An argument that I found to be prevalent while reading George J. Borjas’ We Wanted Workers first few chapters was the crowd that is attracted to coming to America through immigration. Over the entire history of America there have been many people who have come to America through the immigration process, whether it be through the rigorous current day immigration process or if it was on the initial colonies ships coming over from Europe, they all have one thing in common, they were all in a situation that forced them to leave their country. Not many came over to America because they were well off in their previous country and wanted a change in scenery, they all left for a reason, could have been more wealth or more opportunities, but they all left because they were not contempt in their current situations in life.
This is something that has been prevalent throughout all of the immigration past in our country and has always been attempted to be suppressed. “In 1875, Congress prohibited the entry of prostitutes and convicts. In 1882, it suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers and added, idiots, lunatics, and persons likely to become public chargers to the list for good measure. By 1917, the list included persons with tuberculosis, polygamists, political radicals, and practically anyone born in Asia” (52). From this quote it is easy to see that there have been problems with the people that we allow into our country since the start. It was only after a little amount of time that we passed laws and regulations that restricted the persons who could come into our country. When we first became discriminatory to the persons that we allowed into our country we felt safer that we were not letting in criminals and bad people into our country so we were keeping our streets clean, but all you see in the news is the image of immigrants getting a bad rep and being forced to take under paid jobs that will not allow them to climb the socioeconomic ladder of our society.
I feel that there will always be judgement on the people who are joining our society, whether they have a completely clean background and have never laid a negative hand on another. I am also unsure of how this stereotype will be abolished over time. Mainly because someone who was never apart of your group will always be starred at when the walk into the door for the first time.
4 replies on “We Wanted Workers CH3-4 Reflection”
I agree with your stance that regardless of an individuals background, there will be some general skepticism for them entering the United States. Whether an immigrant comes from a highly-educated, affluent country or a derelict slum, they will undoubtedly face some pushback from the existing American population. This practice can be seen going centuries back with immigrants like the Irish, Italians, and other ethnic groups entering the countries in mass quantities. They had strong ambitious about working for their living and contributing to society, but still were left facing tremendous adversity from the existing population.
Michael, while your viewpoint is definitely grounded, I would say that in modern-day America more often then not the individuals who come from a highly educated affluent country are welcomed and encouraged to immigrate so that they can participate in America’s success. It is specific groups of people from typically different cultures that are discriminated against such as South America or the Middle East, I would not be surprised however if in 30 years if our cultures will have melded more and there is less discrimination due to those peoples acquiring the “American Dream”.
I agree with the points you make about immigrants first coming to the US. This problem of immigrants or even tourists being outsiders is seen everywhere. Most of the immigrants that come to the US are phenotypically different from the customary American, even though the country is a melting pot with so many different looks. Yet, even if you take down these phenotypical barriers you see a separation and discrimination against immigrants. If you look at Europe where the population for the majority looks like those of Americans, white fair skin, you still see this discrimination. If you were not born in a country then you will be an outsider for life to them even if you grew up there. This is a sense of nationalism that is negative on the population of the world, mostly the US. We are seen as a country that is a melting pot or a safe haven for all, yet we still treat people like they do not belong here. I feel that this issue is a cultural or evolutionary one and not something that will be easily changed. It was evolutionary safe for outsiders to be treated with caution because they could be dangerous and try to steal or kill your personal belonging. This belief is still prevalent in today’s world because of the constant threat of terrorist and constant wars with so many countries.
Thank you for your comment, Sophie. I would like to start by saying that I also agree that everyone is an immigrant to America, there are a select few that have called this land home before anyone else, but also is true with any other country in the world. Everyone had to start out with a small colony and build their reputation and culture on a common belief that is then only transferred to other people who share it with that people.