Immigration
The opportunity for an immigrant to come to the United States legally can sometimes vary from five months up to two to three years. This presents problems for people who can’t find jobs in their home country and are hoping to come to America to find that opportunity. Because some people wait years before they get their green card, some might just take the easy route and sneak in illegally. This makes it more difficult on the people that are actually putting the time and effort into becoming U.S. citizens so they can make their lives, and the lives of their families, better. Immigrants becoming citizens will find that they have the opportunity to become more prosperous and better off. I agree when people say that you need to keep and practice your own cultures and traditions, but I also think that everyone should be aware of other cultures that are present and to respect them.
The U.S. is very unique in the fact that people from all over the world dream of coming here to live and start a new life. Many times people would come here with nothing hoping that they could have a better life for them and their families. The U.S. is a “melting pot”, not necessarily blending every culture together, but it just signifies that America has so many different kinds of cultures, no one dominate over the other. The fact that we a live together shows how unique we are. I think that moving to the U.S. can put a lot of stress on people and often times be quite confusing. I am not speaking from experience, but to me it would feel like going to a different world. Everyday things that we do and have are a struggle for them. For instance, communication with a neighbor is hard and can often times ostracize you from the neighborhood if you do socialize with people. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz states “The starting point for all dialogue is a profound respect for the other, and respect cannot flourish if the other is not known” (Isasi-Diaz 42). Things we take for granted like going to college or getting a good job are hardships that often times hold them back from achieving their goal of being successful. It is important for immigrants to never forget where they come from. They should always practice their own cultures. I also think that they should be bicultural and understand our cultures and customs. For example, it puts a strain on people when they try to do something as simple as going to eat but can’t communicate with people properly because you can’t understand them or they can’t understand you. I am not saying that they have to learn all other cultures just know enough about other people to so that you can have a casual conversation. I think it should be mandatory for immigrants to know the English language to be able to communicate properly with the majority of the Americans. It does nothing but frustrate English speaking people who cannot understand the accent or dialect of an immigrant.
Having a person work for you that doesn’t speak English limits what they can do, can become a dangerous because they might hear instructions and directions incorrect and possibly hurt themselves or someone else, and often times they won’t get the job they were striving for. These are a couple of examples why some employers will take advantage of immigrants. Employers will sometimes pay an immigrant minimum wage or less than what everyone is making, taking advantage of their inability to understand the language, or maybe the simple fact that they do not know the laws. For example most farmers where I live get immigrants to come help them out on their farm and pay them six to seven dollars an hour for doing the dirty work that the farm owners wouldn’t do themselves. This is another example why learning English would help out in discussing a proper wage for the work that they are doing.
Many times they do know that they are working for considerably less but they do it so they will get the hired. All they want is to be able to put dinner on the table for their family. Cheaper labor equals more money in the employers wallet, and should make their business have cheaper prices. Being able to communicate effectively with a customer makes their day easier and also increases the probability that they will come back.
Being a U.S. citizen can and does have many benefits. Depending on where you come from jobs often times pay more, offer better benefits, and have lots of room for advancement in the corporate world. Another benefit for living here is that if you adopt some of our customs and learn how to speak English, there is no limit to what you can do. I agree and also relate with Barbra Ehrenreich, who talks about how culturally lost she is because she is so many different things (Ehrenreich 44). I am Slovak, Indian, Polish, and Irish, so it is hard for me to even relate to who my ancestors were and how they lived. Barbra herself had the same problem, she felt like she had no heritage at all because she had so many different cultures in her ancestry. She then married a man who was Jewish, and in doing that she hoped to be more in touch with her ancestry and feel excepted and part of something more than a bunch of different cultures (Ehrenreich 44).
I can see how easily it is to fall into the everyday life of a working person and forget about where you come from. Our heritage is all we have to relate to our ancestors and nobody, no matter where they come from, should have to give that up.
It seems to me that America is the country with so many cultures that it seems to blend to make its own. Not everyone has the same culture but like Barbra Ehrenreich, we have such a variety of ethnic backgrounds that we sometimes forget who we really are and where we came from. Most every country has only a few cultures, these cultures are never forgotten because everybody around you is the same. Many countries do not know how we feel because every day new people come into the United States. From all around the world people come here, either to learn or to work. This is a big place of interest for a lot of people. That alone is why it is difficult to keep who you are, because every day you meet someone different who has a different story of who they are. Everything gets blended and sometimes forgotten.
Works Cited
Isasi-diaz, Ada Maria. "Hispanic in America: Starting Points." 40-42.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. "Cultural Baggage." 43-45. Print.
