Immigration Experience Essay

When I was deliberating topics for my case study ethnography report I was inspired to examine some one very close to me who is "undocumented", someone whose experience I have seen first hand, some one who has affected my life and understanding of immigrants with his situation; my partner, Mario. This class has exposed us to many writings on the subjects of migration, immigration and emigration. I began to compare the concepts and information in the readings to Mario’s personal situation. I was curious if his answer would be "In search of a better life" when asked, "Why did you come here?"

The United States of America is the best place for immigration. The history proved that the United States was the dream land, the place of chances. That started when Europeans escaped form their countries because there were no jobs and no safe places to live. America became the best choice for people who were looking for political asylum, jobs, or freedom, but after a few generations something changed the Americans look to immigrants as strangers and they forgot where they are from because America is multicultural place and immigration movement should be understandable, but this is not the case. Governments should develop good laws for immigrants by giving rights to immigrants to stay in America, to protect them, and to allow people who

What I am most proud of, is the fact that I am a hardworking immigrant. In today’s divided society, immigrants are stereotyped as “non-contributing to society” or “largely uneducated”. This ignorant stereotype is a constant reminder of how hard I should work.

The Japanese Americans sustained many injustices during the pre-World War Two era, including exclusion from traditional establishments and occupations. It was noted, “the [economic] argument and the discriminatory measures are plain contradictions” (Goto 105-106). Although the stated goal of Californians was to have a unified population, their actions belied their true motives. The colossal nature of the assimilatory feats performed by Japanese dictated that “even Californian agitators themselves, in their moments of private reflection, admit the wonderful power of adaptability of Japanese,” but, “in public they do everything to prevent the process of assimilation from running its natural course” (Goto 106). Often, the bigoted owners of white establishments barred people of Japanese

In the 1800s, after the Civil War (1861 to 1865), massive waves of new settlers migrated to the United States. May these were Chinese immigrants who sought to take advantage of the Gold Rush in California. Most of them were men, without family. Between that time, hundreds and hundreds of Chinese immigrants arrived, mostly in San Francisco, where they established a place called “Chinatown.” Establishing the place helped encouraged around four thousand Chinese women per year to immigrate to the United States, to be with their husband or father, helping Chinamen managing household. The gold attracted so many immigrants to California, and the desired for wealth attracted Southerners, who brought with them their racial attitude from the south. Work was well paying; a prejudice against Chinese was born. Hate and violence accompanied the competence against Chinese; and brutality against

The United States has long served as a refuge for people who seek to escape hunger, poverty, torture, and the oppression of the human spirit in their own countries. However, the issue of immigration in the United States has become a political flashpoint since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The sacralization of the tragedy has served to paint all immigrants with the same fear-ladened brush, and has marginalized and stereotyped an already vulnerable population. Today, more than ever, immigrants in the United States face increasing stressors as they try to assimilate in a politically charged post 9/11 world. To be an effective social worker, immigration issues and multicultural awareness is critical. Mary and Mario, a couple who

• A​t first Chinese immigrants were welcomed in California. But what caused the political climate to turn against the Chinese? A​mericans started to see the Chinese (along with other immigrants like the French, Mexican, Chilean, ect) as competition for discovering gold in the gold fields. Americans felt that since gold was found on American soil, whoever should find gold and have any access to it should be an American and not a foreigner. They felt that they would take whatever measure they had to to prevent any foreigners from finding any and striking it rich. They also claimed that since so many Asian immigrants were working as laborers but didn’t actually want to be American citizens, it was discouraging Americans from different states from coming to California in search of gold.

Although this created all new opportunities for Chinese men struggling to feed their families, American’s at the time took offense to their migration, and were not happy with the amount of jobs

When thousands of Chinese migrated to California after the gold rush the presence caused concern and debate from other Californians. This discussion, popularly called the “Chinese Question,” featured in many of the contemporary accounts of the time. In the American Memory Project’s “California: As I Saw It” online collection, which preserves books written in California from 1849-1900, this topic is debated, especially in conjunction with the Chinese Exclusion Act. The nine authors selected offer varying analyses on Chinese discrimination and this culminating act. Some give racist explanations, but the majority point towards the perceived economic competition between

A large global phenomenon during the 19th and 20th centuries was Asian immigration. This movement involved workers, technology, and capital travelling across national boundaries in order to enable entrepreneurs to exploit natural resources in more and more parts of the world. During this time period, Asian immigration wasn’t as common compared to other races such as African Americans or Mexicans. There are many reasons for this wave of immigration, most of which boil down to economic opportunities. However, the experiences faced by these Asian groups vary vastly when it comes to their immigration process and how they were treated by Americans, especially when compared to the experiences of other immigrant groups in America.

The experience of Asian, Latinos, and black’s minorities were discrimination, segregation and limited economic advancement. The first relevant experience of the minorities was limited economic advancement in California. The Chinese were the first Asian immigrants to arrive in California in 1849 to seek gold but many of them ended up working for mining companies that paid them very little and worked in harsh conditions. Many of the Chinese minors were unable to afford passage to California and the Chinese signed contracts which kept them in a state of debt from their own.

In the mid 19th century, America was viewed as a hotspot for freedom and wealth. When the noise of the gold rush flooded the world, immigrants started to see America more appetizing than ever. The Chinese saw America as a place to have a fresh start and as a place of refuge because of it’s generosity, so they immigrated to the west in great numbers. There was a large Chinese population in Virginia and all along the Pacific coast. Writers Mark Twain and Maxine Hong Kingston both wrote in great detail about the Chinese Immigrants. They went into detail about the immigrants and how they came over and why. Although Twain and Kingston both wrote about the immigrants in a positive light, Twain was sympathetic of the immigrants and Kingston focused more on their image and her ancestors.

Lastly, the Chinese faced many discriminatory factors as more and more immigrants moved into America for a chance at becoming rich. They first began immigrating into California in large numbers around 1820. By 1849, a large gold rush was underway in Western United States. More Chinese began to come to the Americas in order to get in on the action and become a part of the new get-rich-quick movement. By 1880, there were more than 100,000 Chinese immigrants and they formed more than one-tenth of California’s population. Many American citizens were disturbed and dismayed that the Chinese seemed to be “taking over” their land, profiting and gaining from it. During this time, the immigrants faced extreme racial prejudice until finally in 1885 the Chinese Exclusion Act was put into effect. This stated that no more Chinese immigrants were to be

Eventually, the nation felt the Asian workforce was no longer needed, and thus created the Asian Exclusion Act of 1882, among a long list of various acts that would keep Asian immigrants from coming to America. Not only were they no longer allowed passage into the nation, they also struggled with the right to equality, courtesy, consideration, and dignity. They were “allowed” to work for little pay, and then were mistreated, for no real justifiable reason. Even worse, they couldn’t invite and bring over their loved ones from their homeland. Thus, many Chinese Americans who were alone remained alone. (Cao & Novas XIII)

The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed and it limited the total immigration population to be 164,000 people per year. In San Francisco, Japanese children weren’t allowed to attend schools with the white children. In 1848 there was the start of what they call California Gold Rush which was the rush of immigrants migrating to California and the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill. About 25,000 Chinese immigrants migrated to the US after the California Gold Rush. Chinese immigrants arriving in California in the 1850’s looked for riches, but instead they ended up working as manual laborers. There was also this new law which was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, was passed by congress and denied US citizenship to people who were born in China and then banned immigration from china for ten years, but unfortunately is lasted up till 1943 which was a total of 61 years. Chinese immigrants had to do most of the work from west to east transcontinental railroad. The workers and other immigrants face discrimination. Chinese immigrants were given dangerous jobs and paid less than the other workers. By July 1927 Asian immigration was banned