How can the U.S. government better prepare immigrants for assimilation?

Model Essay: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/magazine/what-does-it-take-to-assimilate-in-america.html

 

Immigrants may have thought that integration into the United States was a simple matter or they think had assimilated into “Americans.” But the truth is not. On October 27, a shooting incident at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killed 11 people. After coming to the United States, different races still retain their own belief culture. They prayed in the synagogue but were attacked by a white man. After the incident, Trump condemned the shooting as “massive murder of evil” and mentioned that he would travel to Pittsburgh. However, a local Jewish organization said that unless Trump stops targeting ethnic minorities, immigrants, and refugees, he will not be welcomed locally. They also said that the US president “is spreading rumors and panic about immigrant families in Central America.”

 

In the history of immigration in the United States, there has always been a problem of racial discrimination. This kind of discrimination is mainly manifested in the discrimination of white American immigrants or people of color. This discrimination has deepened the gap between races and delayed the process of assimilation of immigrants. If a minority group encounters unusual discrimination, its assimilation process will inevitably be hindered. The United States is a country created by immigrants, and all ethnic groups also create American culture. Therefore, American culture is a fusion culture, which scholars call the “melting pot” phenomenon. Compared with other countries in the world, the United States has no long history and complex traditions, but has stronger cultural absorption and cultural integration capabilities than the rest of the world, and thus has more acceptable and assimilated immigration than other countries.

 

Immigration plays an essential role in developing the U.S. economy. “Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” This is a quote from American 43rd President, George W. Bush. He indicates that the United States is started with immigration and will be better off in the future because of immigrants. However, immigrants in the U.S. society have the lowest social mobility and wealth despite their races; their efforts do not match with their life qualities. The main reason that hampers the immigrants from successful is the different treatments they receive because of their background, including religion, color, culture, etc.

 

In the United States, the first immigrants, whether Irish, Jewish, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican, were discriminated against to varying degrees. But the most extended and most discriminating of them is the black Americans. This limits the assimilation and development of black people.

 

In contrast, white immigrants did not encounter such persistent and intense discrimination after entering the United States, mainly immigrants from the Nordic countries. Their cultural form, political system, economic level, and language are close to, or the same as those of the United States, and they are a relatively popular source of immigration in the United States. After immigrating to the United States, as their economic status improved, they were more likely to be recognized by American society. As a result, their localization soon weakened and became a real American.

 

Immigrants deserve the same rights as Americans because they now declare themselves as the U.S. citizens. However, the reality did not go what they expected. There was a sweatshop named Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, where had 500 immigrants workers, “mostly women, some as young as 14 years old” and they had to work for twelve hours a day. On March 25th, 1911, a fire broke out and 146 workers died, not because of the fire, the factory owners caused their deaths. The factory owner locked all the doors while they are working, preventing them from taking breaks, the 146 workers could survive if they opened the doors. (Tan M) The reason why those immigrants workers accepted this horrible working condition is that they are seeking a new foothold in the United States. The motivation that made most of the immigrants decided to work hard is they believe their living conditions will be better here, even if the realities are very unfair and difficult. They can do everything possible to seize the opportunity to come to the United States. Also, they are working so hard to reach their goals. “Many of these immigrants and refugees have endured significant hardships in their native countries, including poverty, war trauma, persecution, and rape,” says clinical psychologist Dennis Hunt. (Norman) But the reality is cruel. Just like the 146 workers died from the fire, what they hoped could is unreachable, because of the existing of “unfair business and labor practices.”

 

The United States legally refuses to recognize the qualifications of many third countries, so that it is difficult for people from other countries to find jobs after they immigrate to the United States, and they have to switch to manual and auxiliary work. Different pay for equal work is also a prominent aspect of discrimination in US work. The wages of a few ethnic groups are, by individuals, definitely lower than those of American whites who have received equivalent education and vocational training. In addition, many non-whites have entered the US for many years, even the second, third and fourth generations born in the United States, but their loyalty to the United States is still often suspected. In terms of appointments, trusts, wages, and treatment, the United States does have a tendency to discriminate and exclude from people of color.

 

For example, Alia Patur lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. She migrated to the United States when she was a child and became a naturalized citizen before the age of 17. However, after Trump’s travel ban, her family had to change their coping mechanisms. Now Patur her brother need to always bring their passports with them, in case there will be a “stop and frisk” by police officers, they can use the passports as a proof of their citizenships. Even though Patur was raised with American culture, she is nothing different from a native-born citizen, expect her natural appearance. In other words, the immigrants will never be accepted because they have different skin color, regardless of their personalities. Just like Patur, because her skin color is brown, she is always subject to discrimination and hostility.

 

Because of the variety of race in the United States, there are many different cultures and religion been brought to U.S. society. Move to another country can’t influence people’s beliefs. The one that people are always talking about is the Muslim, because of the Crisis, which is an extraordinary terrorist organization in Islam. Because of the Crisis, most Americans connect Muslim to terrorist automatically, which makes no sense. In recent years, people have been making the case that Muslims are not protected by the First Amendment, and worried that the Muslims imposed their religious politics on Americans. “John Bennett, a Republican state legislator in Oklahoma, said in 2014, ‘Islam is not even a religion; it is a political system that uses a deity to advance its agenda Of global conquest.’ In 2015, a former assistant United States attorney, Andrew C. McCarthy, wrote in National Review that Islam ‘should be understood as conveying a belief system that is not simply, or even primarily, religious.’ ”(Uddin) In fact, there are not many Muslims in the United States. “In 2017, and that Muslims made up about 1.1% of the total U.S. population.” (Mohamed) Because of the Crisis, a tiny portion of the race, people have a bias for the whole population. The innocent Muslims got a tag of terrorist due to their religion, and this tag is permanent as long as they are still leaving in the United States. Future more, the religions of people extend the distance of accomplishing their dreams, no matter how hard they work if they want to fit the society, they must abandon thing that important to them.

 

In the article “Difficulties Faced by Immigrants and Refugees” from Light+Life Magazine, the author indicates that immigrants are challenged to understand an unfamiliar language and culture. The barriers to language differences are enormous. Often, immigrants who are not fluent in English when they first come to the United States make them afraid and less likely to engage in simple voice communication with others. This often leads to inconvenience in their lives, such as purchasing daily necessities or finding new jobs. “A 2009 study by the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute — based on consultations with Iraqi refugee communities in Washington, D.C.; Detroit; San Diego and the country of Jordan — found that ‘refugees have difficulty accessing English language training, the quality of instruction is poor, and there are simply not enough classes available for all refugees.’”(Schwaar) Besides, the lack of knowledge about American culture, and the obstacle of communication make the immigrants can barely find jobs, seek legal help, and receive assistance. And is this the primary cause of the poor living conditions for the immigrants. Some people are using the immigrants’ weakness enrich their pocket, and they require the workers more extended hours without paying them for the overtime wages. The workers can’t defend themselves if they don’t even know their rights. And cultural differences may also make it harder for immigrants to adapt to the country. “For instance, refugees and immigrants may not take necessary safety precautions because they didn’t experience the same types of crime and robbery in their homelands, and thus may be targeted by criminals when they settle in urban settings.”(Schwaar)

The US government’s vigilance, monitoring, and preparedness against Islamic militants have increased the complexity and difficulty of siege Islamic immigration in American society. Regardless of Europe or the United States, the issue of assimilation of Islamic immigrants has long been more than an internal issue but has a close relationship with various political and military actions of Western countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Due to the deep involvement of Western countries in the contradictions within the Muslim society in the Middle East, and the varying degrees of association and conflict with the parties, it makes the Western assimilation of Muslim immigrants far more difficult than the American assimilation of Hispanics. That is to say, the integration of Islamic immigrants in the Western countries should not only look at their cultural attractiveness, but also the internal social equality, but also the direction of their international policies.

 

The process of national immigration assimilation is also the process of immigration Americanization. Assimilation is a process of mutual understanding and recognition. Americanization does not mean that immigrants must abandon their national traditions and national spirit. They can maintain their language, religious beliefs, and living habits, and they can become a good American citizen. Americanization is not an educational process, but a spiritual, sensory change. The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution claims that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” The “citizens” including the immigrants that became citizens, and natural born citizens of the immigrants. For those citizens, did they ever embrace the rights they should receive?

 

Work Cited Page

 

Mohamed, Besheer. “A New Estimate of U.S. Muslim Population.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 3 Jan. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/03/new-estimates-show-u-s-muslim-population-continues-to-grow/.

 

Norman, Steve. “US Immigrants Face New Challenges.” VOA, VOA, 2 Nov. 2009, www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2009-08-11-voa5-68705437/356573.html.

 

Schwaar, Lauren. “Difficulties Faced by Immigrants and Refugees.” Artistas, fmcusa.org/lightandlifemag/difficulties-faced-by-immigrants-and-refugees/.

 

Tan M, Kamaruddin K (2016) Redescription Of the Little-known Grasshopper Willemsella (acrididae, Hemiacridinae) from Peninsular Malaysia. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: E7775. Https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.4.e7775

 

Uddin, Asma T. “The Latest Attack on Islam: It’s Not a Religion.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/opinion/islamophobia-muslim-religion-politics.html.