Transcript Melting Pot? Immigration in America

Melting Pot?
Immigration in America
Joe Liotta and Taylor Clarke
S
What we tell ourselves:
“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the
Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and
persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall
welcome to a participation of all our rights and previleges
[sic], if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to
merit the enjoyment.”
– George Washington
What we still tell ourselves:
President Obama on US immigration
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2010/04
/23/sot.obama.az.immigration.cnn
Asian Americans and
Immigration
• 1882 Chinese
Exclusion Act set
severe limits on the
immigration of
Chinese laborers. This
restricted the growth
of the Asian
community in US,
while European
groups grew
•1917: Known as the
Asiatic Barred Zone
Act, established
literacy tests for
incoming immigrants
and was meant to
reduce the number of
Asian immigrants.
Jewish
Immigrants
During the WWII and the
Holocaust, the United States
refused the entrance of
hundreds of thousands of
Jewish Immigrants fleeing
Europe. Refusal came from a
combination of Economic
woes, high unemployment,
and anti-Semitism.
European
Immigrants
Immigration Act of 1921:
Quotas based on 2% of that
nation’s population in the US
in 1890. Meant to restrict
immigration of eastern and
southern Europeans.
Immigration Law Throughout US History
1917: Known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, established
literacy tests for incoming immigrants and was meant to
reduce the number of Asian immigrants.
1921: Quotas based on 2% of that nation’s population in the
US in 1890. Meant to restrict immigration of eastern and
southern Europeans.
1965: Abolished the old quota system. Set annual immigration
caps per hemisphere and at 20,000 per nation per year. But
allowed migration chains (ie immigrants bringing in their
family members later).
1986: Fined industries that hired illegal labor but also granted
amnesty to the illegal immigrants who had been in the country
prior to 1982.
Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih
•
The 24 year old winner of the
Miss USA 2010 pageant
immigrated to the United States
from Lebanon as a baby.
•
Lived in NYC, moved to
Michigan
•
Story glorified as “the American
Dream”. Anyone born anywhere
can come to the land of
opportunity and find success.
What U.S. immigration is actually
like:
Source: Immigrantslist.org
Results of Immigration Laws
As a result of limiting the amount of immigrants from Asia and
Eastern and Southern Europe, the US found itself lacking in
cheap manual labor for jobs in the agriculture industry.
The US then turned to immigrants from Mexico to compensate
for the lack of unskilled labor coming from other countries.
Changing Positions Toward
Illegal Immigration
In Rodolfo Acuna’s “Occupied America: A History of Chicanos”,
Acuna asserts that the US changed its position toward illegal
Mexican immigration depending on the economic situation in the
country. After WWII and the Korean War, when the US
underwent a time of economic prosperity, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service eased crackdown on illegal immigrants,
allowing them to work in factories and in fields. But during
economic recessions, the INS rounded-up large numbers of
Mexican workers (both legal and illegal) and deported them back
to Mexico.
The reality: 2010 Arizona
immigration
Senate Bill 1070: Arizona law that requires law enforcement to request
identification papers when they have evidence to believe the apprehended may
be in country illegally.
“The bill is considered to be among the toughest immigration measures in the
nation.”
Source: CNN
The reality: 2010 Arizona
immigration
Governor Jan Brewer on the 2010 Arizona immigration law
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/04/23/az.gov.immig
ration.announcement.kpnx
The reality: how Americans really
feel
S
78% of Americans feel the
government could do more to
keep illegals out.
S
75% feel that illegal immigration
is a drain on the U.S. economy.
S
89% feel that immigration in the
U.S needs to be completely
reworked.