Immigrant Family Research Paper

As the daughter of an immigrant, I have witnessed the various barriers faced by immigrants, and this experience has motivated me toward my career objective. According to the Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends Project, there were about 11.3 million immigrants living illegally in the United States in 2013 (Passel et al., 2014). These immigrants come from all parts of the world for several different reasons. Whether to provide better resources for their family back home or to live a better life, these immigrants usually work in environments that can be harmful and dangerous to their health.

This paper explores the United States, Immigration Policy from an historical, fair and factual perspective. The Immigration Act of 1990 States limited “unskilled workers to 10,000 a year. Skilled labor requirements and immediate family reunification were major goals. The Act continued to promote the nuclear family model, foreign-born in the US was 7%”. This paper will also explore the demographics and diversity, of immigrants, throughout the U.S. This paper includes an article form the website of the Washington, D.C., Immigration Policy Center, and American Immigration Council. This paper will examines significant research data from the Pew Research web site on Hispanic trends and immigration, around the United States. This paper will also cover numbers, facts and trends which shape the immigration policy. This paper will also include five different books written by authors concerning the immigration policy and public issues which most concern Americans. This paper will cover topics of history of social problems and the policies that address immigration, special interest groups advocacy groups, political party and supporters, social justice and ethical issues, policy outcomes of illegal immigrants and how other countries compare to the United States when dealing with immigration.

Immigrants have always been a part of the United States and played a major role in building the foundation for the life in America, therefore, legal immigrants, should always be welcome granted that they come with good intentions. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a saying that has been associated with the country of The United States of America since its founding. That saying has infused immigrants with the idea that upon reaching this holy land, their lives will drastically change for the better. With that dream in mind, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, flock to this country to become part of its evolving culture.

There are many vulnerable populations within the United States. One of the many vulnerable populations are undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants also known as illegal immigrants according to Wikipedia (2016) is defined as “the migration of people across national boarders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country” (para 1). The United States of America has one of the largest population of immigrants. In this paper, I will be discussing the multiple stressors related to undocumented immigrants as well as the programs that can be used to help alleviate those stressors.

Through interviewing my roommate Linda Wang, I have gotten the opportunity of hearing a first-hand account of what it is like being a young immigrant living in the United States. At the age of eight, Linda, along with her father, mother, and aunt, emigrated to America. Linda’s family currently resides in Bayside, Queens and she is a student-athlete on the St. John’s women’s golf team. Linda was kind enough to share her immigration story with me so that I may use it as a manifestation of what life as an immigrant, and the immigration process itself, entails.

As a first generation immigrant family and as an only child of a missionary kid, our family moved occasionally-mostly before high school- for my parent’s ministries involving a non-profit religious organization. Because of our transitions, our family could not acquire the right time to process our residency, and eventually applied for the green card during the most sensitive period, while the government shifts and immigration law changes were eventuating, although we have lived in US for more than ten years.

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” (-Mark Twain) Being a child of immigrant parents who move to American can be hard. There is a lingering feeling of not feeling like a child belongs. They are stuck in the invisible world between where their parents came from, in this specific case, Asia and where the child lives now. It can be difficult to be raised as an Asian American and learning both culture and traditions. Many Asian American kids end up deviating from the Asian culture and embracing the American culture. However, children of immigrants should embrace their own culture in order to keep traditions alive and be proud of who they are.

In today's world, illegal immigrants are given no opportunities in life. However, suppose there is a way to give immigrant children a chance to a new life. A way for those to connect and meet people with different backgrounds. Imagine the United States government funding and administering a living and educational facility for those immigrant children in search for a better life. The "New Beginnings" facility will educate the youth. The children will learn and explore diverse languages. The facility will teach the children about American culture and allow them to exchange ideas, for instance the food Americans eat, the sports played, and one's religion. This can enable the children to have careers and provide them with United States jobs later in their lives.

Case Study #4 – Working with an Immigration Family Case #4 introduces us to Esmerelda; a 15 year-old teenager, born in the United States (U.S.) to El Salvadorian parents who fled to the U.S. in the 1990s. The intent was to secure a “better life” (Lee & Gonzalez, 2015, p. 164) that would counter the detrimental living conditions and the possibility of starvation they were facing in their native country. Unfortunately, Esmerelda’s family is poor, resides a “rural southern town” as a family of six. Her parents work extremely long shifts at a “poultry plant” to keep a roof over the family’s heads, food on the table and provide as much of their needs as possible. Due to the lengthy work hours, Esmerelda is forced to stand in as the ‘acting parent’ with effort to look after her siblings in her parent’s absence.

Here in the Rio Grande Valley immigration has become the hit. An immigrant in my own words is someone from a different country that travels to an alternative country permanently for a better life. I belief they are many unlike reasons why people live in their country but cross to another country. Actually, I’m not in immigrant, I’m a US citizen but I have experienced many stories and seen families struggle from this situation. Nevertheless, to my own experience, some people move to the US to find better jobs, but some move to different counties to look forward not only to better their education but their children’s as well. In this research paper I will be pointing out the important factors and expectations of illegal immigrants in the US,

Laborers all over the world spent most of their time out in the sun, picking fruits, vegetables, and cotton. They make sacrifices by being out in severe weather conditions, leave family members for a long time, and make very little pay for working long hours.

Though I have seen poverty and injustices amongst those who were born to low-income parents in the United States, I am unfamiliar with the prevalent struggles of immigrants in the U.S. Therefore, I cannot relate to

Like many other areas over the past years, the U.S has seen a rapid increase in immigrants who have come to the states seeking better lives for their families. These immigrants, like those throughout the U.S, are generally tough workers and make important contributions to the economy through their productive labor. Most immigrants usually fill essential service jobs in the economy, which are vacant. Unfortunately, like new immigrants during the course of the U.S, they experience conditions that are commonly deprived, oppressive, and exploitive. They are paid low wages with little potential for advancement, are subjected to hazardous working conditions, and are threatened with losing their jobs and even deportation if they voice dissatisfaction

This image raises the viewer's attention to immigration issues because it appeals to their emotions by portraying the innocence of children and, therefore, it tries to convey that something must be done against current unfair immigration policies that are affecting those who haven't committed any crime (children). This image also challenges the viewer to join the movement against the separation of families; it is a call to action against current immigration policies and it also advocates for changes that will benefit immigrant families.

There are a lot of topics in this course that have really opened my eyes and consider the world around me. I have never really thought about the different cultures and families around me, I have just always thought they were another person or group. The topic being focused on is Ethnicity, Immigration, and Family Life. What is the actual definition of Ethnicity? What I’ve been familiarized with is that ethnicity is the practice of different cultures by groups of people who identify with those cultures. By learning about ethnicity, it allows the involvement of all cultures coming together to learn about other cultures.