Anti- Immigration Attitudes in America Essay

The culture of every ethnic group is beautiful in its own way and worth cherishing. Today, America is known as the great melting pot not for the number of immigrants it has but rather because of the wonderful cultures and traditions the immigrants brought with them. Immigrants do not need to forgo their mother tongue, significant celebrations or customs to become American. However to be socially accepted, they will need to learn English, take part in celebrating national holidays and fulfill their patriotic duties Americans like every other U.S citizens.

America is traditionally a country of immigrants. Very few people today have relatives who were Native Americans, many of them because of religious persecution, and others because of they were just looking to start a new life on the exciting untouched frontier. For instance, in Florida, the first arrivals were European, beginning with the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who explored the land in 1513, following French and Spanish settlement during the 16th century. From the past, America was seen as a country of opportunities. People from all over the world have moved here looking for better opportunities. There are a lot of reasons why immigrants should live in this country, but I would like to mention three of them.

Immigrants have been migrating to the Unites States for years. Many people in the United States have different opinions on immigrants: some are negative and some are positive. Some Americans assume that immigrants are here to destroy the United States, but immigrants are here for many purposes: to support their families, succeed in their future, or to escape violence occurring in their home countries. Many Americans think that once an immigrant has settled in the United States that he or she will right away get a job or quickly learn English. Imagine moving to a new school not knowing a single person. You will feel anxious or even discouraged. Now just imagine arriving in a new country and not knowing anyone and you can’t speak English. Well, that is how millions of young and adult undocumented immigrants feel every day when trying to fit into the American culture. Life is hard for an undocumented immigrant. Immigrants in the United States face many challenges when trying to adapt or assimilate into the American culture. But my question is, what kind of mental health issues or other psychological problems do immigrants face when they are trying to adjust to the American culture, and how can our society alleviate some of that anxiety?

There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants living in the United Sates, and each day that number is increasing by 1,400 illegal aliens. An illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either illegally crossed an international political border, whether it was by land, sea or air, or whether it be a foreigner who legally entered a country but nevertheless overstayed their visa in order to live and/or work there. The two focal attractions that the illegal immigrants perceive in the U.S are superior job opportunities, and better living for their families. Several businesses in our Nation are eager to hire cheap, submissive manual labor from overseas. Such businesses are hardly ever penalized due to

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many American nativist groups opposed free unrestricted immigration. Although racism is a main reason, there were many others. Economic, political, social and moral standards seemed to be threatened by these newcomers. The immigrants were unfamiliar of the language and customs that we take for granted in our everyday lives. The fear that gripped the nation was why people reacted so strongly against immigrants. The people feared change might distort the course of our prospering country. We did not want to become what those immigrants were fleeing.

America as we know it today has been shaped by immigrants. It can be argued that America shapes immigrants as well. It is a nation that people, nationalist or foreign-born, desire to assimilate partially or fully into. According to a New York University professor, “Immigration, however, played a key role not only in making America’s development possible but also in shaping the basic nature of the society” (Diner, p. 2). It is a nation built on this idea of the “American dream” which varies depending on the person. However, it is something that holds steadily in an immigrant’s mind that is possible to achieve. America’s past, present and certainly future will be formed by immigrants, and once they get here America will coincidentally form their being as well.

Immigration has been a hot button topic in the United States since as early as the 1800s. With the arrival of Europeans from nations such as Ireland or Poland, so also came many prejudices against these people. In the United States today a similar story unfolds down along the Southern border. People of Latino decent continue to cross the border into the US seeking a better life and the American dream. However not all of the individuals are joining the ranks of US citizens by legal means causing many social strains on the public image of immigration. Because of those that enter illegally, policymakers demonize all immigrants and enforce strict immigration and deportation laws. They cite immigration as the reason for crime rates and the dissolution of American values. This harsh rhetoric casts a negative image on all immigrants and is a bigger problem than immigration is.

America was widely known as a “melting pot” of sorts for many generations. The country earned its title by accepting immigrants of various cultures and molding, or melting, them into the American lifestyle. However, the “melting pot” idea of America is starting to dissipate. According to a Newsweek Poll on the public, “only 20 percent still think America is a melting pot” (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.4). As more Americans push away immigrants and create stereotypes against said immigrants, America continues to lose its title as a “melting pot.” There is ethnic friction in America and people have begun to have a hard time assimilating (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.18). .America is beginning to place a negative outlook on its

Since the early 1990’s, the immigrant population in America has doubled to over 40 million. The population could be higher factoring in illegal immigrants with the number estimated to be over 11 million. Majority of these immigrants both legal and illegal are mainly from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Uncontrolled immigration has been blamed on loss of jobs, higher crime rates and housing problems in the US. While these immigrants play a unique role in the economy, the executive and the legislature have found it necessary to control the inflow of these immigrants for various reasons. A number of laws and immigration policies have been enacted to create order in this issue. How these laws are perceived by immigrants and the general American population has varied and has been a major topic for debate.

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”. It is a common assertion that the United States is a “melting pot”-a mixture of numerous different cultures, ethnicities, religions, and people hailing from all over the world. However, just as proudly as this is proclaimed, there is another truth that becomes evident: prejudice against those who dare to make a better life by emigrating to the U.S. is alive and thriving. This unfortunate reality is nothing new. “Immigrants constantly face being discriminated against because of the color of their skin, the sound of their voice, or simply because of the way they look and their beliefs”

For many years, immigration reform bill proposals have taken part in the House and Senate floor but it has been obstructed by the conflicting views from both Democratic and Republican parties. However, in 2013 the Democratic Party created a bipartisan bill with prospects to leave enough space for compromise. In this arena, both Republican and Democrat Representatives can be united to find consensus on immigration for the sake of fixing our dysfunctional immigration system. Every year, millions of undocumented individuals face an avalanche of barriers due to their lack of legality. Their legal and socioeconomic status denies them the opportunity to improve their lifestyle and to contribute back to their community through human and monetary capital. A comprehensive immigration reform would boost American economy, reduce deficit by 850 billion over the next two decades, provide 300 billion dollars to the Social Security Trust fund and extend the life of this fund for two years (White House, 2013). Moreover, it will create a sense of accountability between the government and undocumented immigrants, which will encourage these immigrants for legalization to remain on the right side of the law. As a consequence, fear will fade away from the hearts of immigrants and they will begin actively participate

Illegal immigration was an issue in the past and is a pressing problem in the present. The U.S. Government has been trying to find a resolution to this issue for years. The United States approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, which allowed the American Government to punish American companies that consciously employed illegal immigrants (Nadadur 1037-1052). The United States’ Government Immigration Reform and Control Act has been unsuccessful in controlling illegal immigration. It is estimated that illegal immigration into the U.S. has a yearly interval of three hundred fifty thousand people (Rousmaniere 24-25). It is apparent that the 1986 act was not able to keep a handle on illegal immigration. Illegal immigration

Most Americans place their pride in being apart of a country where a man can start at the bottom and work his way to the top. We also stress the fact that we are “all created equal” with “certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” (Jefferson 45) During the early 1900s white Americans picked and chose who they saw fit to live in America and become an American. “Those that separate the desirable from the undesirable citizen or neighbor are individual rather than race.”

Immigration is a controversial topic that has impacted our society for decades perplexed by policies media coverage, perceptions based on one’s own lack of knowledge, personal experiences and a host of other factors that influence how our society views immigrants and immigration policies. The United States is a diverse population of people and filled with experiences that come from various walks of life that contribute to enhancing our social culture, economic development, and cultural acceptance.

There are many factors that need to be observed to determine what causes people to experience xenophobia. Xenophobia is defined as a condition where people suffer irrational fear of strangers or foreigners. The symptoms of people that suffered from this condition are very real and can range from feeling nauseated or excessive sweating to dry mouth, heart palpitations, a fear of dying, and anxiety attacks. Nevertheless, what exactly causes people to experience from Xenophobia?