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The Issue Of Immigration Has Been On The Forefront Major Debates

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Throughout America’s history, the issue of immigration has been on the forefront major debates. Immigration is among one of the most stimulating topics of discussion. Often when discussing immigration the question of assimilation also arises and whether or not immigrants are truly doing so. Since the beginning of this country, immigrants and even natives of the land have been pressured to assimilate to “American” Culture and to commit to its standards. When a group of people fail to assimilate to these standards, they encounter critics. The Native Americans, who wanted to preserve their traditions and values, had their children taken from them and sent to boarding schools with the goal to assimilate Native tribes into “mainstream America’s way of life.” In the nineteenth century, the largest mass lynching, which involved Italians , occurred in New Orleans. Italians were discriminated against because they did not share the same traits as their Anglo-Saxon camarades. (Falco) Today, in the twenty-first century, Hispanic immigrants ,and others, are also criticized because they are believed to not be assimilating. In fact many like the Samuel P. Huntigton, chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, have voiced that the most serious threat to America’s traditional identity is the immigration of Hispanic immigrants. However, the issue may not stem from these people themselves. The issue and controversies surrounding assimilation primarily stems from

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