Personal Essay: Diversity Among Immigrants

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?"

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.

“Mom, will I ever be treated as a regular person? When will I be like the others without people look at me in a strange way and make fun of me, when mom? When?” Those were the questions I did to my mom almost every day after getting home from school. Fourteen years ago that my parents brought me to this country offering a better life with better opportunities than where I was born. I was seven years old when came to the United States, but I still remember the happiness I felt when I first step in this country. Throughout the years, I have realize that not everything is easy and simple as I imagined. My parents worked in the fields because of the lack of a social security and not knowing how to speak English. Many Americans do not know how hard it is the life of an immigrant, they should have a consideration for us and not just blame us for the deviance of the United States.

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.

Immigration is one of the central themes of the founding of the United States and as such it is often the epicenter of controversy among both citizens and policymakers. Throughout the twentieth century, American citizens and policymakers have brought to the forefront the importance of immigration and the role immigrants play within society. This can be a cause of friction between immigrants and multi-generational citizens because immigrants are often viewed with a negative connotation. They are often blamed for stealing jobs from hardworking citizens, draining the healthcare system and adding to the homeless population. They are associated with crime, poverty and in general they are perceived as undesirable members of society (Spenkuch, 2014). The relationship between crime and immigrants is of particular importance because there is a common perception that immigrants cause crime and their neighborhoods are riddled with criminal activity. Also important to note is that the characteristics of immigrants tend to coincide with members of the native-born population that are disproportionally incarceration. In general, they are poorly educated, earn low wages and are young, males. This led to the perception that incoming immigrants continuously add to the lower class, criminal population. In order to clearly understand the relationship between the two concepts they must be examined both from a theoretical and empirical viewpoint

The changing environments throughout the ages have caused the movement of thousands of families out of their homelands. Whether forced to make such decisions or doing so by their own desires, all immigrants have had to survive the physical and psychological challenges encountered along the way. To speak about the experiences of all these different people using the same ideas and examples would be quite inaccurate. They all, however, had to live through similar situations and deal with similar problems. Many of them succeeded and found the better future they were looking for. Many others found only hardship and experienced the destruction of their hopes and dreams. All of them were transformed.

What is the "ideal" immigrant? When talking about immigrants and what we as Canadians consider to be a "good" or "bad" one, what do we mean? Is there such thing as a good or bad immigrant? Canada preaches diversity but when it comes to the ideal immigrant they know exactly who they want to bring into the country. There are several factors that when combined amount to the "ideal" immigrant, these include; high levels of education, high productivity, skills, and knowledge.

The benefits of a high immigrant population are apparent in almost every walk of life. Their overall contribution to the general economy is show as a positive one and there improvements to the quality of the workforce are also quite note-worthy.

Ever since I can remember, I have grown up in a bi-lingual and bi-cultural environment. Having lived in Mexico City for the first 13 years of my life and holding dual citizenship, I learned at an early age to juggle between my Mexican-American cultures. Consequently, because of my background, I always knew that I wanted to dedicate my career in the international sector. On top of everything, my paternal side comes from Spain, whereas my maternal side comes from Poland. They were Jewish immigrants that fled during World War II in search for a better life for my grandfather. They eventually arrived in Mexico and that is how my family began their legacy in Mexico.

Diversity, inequality, and immigration or three words that brings mind some of the current political subjects that are currently affecting the United States today. Throughout the country’s history, there is the notable inequality and racial injustice in our society. This can be seen, and our history textbooks, about the Civil War, civil rights movement, and the more recently with the gay-rights movement. That history of this country is established on these types of movements and wars. Many different cultures have come together and creating the diversity in this country that people offer for two as a melting pot. Within this

I was born and raised in Mexico City. The eldest of three kids (two boys and one girl), we were brought up with a mixed cultural background since my mom’s family is from Lebanon and my dad’s family is from Spain, which made me appreciate the different approaches my grandmothers had for cooking, manners and way of living. Something I am really thankful for, is my parents approach to traveling, because I remember this as a huge part of my life since I was five years old. Getting to know different places, both in and out of my country, shaped the way I see the world and made me want to explore more of what this world has to offer and that is why when I decided to go to college, I chose SCAD as my university.

Even though we are in the “celebrate diversity” era, Monterey Park is not what one would

In my original personal narrative, I mentioned that I grew up in a mostly white middle class town with a 15% Latino population. In some ways, I grew up in a town that is in the forefront of a national discussion about increasing multiculturalism and acceptance of Latino Americans. We have come to realize that not all illegal immigrants are criminals here to do us harm. Some are people who have been here many years, raised families and contributed to our society. During my childhood, I had friends that were Korean and Latino descent, and I am grateful to have experience with those diverse cultures. In this class and in a previous teaching class, I worked with and got to know students of different ethnicities. We learned in class about legislation that would provide English learners with more support while they are assimilating and learning English (Buenrostro,2017). This can only benefit everyone as we raise the level of proficiency for the newest students. We Americans may have different cultures and traditions, but we all have value that can add to our society. I hope to continue my ethnic studies to further my understanding of other cultures. With the power of knowledge, we can break down barriers and stereotypes.

For many decades, the United States has had a prominent reputation as one of the most diverse nations in the world due to its abundant variety of immigrants. Frequently known as a melting pot, the country has consistently welcomed people from all over the globe. However, it is evident that the generosity and enthusiasm immigrants were once welcomed with has begun to dwindle in numerous ways. The media has painted a depressing picture of immigrants that has influenced many people’s opinion on immigration. Many Americans feel that immigrants are a liability who have nothing to contribute; they simply believe illegal immigrants are taking the jobs of other fellow Americans. This image has lead the government to withhold medical treatment, education, and employment from them. Contrary to popular belief, illegal immigrants provide an immense labor market, including: agriculture, construction, and the food industry. America was built on the backs of hardworking immigrants, so why not show the same respect those who are paving a similar path?