Anti Immigration Reflection

Immigration has been and will continue to be a very influential and important part of my family’s history and my life. About eleven years ago, my family and I became immigrants as we started our new life in the United States. Being an immigrant is a part of my identity, and it is something that I embraced and is proud of. However, growing up in an immigrant family has never been easy. Moving to a new country at a young age made me feel lost and confused about my own identity. I was at that age where I did not know much about both the Cambodian and American culture and traditions. Therefore, while growing up, I had to learn and adapt to both cultures, one at home and the other at school. When I am at home, I have to act or think differently from how I would when I am out in public or around my ‘American’ friends. Having to find a balance between my American and Cambodian sides can be tough at time. Learning to integrate, and adjusting oneself to the new way of life and culture while also trying to maintain my past cultural customs—these are some of the things that any immigrant or immigrants’ children have experienced.

Coming from such

I chose this class because I want to gain an in-depth understanding as to what really drives the anti-immigration sentiment and why people view immigration as the source of conflicts. I want to be educated about this issue as well as exposing myself to different sides of the story in order to avoid misconception and misinterpretation. Rather than forming an opinion and choose what is right and wrong, I want to be able to analyze and understand both sides of the argument. In addition, I have always been interested in learning about immigration. I also spent a lot of time tutoring other immigrants’ children in in West Seattle. Being able to relate to them and hear their stories has allowed me to gain more interest in this