Immigration is the process of moving from the original country to another country with plans to live there permanently. People who move to a new country are called immigrants. Since the 1600s, the United States had experienced successive waves of immigration. The pilgrims of 100 people set sail from English on the MayFlower in September 1620 to seek religious Freedom in the New World. Another wave of immigration was from Ireland between 1820 and 1930. In the 1840s a great famine struck Ireland. More than 4 million Irish people who suffered from poverty, starvation, and disease left their homelands to emigrate to the United States. The other wave came from China in the mid-19th century. In the 1850s during the Age of Imperialism, about 150,000 Chinese immigrants flocked to the United States working as miners, farmers, and other manual laborers to escape the economic chaos in China as well as try their luck at the California Gold Rush. Those immigrants are all in the search of getting better job opportunities and having a new successful life, “American Dream”. Nowadays, people still want to immigrate to the United States. But in reality, do immigrants really get the better life they are looking for? What are the attitudes, behaviors, or social conflicts they have encountered from Americans?
Instead of showing sympathy to the plight of immigrants, native-born Americans hold prejudicial feelings and opinions toward immigrants. The drivers of prejudicial attitudes toward immigrants are perceived threat and competition, based on the ideology of Nativism, a preference for protecting the interests of the native born against those of immigrants. The surge of Chinese immigration during the California Gold rush highlighted nativist feelings. Because the characteristics of Chinese laborers are hard-working without complaining and they are willing to take low-wage jobs, many native-born Americans feel threatened that they are losing jobs to Chinese workers, growing American’s prejudicial attitudes toward Chinese immigration. Americans gave immigrants who are perceived as competing for Americans' jobs greater prejudicial feelings and lower warmth attributions. Sadly, such prejudice still exists in modern society. 2012 research on Attitudes Toward Immigrants shows that 191 undergraduate participants consistently reported greater realistic threats and more prejudicial attitudes toward immigrants. Ironically, Americans thought they are “Native Americans” but in fact they are immigrants because their ancestors originally emigrated from Europe to North America. Indians are the real Native Americans, what we called Indigenous Americans who make up the original population of North America. Indeed, how the term “immigrants” is being interpreted and what the perception of who immigrants have significant influence overall prejudicial attitudes toward immigrants.
Prejudicial attitudes toward immigrants often intertwined with discriminatory and racist views of immigrants that see them as immoral, unlawful, and debased. To act on public fear and resentment, the government sometimes sets up laws and immigration policies, revealing discrimination and unfair treatments toward immigrants. Many native-born Americans feared low-wage, losing jobs, overcrowded living conditions, and heard rumors describing Chinese immigrants as unlawful and immoral, so Chinese immigrants have been discriminated against in the United States. Growing discrimination and hostility resulted in passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, a federal law stopping further immigration from China for decades and made Chinese immigrants ineligible for citizenship. Abundant number of immigrants came to the United States for the American Dream, but their goals of becoming successful could be turned down by discrimination, particularly in employment, healthcare, and housing. Once settled down, immigrants are eager to look for work. However, the employers often take advantage of the immigrants due to language barrier and their race, and immigrants are generally paid less than native-born Americnas. Honestly, the immigrants don’t have a choice but to deal with it when they get discriminated against because they know they are immigrants. Almost all immigrants have experienced discrimination at some point in their life. Even today recent immigrants to the United States still face discrimination. Public Health doctoral student Sharon Tafolla and colleagues at UCLA conducted a survey research of Many Immigrants Perceive Racial Discrimination at Work showing 70% 0f 2000 participants immigrants experienced discrimination in the workplace due to skin color or English ability. Too often many immigrants suffer verbal and physical abuse due to being discriminated against because they are perceived “different” or unable to.
Immigration has been a touchstone of the U.S. political debate for years while policymakers take into consideration in economic, security, and humanitarian concerns. U.S Congress has not been able to reach an agreement on comprehensive immigration reform. Some people feel that immigrants would bring substantial economic growth and make valuable contributions to America while others feel that immigrants would cause potential fall in real wages, and fewer opportunities for American citizens. Personally, I agree that immigrants are beneficial to the U.S. society and economy, as long as U.S. citizens are willing to provide more support and space for them. Some types of jobs are difficult to fill by native-born Americans because of the low wages and the prestige attached to that work but Immigrants are willing to take that job, like immigrant workers would take the jobs as gardening, picking crops, or cleaning houses. Opponents would argue that immigrants make the downstream of the wages. But a recent study by the Bank of England found a rise in immigration only brings wages fall by 0.31%. Plus, isn’t the low wage a motivation for native-born Americans to work even harder for increasing their job competitiveness so they can keep the job? Once immigrants gain employment, they will spend their wages in the U.S., creating new demand in the service and goods. Similarly, some immigrants or their descendants who are young and visionary tend to set up businesses which create innovative products, leading America's economic growth and providing job opportunities. The article, Immigrants, We Create Jobs, shows that 60% of the most highly valued tech companies were co-funded by first or second generation immigrants, including Steve Jobs (Apple), a second generation Syrian immigrant, and Sergey Brin (Google), the Russian immigrant. The U.S. government should reform law, policy, and regulations for legal immigration and citizens could be more friendly to immigrants, allowing immigrants to make even more contributions to society and economic growth.
The United States of America has a rich history of immigration, receiving many immigrants since 1600s with the pilgrims and continued in the time of California gold rush, industrialization, and civil war. Some immigrants have American Dreams, looking forward to having a better life and becoming wealthy. Some are trying to escape religious persecution or seeking relief from a lack of economic opportunity. However, native-born Americans did not welcome immigrants and hold prejudicial attitudes toward them based on the ideology of Nativism because of the threat of job competition and the fear of losing lobs. Immigrants faced racial discrimination, received unfair treatments, had to obey the injustice laws and regulations, low pay rate, and didn’t have opportunities to find better jobs. While others might claim that immigrants would bring a fall in wages and make native-born Americans get fewer job opportunities, I have opposite views that immigrants would bring substantial economic benefits and make valuable contributions to America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2021, immigrants composed 13.6 percent of the U.S. population or about 45 million people. Immigrants are people just like each American and they need to be treated right and fair. The U.S. government should help immigrants get the same and equal rights as citizens. Immigrants shouldn’t be discriminated or prejudicial against for where they come from.
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