Dreams Of Many Immigrants example essay topic

America turns dreams into reality and makes anything possible. It is where freedom rings. We clothe the homeless, care for the sick, and give food to the hungry. Immigrants come to America for better opportunities, civil rights, and freedoms they could never dream about having in their native home. Our nation has experienced many changes throughout history in dealing with immigration. We have been fair for taking in a certain number of immigrants and refugees.

Through the restriction on immigration, we gain control of our nation. In the 1920's, it was right for politicians to put a stop on the overflow of immigrants. The U.S. could not satisfy the growth of population. These new laws made it more difficult for immigrants. They now had to decide whether to settle without the rest of their family or leave the United States and return to their origins, where most cases were in poverty and it was more severe. Many immigrants came here with just the clothes on their backs and prior knowledge.

Upon arrival, many could not even ask simple questions and did not know who to turn to. They had to depend on others for survival. Most survived through the help of other immigrants, cultural brokers, and people of their own race in their community. It is not easy for immigrants to assimilate into our society.

Many differences stand in the way. Learning a new and unusual language, trying to get a job, finding a home, and starting a new life from scratch is a process that immigrants had to follow. The 1920's brought many other hardships for immigrants since discrimination and ethnic tensions were at a very high level. "In 1922, the U.S. Attorney General told the Supreme Court that Japanese should be denied the right of citizenship because they could never assimilate and, moreover, were a threat to American agriculture" (Barren 39). Some Americans also believed that Italians were prone to crime. A war had begun, our nation was in depression, and many were struggling for jobs.

At our present time, we are focused on the war on terrorism. Many people still believe, as people did in the 1920's, that immigrants are taking our jobs and causing a high level of crime. Now, our nation has a skeptical view of who should be permitted into America. Just as immigrants have overcome their hardships in the past, many will have to do the same for the future. The dreams of many immigrants have been lost, or merely, they have just lost their hope. Their only way of survival may be through minimum wage at a meat packing industry.

They can't afford to take classes. They work long and stressful hours that create physical and mental strain. Some live in bad neighborhoods where discrimination is at its highest. They have to deal with a drastic change of living style. Immigrants need to maintain their native culture practices while trying to absorb into our society.

Our situation today is less dire than the 1920's because there are more people willing to help. We have more control and a better understanding of immigrants. We have acquired knowledge about their background, where they came from, and what they had to deal with. We need to help those who suffered by lending them a helping hand, showing them our ways, and teach and lead them.

When comparing the 1920's to now, both times had to deal with the over flow of people, not enough jobs, the nation being in a depression, racial tensions caused by war, and high crime rates. America has been through it all. We have overcome our slumps and discrimination. We can get back to becoming a nation once again by helping one another. We need to give immigrants a chance to survive. We can become a stronger nation by putting our differences aside and strive for the well being of our nation.