Being An Immigrant Is Not So Easy

I want a better life, please don’t kill me, I want a better life, please don’t torture me, I want a better life, but I might have to starve to have one. Wanting a better life consist of being killed, tortured, and having to starve. Immigrants face these things when wanting a better life. Immigrants face many obstacles that they must overcome in order to better their lives.

All around the world the United States of America is viewed as a place of freedom and equal opportunity for all people who settle in the country. Immigrants, especially from second or third world countries, view America as a chance for them to start over and a live the lavish lifestyles they are accustomed to hearing. However, this belief that everyone in the United States lives how they want to and has equal opportunity is false. Immigrants from countries all over the world face many different issues as they settle in the United States. Although these problems may vary, the message is the same; the American dream is a lot more difficult to achieve than previously thought. Although every immigrant is different in the problems

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

Immigrant groups take refuge in America in hope of starting a better life for themselves and their ongoing generations. They take on the belief that upon coming to America, they will be presented by the riches and freedom granted by the “American Dream”. However, these opportunities are not easily achieved. Many immigrant families are challenged with the initial obstacles of having to adapt to the new languages and the customs of their environment. For example, without the basic knowledge of the standard English language, immigrants will not be able to apply for a majority of the jobs available. This puts immigrant parents at disadvantages because then they will not be able to provide the sufficient funds needed for allowing their children

The United States of America was a country founded by immigrants on the values of equality and freedom and the idea of a fresh start. Only American Indians are truly native to this country and the rest of us have some history of immigration in our ancestry. So what about today’s immigrants? Most people immigrate to the United States searching for simply searching for a better life. Immigration seems like it should be a simple and organized process, but many people who try to immigrate to the United States find that the process is not so simple. To better understand the immigration process, I have interviewed a friend who immigrated to the United States as a small child and now faces the

Immigration is the means for a individual that is not originally from an area or country to migrate to another area, “the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country” (Google, 2017). When an individual from a different country migrates into a foreign country they undergo “immediate stressors associated with meeting basic survival needs, losing the familiar, learning English, and meeting the demands of life in a new environment. They also soon face resettlement challenges of cop- ing with cultural change, mobilizing resources to meet their needs, and formulating future life goals” (Timberlake, Faber, Wall, Taylor, Sabatino, 2003) Immigrants usually rely on their spirituality, moral frameworks, culture framework and famility sustaining

Although most immigrants are Hispanic, at least 11% of the newcomers are from India, Vietnam and China. Immigrants from all over the world come for the same three things: economic, religious, and political freedom. The countries the people have escaped from are riddled with thousands of obstacles ranging from political unrest, religious persecution to poverty and oppression. Hoping for a better life for themselves and their loved ones, immigrants experience multiple trials and unthinkable horrors on their journey towards

In 2012, there was a surge of Mexico's citizens transitioning into a country where they weren’t fully accepted, all to better their children’s lives along with their own. Being a immigrant in America is hard due to having to start over from nothing. Immigrants find themselves working hard manual jobs despite not having any interest in the field they are working in. Some immigrants also see themselves as a burden to the country due to having plans

An immigrant is a person from a foreign country to live in the country they migrated in, usually permanently. Some Hispanics (other ethnicities/ races migrate as well) in places like Mexico or Cuba migrate to America to seek a better life. Not every reason for them coming to the U.S is to pursue the so-called "American Dream". Many are trying to escape poverty, political instability, and to find better jobs. Many people come by rafts from Cuba, or cross the border from Mexico. Being an undocumented immigrant in the United States can be very hard. It is hard to find jobs that pay enough to live off of. Families seeking to leave poverty end up in almost the same situation. Armando Ibanez crossed the border from Mexico about 16 years ago with his Mother and two siblings. Everyday he saw his mother struggle to provide food for them to eat each day. Immigrants live in fear every day of their life. Living in fear that they will be caught and forced to leave, living in fear that when they come home from school their family will not be there waiting for them. Another example of this type of hell is actually the process of crossing the border. Antonio Alarcon crossed the border with his parents at the age of 11, leaving his small brother and grandparents behind. They were each given a water bottle and small amounts of canned food. Crossing the border takes several days, which meant they ran out of their supplies quickly. Due to family deaths his parents returned to Mexico, leaving him behind to complete his

I am who I am today because of my parents, first my dad worked so hard in order to be able to pay to get our papers and be able to legally come into the country. The immigration process took more than 10 years. We were only able to see my dad once a year because he was here working and saving up to bring the family together. In July of 1998 just 3 months before I was born my sister Elena passed away before being able to come into the country, she waited for so long to reunite with my dad and it didn't happen she left before her dream came into reality. When my family was finally able to reunite we made the most of it we enjoyed every second with each other. When I entered school I was known for the Mexican girl who didn't know English however

It was the 11th, the day that we arrived. My dad and my sister had already made it, and it was really late. My flight landed, and so had 16 others. We off of the flight, and headed straight for immigration. Last time we came, immigration took 5 minutes, but this time, it took 45! After the long immigration process, we went to the baggage belt, where we couldn’t find our bags. While we were walking to go and file a complaint, we found one of our bags off of the baggage belt. Others took our bags off of the belt, so we went around the belt to find the bags. After we found the bags, we headed out of the airport. It was 4 am, and as soon as we got home, we went to sleep. We got up at about nine and got ready to go to my aunt and uncle’s 25th anniversary

There was a loud bang on the door. I sat up right away along with the other 13 people in my room. A soldier dress in head to toe with his uniform along with a winter jacket. He threw five pieces of bread on the floor and told us to go to work before leaving. The bread only got split upon nine of us; I was one of those nine. I had noticed a young boy did not get a piece so I gave him mine. The boy looked at me with a blank stare and took the bread from my frangile bonny fingers. I stood up, buttoned my shirt and adjusted my shorts. Under that slats of wood I slept on, I hid a scarve that I stole from a dead woman. I pulled it out and tucked it in my shirt so no one would notice. As I stepped out the door frame I felt a chilling breeze up my

Living a good life as an immigrant in America is a big challenge. In fact, getting a reasonable life is not easy in many countries around the world, but as an immigrant in the United States that involves huge determinations. Thus, anyone who decides to move to another place or community should expect to face many challenges. Most of the time, an immigrant’s reason(s) for leaving their country is based on a hard life for some without figuring out that life in the USA might be harder as well as a better life for others who may have a good life in their motherland. Generally, they are all disappointed by what they encounter. Denis Hunt, a director of Multi-cultural Human Services, a Falls Church, Virginia-based organization that helps immigrants adjust to life in the United States, said “the issues immigrants face can be even more daunting. Most immigrant parents who arrive in new communities are faced with immediate challenges to their survival, including securing a job, finding a place to live, buying food, and enrolling their children in school" (“US immigrants face new challenges”). Despite this situation, it is conceivable for immigrants regardless their origin, to live a good life in America. However, it cannot happen merely by snapping their fingers; massive efforts are required, including working hard, learning English, resolving transportation issues, understanding of the culture, and getting

When most people think about immigration to the United States, they think of the U.S. as being the “land of opportunity,” where they will be able to make all of their dreams come true. For some people, immigration made their lives richer and more fulfilled. This however, was not always the case. A place that is supposed to be a “Golden Land” (Marcus 116) did not always welcome people with open arms. Even after people became legal citizens of the United States, often times the natural born Americans did not treat the immigrants as equals but rather as outsiders who were beneath them in some way. In some situations, people’s lives were made worse by coming to the “land of opportunity.” Often times people were living no better than they

As an immigrant myself, I know the struggles, hardship, and the difficulties that come with being accepted to the United States, as well as the struggles with becoming a citizen. The many barriers and the conflict that my family and I had to endure were very exhausting. For example, the many denials, then anticipation but finding out we weren’t accepted. Dealing with the rejection was especially hard for us. However, that didn't stop us; we knew that there will always be a chance as long as we kept on trying. The wait was well worth it because I can honestly say that my life has changed for the better. Even though I was too young back then to really understand the situation, I could still realize that there was something wrong every time I