Article, Three Prof'l Fields Facing Potential Cultural Misunderstandings With Utah's Hispanic Population

• Publication year: 2024
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 2 Pg. 42
• Pages: 42

Article, Three Professional Fields Facing Potential Cultural Misunderstandings With Utah's Hispanic PopulationVol. 37 No. 2 Pg. 42Utah Bar JournalMarch 2024

March 2024

Article

By Nathaniel Vargas Gallegos

This article is largely anecdotal. I had the honor to serve as the administrative law judge (ALJ) and hearing officer for the Utah Department of Commerce that administers enabling legislation in eight offices and divisions, four divisions with citation authority. By far, the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) and Utah Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) are the most relevant for a discussion on bicultural Utah residents. I also served on the Utah State Bar's Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Committee where all complaints related to the unlicensed practice of law are investigated by members of the Bar. Most of the complaints come from attorneys, and a large share of the complaints relate to immigration consultants and the term notarios. This discussion focuses on a subset of our Utah Hispanic community and the vulnerabilities that I have witnessed in my professional roles.

The Utah Hispanic Demographic:

The United States Hispanic and Latino communities are very diverse among themselves. Even the nomenclature is debated. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the demographic as "Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race." About the Hispanic Population and its Origin, U.S. Census Bureau, (Apr. 15, 2022) https://www.census.gov/topics/populalion/hispanic-origin/about.html. That is a quite broad definition that encompasses most of the Caribbean, all Central America, all South America, and from a country all the way over in Europe. It must be mentioned that there is a new term of Latinx, which emphasizes the removal of the gendered language. Like all other terms, this one is extremely controversial and not widely embraced. Marisa Penaloza, Latinx Is A Term Many Still Can't Embrace, NPR (Oct. 1, 2020, 5:00 AM), https://www.npr.org/2020/10/01/916441659/latInx-is-a-term-many-still-cant-embrace. Any term that tries to label an incredibly diverse group that inhabits one-and-one-half hemispheres will fall short. Although I use "Hispanic," know that many other labels exist. The foreign-born immigrant is the subset that is the focus of this article.

The 2020 U.S. Census estimates that the population of Utah was 3,271,616. Out of this population, 15.1% is classified as Hispanic, or roughly 414,000 people. QuickFacts Utah, U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quicklacts/fact/table/UT/PST045222 (last visited Jan. 31, 2024). The Migration Policy Institute in Washington, DC, estimates that for 2021, there are 158,629 Utah residents that were born in Latin America and immigrated. Utah Demographics &Social, Migration Policy Institute, https://www.migrationpoficy.org/ data/state-profiles/state/demographics/UT (last visited Jan. 31, 2024). About 99,000 of this group are specifically from Mexico. Id. The U.S. Census also estimates that nearly 20% of Salt Lake City is Hispanic. QuickFacts Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. Census Bureau, https://www. census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/saltlakecItycItyutah/PST045223 (last visited Jan. 31, 2024). This means that roughly 40% of the Hispanic population in Utah is currently foreign born and about one-quarter is specifically from Mexico. This foreign-born population influences our state and most emphatically reinforces culture for our native Utah Hispanic demographic.

Culture matters in the occupational space. It is infinitely amplified for those coming from another country, perhaps from a different social class system and, of course, language. For anyone, the most frustrating parts of learning a new language are colloquialisms, expressions, and idioms; you know the words, but the meaning is lost. It is this cultural dislocation that I believe causes untranslatable areas. I have personally witnessed the cultural translation issue in three professional areas: curanderos (informal medicine), toderos (construction trades), and notarios (informal lawyers). I will explain each.

NATHANIEL VARGAS GALLEGOS is an an attorney with the firm Smith + Malek, PLLC where he primarily works in business...