The Immigrants of America Essay

Even when first-generation immigrants do successfully settle into life in the United States, their children, born in America, often have different values and are influenced more by their country of birth than their parents’ traditions. Children want to be a part of the American culture and usually welcome American ideals, beliefs, and styles. As they become more Americanized-adopting western dating habits and fashions, for instance-they tend to case aside or even actively reject the traditions embraced by their parents. Assimilation, then, often becomes an ideological dispute that creates conflict among immigrants of every

There are about 43 million immigrants in the US today, many of which do not speak English. Many people in the Midwest and South, are hispanics, and in some cases this may cause language barriers(Bootie Cosgrove-Mather 2002). Many people legally and illegally have come from Mexico and Central America. Some of these people who don’t know English, are causing language barriers, but if we have a national language, this gets rid of the diversity we have in our communities. These immigrants in many cases will pass down their language to their children, but this isn’t a real problem, because many schools have speech counselors, or the child can go to a school with other kids that speak Spanish or any other languages. Immigrants can also face issues

mmigration is a subject that everyone is talking about. Specifically, assimilation during immigration. Should people keep their culture or assimilate into society? In all fairness to both sides of this argument, assimilation is necessary for everyday life to run smoothly for all americans, not just the immigrants. This is because immigrants will usually not adhere to our food, religion, or language at first. They then accept that adapting is the only way to survive.The reasoning behind assimilation is fairly simple. While one could attempt to blend their culture and ours, if only given the option of one, there is no question. Hardly anyone can function in a society without adapting to their environment, which boils down to the very most basic

Education is one of the best ways to help immigrants to assimilate to their new country; in way that the faster they can learn the ways of the new country, the faster they can become a part of it. An immigrant’s children, if they even have any, need to be able to speak and read in English in order to attend classes and learn the material, as well as making friends. According to the Robert Wood Foundation, most immigrants would say that their lacks of English related skills are a major barrier to improving their life or social standards. Most school systems have what they call ESL classes, English

Immigration in the United States has had a contentious history since this country’s first settlers, with overtly exclusive and xenophobic policies being de rigueur throughout colonialism until the mid 20th century, and arguably today. Anti-immigrant sentiment has reigned with each historical immigration wave, intensifying as the demographics shifted from Northern and Western Europeans during Colonialism to more “unassimilable” races like Southern and Eastern European, Asian, African and Middle Eastern ("History of Oppression: Lesson 4- Cultural Imperialism", 2016). Policy is inescapably shaped by public sentiment, and the American white majority believed in the objective supremacy of the “Nordic race” to exercise political, economic and social control over “inferior” races (Grant, 1916). This is in stark conflict with the Constitutional values that America is built on, and to whom many have gestured to in the same breath as their anti-immigrant vitriol. It is in this contrast that one must look at the social constructions of immigrants, race and who is worthy of citizenship, and how our country has historically sought to deny and restrict those considered a threat to “the American way of life” (Jimenez, Pasztor, Chambers, & Fujii, 2015, p. **).

Many immigrants come to America for better opportunities and a better life for themselves and their children. Immigrants have different experiences from Native-born Americans such as moving to a new country and not knowing the language and having to work to support themselves and their family. Dan Ariely’s book

For years there has been controversy about how immigrants should assimilate in America. In the past, new incoming immigrants integrated themselves into the American Society based on what they believed the American culture and customs were. Sometimes they chose not to practice them because they were against their own personal beliefs (Zunz, Bodnar, and Thernstrom, p.53.). In recent arguments, some people believe that assimilation is achieved by adopting the American norms and language. While others believe immigrants should integrate their own customs and language into the American culture. These speculations have placed a dividing line in between how Americans feel immigrants should and should not assimilate.

First, Immigrants bring numerous kinds of Cultural differences. The language for instance has helped and gloried many Americans of their ability to learn. Immigrants from spanish speaking countries have taught americans, with

America has always been a melting pot of people from all over the world. One only has to look at the diversity of America’s population to see that it is truly a nation of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. Even the Native Americans who were here before the first European settlers were the descendants of the first indigenous people who crossed the ice bridge connecting Asia to North America some 12,000 years ago were immigrants (1). Their ancestors were the first in a long line, who for whatever reason came to the Americas to live a better life.

I think one of the most stressful things for communities when immigrants enter is the acknowledgement and respect for differing cultural practices. I feel that those within a community usually share some sort of link that connects them to one another. Those links can be religiously, ethnically, culturally and/or racially based. The shared links shape a person’s outlook, and therefore when an immigrant migrates to a new community they can clash with the native culture. These cultural clashes can manifest in different ways and they can be huge barriers that both the community and the immigrant to overcome. I think that the main stressor in these instances are due to a lack of knowledge about what the immigrant’s home culture is like and the practices/norms they have there. I also think that having a mutual respect for their different cultural practices is important to the cohesion of the two cultures, because if either the natives or the immigrants don’t respect the other then they’re more likely to challenge and attack them for it.

To ordinary Americans, what is expected of immigrates once they arrive in the United States? As Meyer’s states, “You come here with absolutely nothing except a burning desire to be an American. You start off at some miserable, low-paying job that at least puts a roof over your family’s head and food on the table. You put your kids in school, tell them how lucky they are to be here” (Meyer 70). As American’s we put immigrates at the bottom of the social class once they arrive Meyer’s explains, “Your kids will lose their accent” (71), they will “retain little of their heritage” (71). Yet, “This is how the Italians made it, the Germans made it, the Dutch made it” (71), and so many other cultures, so it should be expected by all immigrates right? But Immigrates need to be able to keep their culture, right?

The people living in the United States of America are confronted with a debatable issue each and everyday. Illegal immigration into America and the immigration laws that follow make for an emotional topic. Often times people in the U.S argue whether the laws against illegal and legal immigration in America are the proper laws for the issues at hand. Many people think that illegal immigration should be stopped while others believe that the outbreak of newcomers can help America grow. There is a growing debate about immigration in the United States; some natives believe that the immigrants are adding to the country’s diverse background and providing more culture while others believe that the new coming immigrants are taking away opportunities for those already living in the United States. Despite the few beneficial changes immigrants bring to America upon entering, the negative aspects that affect the lives of many Americans each day, far outweigh the positives.

Some people believe that speaking the same language can make communication easier and making English the official language would encourage new immigrants to learn the language of the country they have adopted as theirs. However, being forced to learn and use another language can make people lose their connection with their own culture. If English was never the official language for the past two hundred years, why should it change now? Having multiple languages in this country is beneficial because it fosters diversity and also helps preserve one’s cultural

No nation can survive without preserving its own unique identity, language and culture. Yes, America is made up of millions of people who are either descended from immigrants or who immigrated here themselves. I myself can boast of British, French, German and Cherokee ancestry. I’m quite the mutt. But I have never referred to myself as Euro-American or Native-American or any other hyphenated label; I am an American. I’m not suggesting that anyone, natural born, naturalized, legal or illegal, should cast aside all of their heritage. But if you wish to live in America you should fully assimilate yourself to the very unique culture that we’ve developed over these two plus centuries. Learn to speak English. It should be your first language.

If immigrants were required to learn the English language, it would be beneficial to them in the long run. To begin, knowing two languages can help the students at school. If a new student moved to Butler County High School, it would be difficult to make friends if they could not speak English; therefore, knowing English can help make friends at school. Also, knowing English can make classes easier to understand, and easier for teachers to lecture to the immigrants. If the teachers do not know much about the language, it will make their job of teaching them very, very difficult. Next, immigrants who are bilingual have a better job experience. Working in a care-giving facility, the employees’ job becomes complicated if a patient speaks a