Immigrant Interview Essay

I am no immigrant. I have been living in this country ever since I was born. My brother, sister, and I are all first generation citizens. Both of my parents were born in Mexico, and at an early age came to the United States. They are now living happily in the U.S as citizens. Growing up I only spoke one language, Spanish. Being Mexican this was the only way I could communicate up until kindergarten. Although it was such a long time ago, I remember how hard it was for me to adjust. I know I had a strong accent, and I was sometimes ashamed of it. On occasion I remember accidentally speaking Spanish to my classmates. “Did you finish your homework?" “Si, todo esta-”. “I mean, yeah, all done.” I often got these confused looks on their face whenever this happened. The next year in first grade I became accustomed to English. I no longer spoke spanish to my parents. When the realization that I could no longer speak Spanish hit my parents, they were shocked. Personally I was also disappointed. Especially today, in a school with a general population of Hispanics I would love to be able to converse with them. I often get people asking if I speak Spanish and I tell them why I can’t, but can understand what the words mean. All because I did not want to look different in a school where people were primarily white back then. I don’t recall many people of my race at this school at all.

When I was deliberating topics for my case study ethnography report I was inspired to examine some one very close to me who is "undocumented", someone whose experience I have seen first hand, some one who has affected my life and understanding of immigrants with his situation; my partner, Mario. This class has exposed us to many writings on the subjects of migration, immigration and emigration. I began to compare the concepts and information in the readings to Mario’s personal situation. I was curious if his answer would be "In search of a better life" when asked, "Why did you come here?"

The United States of America is the best place for immigration. The history proved that the United States was the dream land, the place of chances. That started when Europeans escaped form their countries because there were no jobs and no safe places to live. America became the best choice for people who were looking for political asylum, jobs, or freedom, but after a few generations something changed the Americans look to immigrants as strangers and they forgot where they are from because America is multicultural place and immigration movement should be understandable, but this is not the case. Governments should develop good laws for immigrants by giving rights to immigrants to stay in America, to protect them, and to allow people who

Many immigrants would immigrate to the New World for a variety reasons. The New World has divided into regions such as the Middle, Chesapeake, England, and Southern colonies. Many of the immigrants were Europeans. Although New England and Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Also by the time of 1700, the two societies had developed an immigration pattern due to the geography of the land that they had settled into. Economically speaking, both regions also earned their living differently also by the reason of the geography type and in addition to their origins. Motivations also play a huge part in the New World, by the way of illustration, some of

What I am most proud of, is the fact that I am a hardworking immigrant. In today’s divided society, immigrants are stereotyped as “non-contributing to society” or “largely uneducated”. This ignorant stereotype is a constant reminder of how hard I should work.

“Mom, will I ever be treated as a regular person? When will I be like the others without people look at me in a strange way and make fun of me, when mom? When?” Those were the questions I did to my mom almost every day after getting home from school. Fourteen years ago that my parents brought me to this country offering a better life with better opportunities than where I was born. I was seven years old when came to the United States, but I still remember the happiness I felt when I first step in this country. Throughout the years, I have realize that not everything is easy and simple as I imagined. My parents worked in the fields because of the lack of a social security and not knowing how to speak English. Many Americans do not know how hard it is the life of an immigrant, they should have a consideration for us and not just blame us for the deviance of the United States.

America is traditionally a country of immigrants. Very few people today have relatives who were Native Americans, many of them because of religious persecution, and others because of they were just looking to start a new life on the exciting untouched frontier. For instance, in Florida, the first arrivals were European, beginning with the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who explored the land in 1513, following French and Spanish settlement during the 16th century. From the past, America was seen as a country of opportunities. People from all over the world have moved here looking for better opportunities. There are a lot of reasons why immigrants should live in this country, but I would like to mention three of them.

Through interviewing my roommate Linda Wang, I have gotten the opportunity of hearing a first-hand account of what it is like being a young immigrant living in the United States. At the age of eight, Linda, along with her father, mother, and aunt, emigrated to America. Linda’s family currently resides in Bayside, Queens and she is a student-athlete on the St. John’s women’s golf team. Linda was kind enough to share her immigration story with me so that I may use it as a manifestation of what life as an immigrant, and the immigration process itself, entails.

The United States has long served as a refuge for people who seek to escape hunger, poverty, torture, and the oppression of the human spirit in their own countries. However, the issue of immigration in the United States has become a political flashpoint since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The sacralization of the tragedy has served to paint all immigrants with the same fear-ladened brush, and has marginalized and stereotyped an already vulnerable population. Today, more than ever, immigrants in the United States face increasing stressors as they try to assimilate in a politically charged post 9/11 world. To be an effective social worker, immigration issues and multicultural awareness is critical. Mary and Mario, a couple who

The changing environments throughout the ages have caused the movement of thousands of families out of their homelands. Whether forced to make such decisions or doing so by their own desires, all immigrants have had to survive the physical and psychological challenges encountered along the way. To speak about the experiences of all these different people using the same ideas and examples would be quite inaccurate. They all, however, had to live through similar situations and deal with similar problems. Many of them succeeded and found the better future they were looking for. Many others found only hardship and experienced the destruction of their hopes and dreams. All of them were transformed.

Leaving you're home is never easy but its exciting that is if your going to college, starting a new life with your husband, or you got the new job in another state. But how about leaving home because there is no future in your country, the government is corrupt, drug cartel are growing, and the people are barley making ends meet. You have been abounded, but there is a way out. The neighbor country is one filled with hope, freedom, and opportunity. Will you take it? Will you take this chance? Mexican immigrants have and this is what Americans seem to have taken for granted.

*sniff sniff* Eww, what is that smell? Yuck! I am sure you have heard of the Prestage Farms pork processing plant trying to come to Mason City. If not, it is a $240 million pork processing plant that would initially process up to 10,000 pigs a day and eventually employ as many as 2,000 workers. Wow! Sounds pretty great right? Well, let me tell you it is definitely not! This very situation is why people are debating on whether or not the plan should be built here. What do you think? Should the Prestage pork plant be built here or not? Some people argue that it will be bringing more jobs to Mason City, it will bring money to the schools, and it will be growing Mason city. However, these jobs will be horrible, the pollution will destroy our

     It started like any other day up on the hills of Rhein, but that day had the scent of freedom floating in the air. The journey ahead of me had been teasing me for weeks, I was just so anxious to get away and start all over again. I had made certain arrangements before I left, our family dog was not allowed on the ship that we were going to be arriving in America, so I had my parents take care of the dog for us. It was a hard thing to do seeing that the dog had become more than just a pet to the children and I, for we almost would recognize him as a family member. Most of our possessions we were able to keep with us, but we had to keep the load light since it was going to be a tight stay in the steerage. I

Attention statement: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddles masses yearning to be free” these are the words that have greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming to our country on the gates of Ellis Island.

All my life, my mother and father has told me how hard it has been to support our families in Vietnam. The economy from here to there is so horrible that we have to support them. We're always sending at least about a million in Vietnamese money which is equal to about a hundred in American money due to the currency between America and Vietnam. Because of these two reasons, I am in favor of having better immigration process for people who come outside the US.