“A Nation of Immigrants” is a phrase that can have many interpretations. I think it is in interesting phrase. A “nation” by my definition would be a country of people that has one governing body that everyone must abide by, and “immigrants” a person that resides in a foreign country. If you put these two words together, it does not seem like it make a lot of sense to have clashing cultures and ideas all under one governing body. Who is to decide what is right or wrong? Who is to decide how rules are followed? After several events that led to the birth of America, the dust settled and many different backgrounds were forced to live and work together in order to keep communities thriving. Wide ranges of people were forced to live together: English, Native Americans, Irish, Spanish, and Africans. Obviously, this was not the simplest task to overcome and there were many times where America blatantly failed to do so. I compare it to a family where there are many people with different preferences that settle their differences for the survival of the family. There are rules in place that the family must follow and disagreements must be settled with grace. Personally, I think the phrase “A Nation of Immigrants” can be taken at face value. People from different cultures came to America by different means for different purposes. First there were natives that lived in America and their various tribes’ cultures were dominant throughout the land. Close by there were the Mexican and
For many decades the history of the United States and immigration has always been a very talked about topic of debate. Many Americans did not like the collision that immigrants would have upon the native-born American people, while others welcomed the flow of people as adding to America’s multiculturalism of difference. According to Immigration: Good or Bad for America (2016), a large amount of immigrants try to enter the U.S. borders without proper documentation, in this manner being labeled as illegal immigrants. In addition, the United States unusual position as a nation of immigrants is being questioned by
The articles "We Are Not A Nation of Immigrants" by Gina Loudon and "Many Forget U.S. is a Nation Built by Immigrants" by Lisa Miller both focus on immigrants living in America. Loudon's essay is primarily focused on how the United States is a nation created by pioneers and settlers; she argues that the U.S. is not a nation built by immigrants. Miller focuses her essay on the idea of America being a melting pot; she calls America a "blend of many different world cultures" (1). Despite the contrasting focuses of the essays, both Loudon and Miller are discussing aspects of immigration that either benefit or negatively impact America's future.
America has, is, and will always be a nation of immigrants: the great melting pot. In the years that have passed since Emma Lazarus' poem was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty "the golden door" Americans have seen times when the door was open wide and times when it was close shut to most immigrants (Sure 4). Many people look at the present immigration problems as a purely modern dilemma. The truth is America has always struggled with the issue of immigration, both legal and illegal. Changing times, however, makes it imperative that our government reexamines and adjusts today's immigration laws to today's standards. Those standards, however, are not easily defined. Too often the issue of
America is deemed the land of the free and the home of the brave. The very fabric of this great nation was built upon immigrants from the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock to the millions of immigrants landing at Ellis Island. America is known as a melting pot of many different cultures and ethnic groups with roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living here. There has been a long standing love/hate relationship with the issue of immigration. It has long been debated as to whether or not we should continue to allow immigrant into our country so freely.
Humanity is ever so much more complicated than one could have ever imagined. Humans can thrive on change, but ultimately look for something to declare as home. In search of this home people travel long distances and risk everything they have. When an American contemplates the word immigrant, one imagines the countless people from Mexico crossing into our country or the refugees that hope to make this country their home. What eludes most of us, however, is the reality that most people were, at one point, immigrants to this country and that our forefathers came here exactly the same as refugees come today. What is brought to mind when I hear the word immigrant is hope and perseverance. I remember the countless people who have traveled here
Day in and day out many immigrants enter the United States of America in search of greener pastures. This greener pasture includes higher educational prospects and lucrative jobs. However, life usually does not turn out as many of them usually anticipate. The expectation they usually have prior to their entry to the United States is partly due to the all rosary and nice things they hear about America. They hear such nice things from the media and also from diaspora’s who return from America to their homeland who usually don’t share their entire experiences with them. There have been quite a number of reports and research findings that outline the various challenges that are faced by immigrants in America. I personally share some of these issues as an international student in a foreign country. Prior to coming to Metropolitan State University, I had colleagues who told me about the school and their excellent environments that facilitate learning. Also other friends who were in America made me aware of the opportunity to work alongside schooling which made me more interested as I needed financial aid. With all these palatable information in mind, I did apply for the school and even though the tuition fee was quite expensive considering my socio economic background, I did apply having the mindset of working to meet up certain financial needs. Upon arrival in America, I realized that I was given a fraction of the entire picture. I wasn't allowed to work outside of campus,
In the United States, the cliché of a nation of immigrants is often invoked. Indeed, very few Americans can trace their ancestry to what is now the United States, and the origins of its immigrants have changed many times in American history. Despite the identity of an immigrant nation, changes in the origins of immigrants have often been met with resistance. What began with white, western European settlers fleeing religious persecution morphed into a multicultural nation as immigrants from countries across the globe came to the U.S. in increasing numbers. Like the colonial immigrants before them, these new immigrants sailed to the Americas to gain freedom, flee poverty and
“We are nation of immigrants. Some came here willingly, some unwillingly. Nonetheless, we are immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, one, and all. Even the natives came from somewhere else, originally. All of the people who come to this country come for freedom, or for some product of that extraordinary, illusory condition. That is what we offer here—freedom and opportunity in a land of relative plenty.” (Middletown Journal 2005)
Alternatively, another example is that Daneen G. Peterson, P.h.D. argues in his article We are Not a Nation of Immigrants that their American ancestors came here as legal immigrants, which is the opposite of the people who are immigrating to this country nowadays, they are coming illegally. In order words, that these people are not welcome to live here. However, the majority of Americans are native-born, so “How often have we heard the pro-illegal-alien crowd as well as other 'clueless' Americans repeat the mantra "after all we are a nation of immigrants, aren't we?" The answer to that question is a loud and incontrovertible, no! Most Americans today are native born and therefore not immigrants what is left unsaid in the above phrase is the
In the United States today, immigration has become very controversial topic. Americans have many strong opinions about immigration. We go in the directions of a mixing pot, meaning immigrants should be held to the expectations of becoming Americanized, a salad bowl where immigrants can be unique and stay within in their culture, or even both. We even see that some Americans even believe that immigrants shouldn’t be aloud in the country at alarming rates and that even some immigrants should be deported to make space for Americans for a variety of reasons. Many Americans see immigrants as being a disturbance in their way of life or even a threat for job opportunities. Immigrants are being referred to people that are causing chaos in American
The Arizona Sentinel also makes a strong argument that immigration is a legal right, considering the fact that America was founded by colonies that migrated from England, France and Spain. America is called the “The Melting Pot” for that reason. The land was taken from the indigenous people and westernized and colonized by immigrants. Although there were no immigration laws at the time, it proves the point that immigrating is a “natural right inherent to our humanity”. The articles states that the idea that immigrations needs to be approved by a country founded on immigrants is a mockery to the foundation of America’s existence. Here the main overall point is that America would not be what it is today with immigration, Americans have no right to take the natural right away. Where would America be if the natives had
In this day and age, when people hear the word "immigration", they quickly come up with what it means to be an immigrant and make up their own conclusion about the hot topic issue. What we as Americans believe immigration is depends on a lot of different factors, such as, what we do for a living, what part of the United States we live in, and most importantly our very own personal interactions with people coming from other cultures. More times than not, if you live in one of the few states that touch the boarder of Mexico such as Texas, California, Arizona, and New Mexico your perspective of “immigration” is more likely very different from those people who may live in parts of the United States far from the Mexican border. As defined by dictionary.com an immigrant is any foreign-born individual, including naturalized U.S. citizens, documented immigrants, and undocumented immigrants. Notice that they used the word individual. They did not specify a specific nationality, race, or even defined a country.
The United States of America is, “a nation of immigrants” as John F. Kennedy called it. Apart from the Native American ancestry, all others trace their culture back to somewhere else (Soerens, M. 2013). In my opinion, the U.S has increasing rate of immigrants, than any other country. It is also successful in providing facilities like education, employment and various career opportunities for global immigrants even today.
Immigrants are people who live in a country that they weren’t born in. The term “illegal immigrants” is used for the people who cross the border without becoming a resident or citizen. Some Americans believe that their country is being taken over by illegal immigrants and that these immigrants don’t deserve to live here. Many immigrants are treated as less than human. Even though immigrants can take over many roles of citizens, immigrants should have more rights because they are discriminated against by US law and immigrants deserve the basic human rights.
I like your argument that this is a nation built by immigrants. However, I think we can attribute some of the blame towards social media and different movements that are making a blunt separation between groups in our society. Those kinds of groups pointing out why one of them should “survive” before the other, they are not assimilating their lives and values as part of today’s American society.