Immigration in an age of Globalization

Throughout history, immigration has continued to be practiced in every part of the world. However, the major continuities have been in the increasing volume of immigration, its sources, and the incompetence of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The major changes in the immigration trend happened to be the attitude towards immigrants and the laws and regulations. I think it’s amazing that the total population of immigrants that came to a nation was ninety two million.

            Individuals immigrate across the world in search of a better future. Whether its to find a better paying job, better education, or better living conditions, immigrants are willing to overcome numerous obstacles to achieve their purpose in the foreign country. As Daniels stated in the book, the educational achievements of contemporary immigrants are impressive: some two thirds of those twenty-five years of age and older are at least high school graduates as opposed to almost seven eights of the native born. A 1995 study looked at the United States residents with a PhD. and found that twenty three percent of the science and engineering PhD’s and twelve percent of nonscience were foreign born. About 55 percent of the immigrants with PhD’s were naturalized U.S. citizens. As an immigrant myself, I am pleased to hear that those of us who immigrate to receive a better education actually achieve it.

            Along with the legal immigrants come various groups of “non immigrants” or temporary immigrants that enter the United States with various kinds of visas that do not entitle them to apply for permanent resident status and which have expiration dates. I know various individuals who currently have visas. Some are for work, business, traveling, and school.

            As expected along with immigration, come illegal immigrants. I love how Daniels calls this section of the book mission impossible. Regardless of what the government does to try to keep illegal immigrants from entering the nation, nothing will stop them. If the borders get higher, more border patrol, electrical system, nothing can stop an immigrant that is in search of a better future. I have heard of horrific and tragic stories of people who have lost their life’s attempting to achieve their American dream. The ambitious immigrants look for alternative, life-threatening ways to enter the land of opportunity.

            I was definitely able to relate to the chapter of immigration in an age of globalization. I myself am an immigrant, who thanks to my father, have had the opportunity to work on achieving my American dream. He himself had to risk his life, at one point, and cross the border that separates the United States and Mexico illegally to provide his family a better future and more opportunities than he had growing up. Thankfully, he was able to apply for permanent residents and come to the United States with the rest of the family. We are all now naturalized American citizens, and are taking advantage of all of the opportunities that this country provides. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I look around the crowded dinning table I see my beautiful family smiling and laughing, as we share unforgettable memories and the numerous blessing that we have received. I smell the delicious turkey, ham, biscuits, and baked potatoes that my mother has caringly cooked. I don’t know if I can potentially take another bite without having my stomach explode, but the food is simply too delicious and tempting!

 My family has celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday the traditional American way since the year 1994, after emigrating from Mexico to the United States. In Mexico, Thanksgiving is not traditionally celebrated. However, as the number of individuals emigrating from Mexico to the United States increases so does the number of families celebrating Thanksgiving. My family views thanksgiving as a holiday when we get together and remember all the triumphs and downfalls we have had in life, and take time to realize how incredibly blessed we really are to have each other.

From the moment I open my eyes on Thanksgiving morning I can smell the delicious turkey cooking in the oven. I jump out of bed and run to the kitchen, only to find my mother cautiously cooking trying not to wake up the rest of the family. My mom surprisingly cooks only the traditional thanksgiving meal, and not any Mexican dishes. The meal consists of: Turkey, ham, stuffing, smashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits, steamed vegetables and of course pumpkin pie for dessert.

My immediate family, which consist of my mother, father, brother, sister and brother-in-law traditionally have thanksgiving lunch together at my parent’s home. Following thanksgiving lunch, we visit our grandparents and share dessert with them while reminiscing about childhood memories. Thanksgiving dinner is spent with my brother-in-laws family and my immediate family at my parent’s home. The two families bring the numerous dishes they’ve prepared and place them around the kitchen counter and we fix our plate “buffet” style.

Before having dinner, my mother always begins a prayer, which engages the entire family. She begins the prayer and one by one we alternate by giving thanks for the numerous blessing out Lord has generously granted us with, especially for the blessing of having such a loving and caring family to share the holidays with. Although the food is extremely delicious, the prayer session is my favorite part of thanksgiving. It’s a time where we can be thankful to the Lord for all the hardships, struggles, and adventures we have gone through that has shaped us into the individuals and great family we are. 

Chapter 12

The first immigrants that settled down in the America’s came from Africa 200,00 years ago.  Immigration Periods include: 200,00 years ago ( Paleolithic period) when Asia (Siberia) Bering, walked from the center of the continent outward. 12,000 years ago (Neolithic) using the Kelp highway, through boat, west coast. 3500 BC (ancient) and 500 BC (Classical) when Polynesians used the Pacific Ocean by boat to immigrate through the west coast. 500 AD (modern) when Europeans used the Atlantic Ocean, boat to the east coast and then westward. Initial settlement patterns displacement due to the mixing of conquest  due to different groups annexation and borders of immigration Nation began to fill up and the nation developed an attitude of nativism, which says although their ancestors were immigrants they don’t want more immigrants to come to the united states to change things, led to the federal level creating emergency acts. In the 1920s, the mass movement of people to the United States is over and an emergency act got passed: Emergency Quota Act and the 1924 Act – Limiting immigration. In the west, the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) Ended the war, gave those living in the territory taken from Mexico the right to stay or go to Mexico. Three thousand chose the latter course, the regions of Mexico, got incorporated into the United States and the citizens there were suppose to be able to decide if they wanted to go to Mexico or be American citizens. The Bracero Program (1940-1950) took workers from Mexico and brought them to the US and they could come during legal circumstances and do labor work then leave back to Mexico.  The Mexican government- critiqued that they were being used the American government didn’t provide all of the utilities were not being provided very consistently. This chapter really hit home for me, since I am Mexican and my grandfather actually participated in the Bracero program and worked legally in the US doing cotton irrigation. In addition, it makes me wonder what would happen to both the United States and Mexico if the treaty had never passed? Where would we be today? 

Chapter 11: Migration in Prosperity, Depression, and War

Individual immigrate all over the world in hope of success, eagerly searching for a better future for themselves and their families.  Even when restrictive immigration legislation and phasing in of the national origins system in the 1920s immigration didn’t cease. I don’t understand how many scholars that study American immigration can ignore the nearly five million immigrants of the years 1920-1945. Every part of immigration including facts and personal stories are an equally important part of history. It’s interesting that the average immigration for the quarter century was nearly two hundred thousand a year. I can’t believe how nearly half of all the immigrants entered in the four years before the 1924 act took affect, and more than a third came in the following six years, while the last fifteen years of depression and war saw just over a seventh. Net migration, immigration minus return migration, shows an outstanding unbalance. Its unbelievable how during the quarter century there was almost one remigrant for every three immigrant’s. It’s shocking that in the impact of the worst years of the Great Depression more people remigrated than immigrated from 1932-1935. In the 1930’s the number of people leaving the United States exceeded the number entering. The great drop in the number of immigrants from 241,700 in 1930 and 97,139 in 1931 is one of the significant demarcation points in the history of American immigration. It’s interesting how one of the major changes in immigration occurred during the war years. A labor shortage, after the gut and long term mass unemployment of the 1930s, caused the United States deliberately to stimulate the migration of Mexican laborers to work in the agriculture of the American Southwest and West and on America’s railroad. I find it interesting how Daniels refers to the Spanish Mexicans as the pioneers of the American Southwest and the majority if the West Coast. Regardless of the country’s hardships financially, war, and Great Depression; nothing seemed to make immigrants settle. These individuals knew their purpose for immigrating and some of them completed their task and immigrated back to their original country. 

National Native American Heritage Month

I believe that Notre Dame De Namur University should commemorate November as National Native American Heritage Month because the values proclaimed in the universities constitution strongly emphasizes diversity, culture, and education. For example, hallmark five focuses on embracing the gift of diversity, “ we welcome to our community people of diverse cultures, ethnicity, race, socio-economic circumstances, gender, age, sexual orientation and faith traditions. We develop educational programs which expand out knowledge and understanding of the diversity in our world community and which celebrate the richness of that heritage. In addition, hallmark seven stating that we develop holistic learning communicates which educate for life, “we create curricular/co-curricular interactions that facilitate student-centered learning/teaching environments”. The things done on campus may enhance others knowledge about the history if Native Americans. The sisters of NDNU view education as an experience that will not only prepare you inside the classroom but in life. An experience that can be taken outside of a classroom and applying it to everyday life. Also, hallmark three states that we educate for and act on behalf of justice and peace in the world. Education has a purpose not only to get a job but also to accomplish a mission in life.