The two texts, “Deportation at Breakfast,” by Larry Fondation and, “Mexican Migrant Workers in the 20th Century,” by Jessica McBirney are both set to portray the hardships and opportunities the Mexican/ Mexican-Americans faced. In, “Deportation at Breakfast,” the narrator witnesses the chef get deported. This causes him to take over the diner. Also, the text, “Mexican Migrant Workers in the 20th Century,” the migrants get to start a new life in a new country, however, they are treated with little to no respect. Both of the central ideas of the texts are based around these opportunities and hardships, and will be discussed later in this essay.
However, the fact is that most Americans have the impression that Hispanic immigrants are perceived as a threat for not assimilating into the American mainstream, more so into the Anglo-Protestant values. Why is that? Is it for fear that the Spanish Language may overrun the country? Similarly, Neil Foley, author of, Mexicans In The Making of America, asks the same questions, why fear? In his prologue chapter, Foley makes a point by proving the fact that in the past, Mexican immigrants were not a concern but were, “ let in to provide the labor force for the rapidly expanding economy”(2).
Jason Richwine discusses the Latino’s absorption and integration into the American culture. He compares the Latino immigrants with other countries’ immigrants that has rose out of poverty, while the Hispanics have not been rising up out of the lower class after several generations have passed. Richwine mentions that American prejudice might be influencing the Hispanic immigrants not striving. For example, “popular explanations from the left include the
In their work, both George J. Sanchez and Kelly Lytle Hernandez discuss race as well as the black-white paradigm in which Latinos do not have a solid place. In Race, Nation, and Culture in Recent Immigration Studies, Sanchez argues that the future of immigration history depends on the field’s ability to incorporate insights of race, nation, and culture that develop. Meanwhile, in Migra!: A History of the U.S. Border Patrol, Lytle Hernandez discusses how the border is controlled, race, and the racialization of migration control. They both cite past immigration laws in their work and discuss the experiences of whites, blacks, and Mexicans in the United States.
A major gap has thus developed between portions of our elite and the bulk of our populace over what America is and should be” (Para. #10). Immigrants are tearing Americans apart. Creed, identity, and culture are affecting Americans. The reason is
Humans rarely change their ways; they stay in their own worlds and always interact with the same types of people. Unfortunately, this habit often creates unseen barriers that divide and alienate human beings from one another. In Luis Alberto Urrea’s book The Devil’s Highway, Urrea provides a personal perspective to immigration by telling the story of 26 illegal immigrants, known as the Wellton 26, who are abandoned as they cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Through their story, Urrea proves there are invisible borders among people that create prejudice, such as language, ethnicity, and economic status. By reading The Devil’s Highway, it is clear that these barriers must be broken down to ensure harmony within society.
Socially speaking, immigrants may find themselves feeling excluded from a society with organizations and perceptions that generalize them as illegal aliens who disrupt and complicate social institutions, instead of being a contributing part of society. Immigrants may feel constantly fearful of the federal and state governments’ influence on the undocumented community, which leads to how divided politics has been on the issue. Many argue for immigration reform while others have turned down the idea entirely. Much of the stigma on immigrants involves their place of origin or religion being associated with such acts as terrorism, drug smuggling, and general violence. This allows those who are against immigration reform, the ability to argue for
In the essay on realclearpolitics.com titled Our Brave New World of Immigration, The author Victor Davis Hanson addresses the issue of illegal immigration. Hanson argues that immigration is without a set pattern and that today compared to migration in the 19th century is different because people can enter the country illegally. Illegal immigration is transgression of Federal Immigration law and costly to the American government also it is leading to an exponential growth in an already densely populated United States. Hanson points out that there is no forethought of whether people enter legally nor if they learn to speak English. The author also mentions that there is an endless number of illegal immigrants that have not assimilated.
As a result of their emigration, America was now viewed as “multiethnic and multiracial” and “defined in terms of culture and creed” (Huntington 1). On the contrary, when people traveled across the border from Mexico, their culture was not so widely accepted. Mexican traditions and values were seen as a “serious challenge to America’s traditional identity” (Huntington 2). The “original settlers” of America were incredibly open to people travelling from Europe, but when people came from Latin America, they were
Immigration is deeply rooted in the American culture, yet it is still an issue that has the country divided. Marcelo and Carola Suarez-Orozco, in their essay, “How Immigrants Became ‘Other’” explore the topic of immigration. They argue that Americans view many immigrants as criminals entering America with the hopes of stealing jobs and taking over, but that this viewpoint is not true. They claim that immigrants give up a lot to even have a chance to come into America and will take whatever they can get when they come. The Suarez-Orozco’s support their argument using authority figures to gain credibility as well as exemplification through immigrant stories.
The Great Migration was a time of change it was a time where African-Americans had the chance for a nice life. During this time people of color were moving to the northern half of the USA, in order to get a new start. During this they had to leave the only life they knew in hopes for something better in a different place. To begin with, after World War 1 began in 1914 industries lacked the laborers in their urban cities.
In, “Not Just (Any) Body Can Be a Citizen”, author M. Jacqui Alexander explores, examines and expounds on the socio-political forces and machinations which have influenced the legislation in Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas, regarding specific sexual identities and manifestations. Primarily using the laws of both countries pertaining to sexual offenses, she discusses how homosexuality and other non-reproductive sexual acts and lifestyles have been outlawed in both nations. In her argument, she outlines how persons of such alternative lifestyles (including herself) have been carefully constructed as deviant, immoral and ultimately destructive to the moral and social fiber of the country. They are counterproductive to the state-imagined heteronormative, civilized state and, as such, must be criminalized and prohibited from enacting such “unnatural” behavior within the general society. More specifically, however,
“The Immigrant contribution” and “The Quilt of a Country” are two essays that share a similar focus, however, they cover two drastically different sides of the topic. Both of them share the main idea that America is a country made up almost entirely of immigrants. Kennedy’s essay, “The immigrant Contribution”, focuses on how immigrants have affected our country, whereas Quindlen’s essay discusses how people of many different cultures coexist and work together. The essays both concentrate on immigration in America and how immigration has shaped and molded our culture. The two authors describe the many different aspects of immigration in immensely different ways.
Response to “Our Fear of Immigrants” In “Our Fear of Immigrants” Jeremy Adam Smith takes a neutral stance on the immigration and anti-immigration argument. Smith begins by telling the story of a 4th grade class at Jefferson Elementary School in Berkeley, California who try to fight back against immigration laws after a classmate of theirs was deported back to his home country. Smith then goes on to compare the 4th graders to the adults of their town who fight for stronger immigration laws asking his readers what qualities the children possess that the rest of the citizens do not to make them react so differently.
Over the years, immigrants have influenced many aspects of American society and has had a vital role in shaping the United States to what it is today. According to the US Census Bureau, an agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System responsible for producing data about the American people and economy, “non-Hispanic white population in the U.S. declined from 85 percent in 1965 to 62.2 percent in 2014, and the forecast is for the percentage of non-Hispanic whites to fall to 43.6 percent in 2060” (qtd. in Walsh). Despite the rise of immigrants and the profound impact they have had on society, many immigrants face perpetual discrimination; this idea has appeared many times throughout Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Bean Trees. Taking place during the 1970s, the main character, Taylor, moves from Kentucky to Arizona; along the way, she meets Esperanza and Estevan, illegal immigrants from Guatemala. As she gets to know them better, she notices they are forced to live a monotonous, arduous life which implies that immigrants face prejudice from Americans who claim to be accepting.
