a heck of a lot of groups other than Latinos; and (b) wouldn't apply to many individuals who are classified as Latinos. Would Michigan have a compelling interest in allocating all of its law school slots by the percentage of each ethnic group in the population?
According to the district court judge, the law school limited its Latino AA program to Mexicans and mainland Puerto Ricans. Based on prior history of discrimination, socioeconomic status, etc., this makes at least some sense, but the law school, having to squeeze its program into the diversity rationale, denied that its program was so limited. I'm afraid that unless someone can explain to me why anyone cares how many Salvadorans, Columbians, etc., attend Michigan Law School (and perhaps its somewhere in the opinion), a state university can indeed now allocate all of its slots by ethnic group. As Schuck points out, Arab Americans are already trying to make their group an AA category, and we can expect more of the same from others.
