United States of Immigrants

Immigration is the action of migrating to live permanently in a foreign country. People emigrate from their country and immigrate to another for many reasons but the bottom line is to prosper and improve their lives, as well as their families. Apparently it’s been a big deal in the United States as far as can be imagined. Every since the mid-1800s the United States has been the land of opportunity. The reason for immigration is quite clear; the Land remained plentiful, as well as it was fairly cheap. Jobs were of abundance, and labor was scarce and relatively dear. An increase in industry and urbanization also reinforced this situation. Though now days it is very frowned upon by our government, the United States was built by immigrants. Every early settler, pioneer, every single one of our ancestors was an immigrant. The great cities, the ways of our transportation have all been created because of the existence of immigrants. For instance the transcontinental rail road was built because the Chinese, Irish and Scottish. The Chinese were very useful most Chinese handled most of the heavy manual labor needed in order to get over as well as through the Nevada mountains and across the desert. Even after they dedicated themselves to creating this great amenity that would impact the United States greatly, the government still found a way to kill hopes and dreams. The passing of the Chinese exclusion act provided an absolute 10-year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration. This basically stopped the immigration of the Chinese as well as set restrictions on the current immigrants. As far as immigration goes it has always been illegal in any circumstance, I just can’t believe that even after the immigrants have worked so hard to create something that would put the united states on the map.

The newest set of immigrants has been Hispanics and Latinos. One of the many Mexican immigrants happens to be my father. Hearing what he went through and sacrificed for his family is to me is pretty amazing. Crossing a total of 10 times back and forth not because of being deported but he would go back because of a promise made to his father. All while sneaking back into the U.S to continue to work and support his family. Working from the meatpacking companies located in the back of the yards Canaryville, to being able to land a good paying job helping build the John Hancock Center. He tells me to him it was an honor being able to contribute to such a building even though his time there was cut short. A couple months into the building my father was unfortunate to be working on site and happened to look up and as soon as he opened his eye a small amount of fresh concrete mix landed straight into his eye. He quickly was treated and taken to the hospital but needed to get a small surgery as an immigrant with not a whole lot of money saved up he wouldn’t be able to pay out of his pocket. Though the company had millions of dollars they decided to take advantage of his illegal status and not pay for anything. My father wasn’t the privileged one to be a part of this and contribute what he could to this building but how did the legal’s repay him? They repaid my dad by allowing and letting his left eye slowly lose its use, All because they didn’t feel the need to look out for one of their fellow immigrant workers. As you can see that even though this country was created and built by immigrants, it will always be a problem and as hard as they might work immigrants will always get the short short need of the stick.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/riseind/immgnts/

http://www.lehigh.edu/~ineng/VirtualAmericana/chineseimmigrationact.html

Immigration: Signs of a Hard Struggle

Plenty of times, people see Mexicans as lesser people. Americans in particular, look down on a Mexican, call us a wet back, and act as if their history is more important than ours. In their mind, this may be true, but in a Mexican’s mind, our history is more important to ourselves. It may be that every race in the world suffered greatly at one point or another, but as of now, it is us the Hispanics, who suffer the most racially. More specifically, I will be talking about Mexicans, since it is what I am more familiar with.

            A huge issue that Americans have against immigrants coming to the U.S. is that there immigrants take most of the jobs. In my opinion, it is a crucial thing to say that immigrants take all of the jobs, or at least the working class jobs. It may be true that immigrants are taking positions that actual U.S. citizens could have had, but there is a problem here. If an actual U.S. citizen could had have these jobs, don’t they still have an advantage to getting these jobs? There are a lot of companies that hire illegal workers. We may not know the reason for why these companies do this, but I do know that illegal workers aren’t the only workers that these companies hire. If someone has their life stable, and basically has all the requirements to be successful in America, why are there so many people who give up on life and become homeless or commit suicide?

            My uncle, Antonio Ibarra, was the first from my mom’s side of the family to come over to the U.S. Antonio had hopes that he would find a better job over the border, and that he would one day be able to bring his family over here. In the 80’s, my uncle paid a coyote to cross him over. With little to no friends or family in the United States, my uncle managed to make something happen. He ended up finding a job in a company that paid minimum wage at the time. Over time, he met more people, began networking. Eventually, he landed a position in a job that would have great benefits in the future. As of this day, my uncle has been working in the same company for over 15 years. Looking back, it is not much, but to think about it, having a secure job like the one that he has was probably hard to come by around those times. Because of his hard work and dedication, my uncle is now getting paid over $30 an hour, has his own house, a brand new Acura, and his whole family in the U.S., thus, me writing this paper.

            I just think that if we all saw immigrants as welcome newcomers, then there would be greater things being done in America. The fact that there is discrimination already creates a lot of problems, now imagine how immigrants feel when they hear some of the most racist things. There are plenty Hispanics that I know of today, that are far more successful than an American who did not care to become successful in life. There are professors who are Hispanic, there are extremely rich people who are Hispanic. Just how there are Americans who are extremely wealthy but there are also Americans who have failed at life. It only took one brave Hispanic to say “I’m going to cross the border,” in order to give life to some of the great Hispanic leaders that we have today.

Migration: the Search for the American Dream

Everyday there are thousands of people attempting to cross the border into the United States in search of one thing, the American dream. The goal is to cross the border and find work in order to earn money to provide for their families back home. Many of these people get apprehended by border patrol agents, but the few people that do successfully cross the border still face many challenges. Once these immigrants cross the border, legal or illegal, survival is still a major task. These immigrants need to find shelter, but more importantly a job.

Many Americans do not accept these immigrants, legal and illegal. These immigrants are faced with discrimination and racism because Americans are under the impression that these immigrants are stealing their jobs. However, the claim Americans are making is not true. These immigrants are making the bare minimum working jobs that nobody wants to work. Many of these jobs revolve around farming, agriculture, construction, fast food industry, and retail. Furthermore many of these jobs require long hours in terrible working conditions.

In The Nation article titled, “How US Policies Fueled Mexico’s Great Migration,” we learn of Roberto Ortega and David Ceja, two Mexican immigrants from Veracruz, Mexico. Ortega and Ceja worked as farmers and butchers in their hometown of Veracruz until they were no longer able to provide for their families due to massive pork imports from US companies such as Smithfield Foods thanks to NAFTA. Ortega and Ceja were forced to migrate to the United States by raising money to cross the border. Once in the United States they both struggled to find jobs. Ceja explains how he could not find work for three months and was desperate to find work in order to provide money for his family. Eventually, both men ended up in Tar Heel, North Carolina, where they found work in meat plants. The company they worked for ironically was the same company that forced them to come to the United States, Smithfield Foods. In addition, the article explains how many of Veracruz’s farmers who left their hometown in search of work in the US ended up working for Smithfield Foods.

Similarly, I can somewhat relate to the stories of Ortega, Ceja, and many other immigrants as my parents are both immigrants. Both of my parents migrated to the US from Poland in the mid 1980s. My parents fled Poland in order to escape the socialist government as well as to live the American dream to provide for their families back home. Many Poles at the time had the bare minimum to survive. They were forced to wait in long lines for long hours in order to buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. Once my parents made it to the United States, they found a small place to live with a few friends who had also fled Poland. My mother worked at a small local grocery store while my father was a factory worker. Fast-forward to today, my parents can say they are living the American dream. Although neither of my parents have attended college, they are both successful immigrants that have gained US citizenship living the American dream providing for their families.

"Immigrant Employment: Most Common Jobs." Jobs in the USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar.

2013. <http://www.usa-job.org/immigrant-employment-most-common-jobs.php>.

Urban-Klaehn, Jagoda. "Three Waves of Massive Polish Immigration - Polish Culture."

Three Waves of Massive Polish Immigration - Polish Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://culture.polishsite.us/articles/art41fr.htm>.  

Mexican or American: The Struggle for Cultural Identity

What struck me most about the articles is the overwhelming way that politics has shaped the view of Mexicans in the United States, as well as the identity of American-born children of Mexican immigrants. The article from The Journal of Latino-Latin American Studies claims that by increasing restrictions on visas and increasing border control, while at the same time decreasing restrictions in other areas of production, the United States is encouraging an influx of illegal immigration. It seems to me as if this may be a purposeful tactic. The United States is able to give the appearance of enforcing border control, while maintaining low-wage production and keeping costs down. I am not sure if this is truly the case, but this hypocritical ideal does seem to support the growing animosity towards Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the U.S. This in turn contributes to the struggle that many Mexican-Americans face in terms of their cultural identity.

CNN contributor Ruben Navarrette tells of his struggles with identity in his article "My Mexican-American Identity Crisis". On a trip to Mexico he was faced with an identity question right away. In the Mexican airport there were two lines: one for Mexicans and one for Foreigners. Growing up in California, he was always labeled as Mexican, but there in Mexico he was American. Navarrette explains the perpetual struggle brilliantly when he says, "Meanwhile, many Mexican-Americans I know don't feel like they're part of either [the U.S. or Mexico]. ... You get the best of both worlds, but you're rooted in neither. In Mexico, we're seen as Americans. And in the United States, we're considered Mexican.” What Navarrette portrays in his article is not what I believe many Americans think about the relation between Mexican-Americans and their Mexican heritage. From the way Navarrette puts it, it seems that Mexicans of the higher class dislike Mexican-Americans and their parents because they consider them to be traitors of their home country. However, because of the way the American government portrays immigration, Mexican-Americans receive resistance on the other end as well.

George Sanchez, professor of American studies, ethnicity, and history at the University of Southern California gives another take on Mexican-American identity in the United States. He claims that Mexican-Americans have had some clear lines in regards to their culture. According to him, many Mexican-Americans were either for assimilation or wanted to keep their Mexican culture and heritage. Particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction was quite clear. His cultural struggle occurred in college when he realized that this way of viewing culture was to flat and unrealistic. His belief is that culture is always changing and evolving, as well as incorporating new aspects from other cultures. In this way Sanchez is promoting the idea of a separate Mexican-American culture that is not strictly Mexican or American, but a mixture of both.

While both of these articles reference the struggle for cultural identity among Mexican-Americans, there is also proof of the development of a strong Mexican-American (or Chicano) culture in the United States today. There are festivals celebrating the music and art of the Chicano culture, as well as other cultural events. As neither Mexican nor Mexican-American, it is amazing to me that politics in the United States can cause a person to feel so displaced from their own country, not to mention their own heritage.

Links: http://blog.theautry.org/2011/10/06/george-sanchez-disentangling-mexican-american-identity/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/opinion/navarrette-mexican-american

"Not Just Mexico's Problem: Labor Migration from Mexico to the United States (1900-2000)" by Ruth Gomberg-Munoz in The Journal of Latino-Latin American Studies

From Mexico to the United States: The Great American Mexican Dream?

     Immigration has always existed in societies due to push and pull factors. People seek out better opportunities for themselves and their loved ones and if moving is the way to go about it that it what they will sacrifice in order to achieve their objectives. Immigration is how all Nations came to become their own nation by people leaving and establishing their own societies. In fact the United States is made purely of immigrants all over the world which is why it is known as the melting pot and why many immigrants sought their opportunity for their dreams to come true. A massive population that continues to immigrate to the United States is the people of Mexico, just south of the United States. Mexican migration has occurred in the United States ever since the U.S. became industrialized and had better opportunities for its workers. Even today, Mexican people still attempt to get to the United States because of necessity.
     When my father first traveled to the United States he was 18 years old. He managed to get himself a passport which enabled him to get from Tijuana and enter 125 miles into the United States for 72 illegally. From there he traveled to California where he would send his passport back to Mexico so if immigration would get him he could redo it. It wasn't until 1987 when my father finally became a resident in the U.S. and eventually became a legal citizen. He had spent over 20 years working illegally in the U.S. When my father applied to become a resident he did it by proving that he worked his entire time here by using his income tax reports as evidence. My father endured many deportations and hardships but he said the most difficult part of being an illegal immigrant was changing his identity and not being able to tell anyone your true identity. Otherwise, you could get caught and deported. My father would move between California and Arizona until he finally made his way to Chicago Illinois where he brought my mother and had my sister, brother, and myself.
     Many Mexican families look for this opportunity as well and some have similar success while others sadly do not. However it is still important to analyze how  it is that these opportunities rose for them. An example could be found in 1942, when Mexico signed a treaty with the United States allowing for Mexican migration to the United States. Also, many times American Corporations would often hire Mexican immigrants for cheap labor, and that set off a chain of people who wanted to work to come to the U.S. This also meant that these labor jobs would need massive employees and since immigrants are the cheaper option, corporations choose them to do the labor as opposed to paying a citizen minimum wage. Corporations like Smithfield allowed for massive trade of pork to be made between the U.S. and Mexico, but more importantly hired Mexican workers.
    Mexican immigrants come to the U.S. in order to seek better fortunes for themselves and their loved ones. The United States provided the means for massive amounts of immigrants to come into the nation and work and earn a living. However the controversy now is the numbers are beginning to worry the political figures and anger the working class claiming that immigrants are stealing jobs from Americans. It is why even now laws towards immigration are a very touchy subject and one that most political figures prefer to stay away from. However it is an issue that needs to be addressed because putting it off will solve nothing. I do personally feel that Mexican immigrants come to the U.S. with honest intentions and due to the current situation that is occurring in Mexico at the moment, however it is also very necessary for something to change in Mexico internally otherwise people will only seek to leave it.


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-24/news/ct-oped-0225-krauthammer-20130223-2_1_legal-status-lawful-prospective-immigrant-immigration-bill

http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/17.html

Immigration Reform

Immigration is such a big issue. I, as coming from a Mexican background I have had family members cross the border illegally in order to be able to provide more for their family. Their intentions have never been to “steal” jobs away from people. They are not picky about what job is available. All they want to do is work. For the most part, many take the jobs that are offered and that not everyone is willing to do. Not everyone has that motivation to wake up early and cut the grass or do a job at a pay that is ridiculously low and unfair. They are not bringing violence or anything. They all want the American dream and everyone has the right to that. The United States should not decline in welcoming anyone in.

When I heard about the dream act, it made me really happy and excited for everyone who is going to benefit from this act. It is going to provide so much for students that graduate from the High School here. By giving them their Residency, their life is going to change and only for the best. The fact that they are able to get an education that they are capable of obtaining and take of advantage of the opportunity is wonderful! By passing this act, there would be no regrets. The knowledge and experience learned is a benefit because it will stay in the states.

   There are some big college names like Cornell University and Arizona State who support the Immigration Reform. They don’t want to retain students. Some of them have to be denied because they are illegal and that is not fair. There are many bright minds out there but because they do not have citizenship they can’t continue their education. There is always an advantage by having bright minds. Our president has brought up an idea about having a green card stapled to their diplomas with a Master’s or Ph.D. Imagine having talented and smart young adults from around the world be from the U.S.

Recently the former governor from Florida, who agreed on the path to citizenship, has changed his mind about it. An article found in latinopost.com states that, “But Bush's new book says it is unwise to offer citizenship to undocumented immigrants, since he says that might encourage more illegal immigration”. Were we not all illegal immigrants at one point? What makes it different now then back in the day? It’s still the same why shouldn’t one illegal immigrant have the same rights that in this case Bush’s grandfather did.

Immigration is and always will be a heated debate. There are people who agree that they should have the same rights and be able to obtain their citizenship while others believe that they shouldn’t. Everyone has his or her own reasons about why, but the picture should be looked at a broader view. I only see positives by offering illegal immigrants, not only Latinos but also everyone across the world citizenship to not only themselves but for everyone in the States.

http://www.latinospost.com/articles/13528/20130304/immigration-reform-news-2013-jeb-bush-opposes-path-citizenship-new.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/colleges-universities-cornell-care-immigration-reform/story?id=18669154

http://www.dreamact2009.org/

From Salsa to Zumba The Results of Latin American Neoliberalism in the U.S.A.

From Salsa to Zumba:

The Results of Latin American Neoliberalism in the U.S.A.

            Neoliberalism promoted free trade and seemed very appealing by the 1990’s but removed many nationalist ideals. Basically, consumers benefitted mostly from neoliberalism, but most were middle class that benefitted when the majority of Latin Americans were poor. When I read the chapter on neoliberalism in Chasteen’s book, “Born in Blood and Fire,” I was intrigued by how neoliberalism, and the U.S. support of it in countries, has led to immigration. Especially, how immigration was changing U.S. culture and more specifically the dynamics of music enjoyed in the United States.

            Immigration throughout of all America’s history has changed the music scene, and since, as Chasteen puts it, “In a United States more heavily immigrant than anytime since the early 1900’s, Latin Americans are the most numerous immigrants,” it is now the Latinos turn to put their stamp in the music scene. Many Latinos made a strong presence in music in America like Hector Lavoe in the east coast and Selena in the southwest. Salsa made a great presence in the 60’s and 70’s, but was not the easiest music to dance to and when immigrants from the Dominican Republic started coming around in the 80’s, they brought with them merengue. The genre made a big impact and was a big success because of how easy it was to dance. Through neoliberalism and globalization, salsa and merengue weren’t worldwide with songs such as “Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo.

            Along with Democratization, free trade, and Neoliberalism, the global media system saw its beginning. In an article in the ‘Monthly Review,’ entitled Global Media, Neoliberalism, and Imperialism, Robert W. McChesney explains that there were major import markets for films, TV shows, music and books, and these markets tended to be dominated by U.S. based firms. Christopher Dixon, media analyst for the investment firm PaineWebber, says, “What you are seeing is the creation of a global oligopoly. It happened to the oil and automotive industries earlier this century; now it is happening to the entertainment industry.” Specific media industries are becoming more concentrated, especially music. The music industry is ran by 4 companies overall, BMG, Universal, Sony, and Warner, who see themselves not as American companies but as International companies. The large migration of Latinos to America plus the globalization of media has made Latino music a worldwide phenomenon. That has both a positive and negative.

            Globalization has been dominated by the U.S. and because of so has perpetuated its western image and watered down cultural diversity from Latin American music. Genres such as Reggaeton, Spanish Hip Hop, Latin House have had a big impact globally, but have strong American influences. Though Reggaeton started with influences from Jamaican dancehall and Panama, in Puerto Rico it has been given an American Hip Hop vibe. More cultural sounding genres, such as bachata, salsa, and merengue, are also taking their place in the world and global music companies like Sony and Warner have tailored their efforts to market Latino music in Latin America, Europe (Spain and France primarily), Asia (Japan), and the U.S. itself. The U.S. is now extracting talent from Latin America and exporting the music with huge stars such as Shakira (Colombia), Mana (Mexico), and Marc Anthony (Puerto Rico), who are all part of one of the 4 major labels.

            This neoliberalism movement has been challenged with nationalist ideals and has the chance to use the globalization of Latino music to push its image. Many radical or nationalist artists don’t get the global attention that many others do, such as Calle 13. Artist like Calle 13, who left Sony Records angry, have shown that globalization can be used to push their agendas. But many companies do not give those artists the marketing tools and money they need to be heard globally. For now, Latin music is growing and being heard in every major city in the U.S. and even has become a popular work out called Zumba. Whether neoliberalism is at an end or nationalism at a rise, Latino music has been changing the U.S. culture since salsa in the 60’s to the Zumba sensation that we see today.

Sources:

John Charles Chasteen, “Born In Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-mccready/melting-pop-latin-music-i_b_346791.html

http://monthlyreview.org/2001/03/01/global-media-neoliberalism-and-imperialism