The Sensitive Topic of Immigration in America, The Land of Immigrants

America is and always has been a land of immigrants. In current media, immigration reform is a hot button issue, and throughout history, humans have battled against those who come to a country when others are there first. Ever since immigrants first stepped foot on American soil in 1607, immigrants have been in the country living out the “American Dream.” Part of this dream is realized when immigrants help to shape the country as much as the country shapes them. Although there is no one typical immigration story, they tended to have certain aspects in common. For example, they each have strong reasons for leaving their own country, enticing reasons for coming to America, and also a struggle for confirmation from the current inhabitants in order to prosper in their new home.

The first wave of immigrants came in 1607 with the migration to and colonization of America. With this, Europeans brought tyranny and torment against Native Americans, and eventually claimed the land as theirs. The second wave came in 1815 with 4.5 million Irish who came to America in hopes of escaping their starvation and poverty. And when the Transcontinental Railroad was being built, Chinese immigrants came to be 25 percent of the workforce. With every wave of immigration, America was shaped in obvious ways. The Europeans who colonized the country brought new plants, animals and ideology amongst many things. The Irish who fled during the Potato Famine brought a new East Coast that was culturally diverse. And the Chinese brought a huge workforce to help with the building of the very much needed railroads. With that, it is easy to see that immigration stories almost always lead with struggle, but then end up shaping the country or the immigrants in some way. These immigrants had strong reasons for leaving their homelands and then faced struggle when it came to prospering in their new home.

In “Sweet Promised Land,” a detailed picture of what it’s like to be an immigrant family is portrayed and ends with a hopeful story of prosperity. The story depicts the famous Laxalt family and their immigration story from the Basque province of Soule. Their story showcased that it’s possible to live out the American Dream,” as they lived out the beginning being sheepherders in Nevada. Robert Laxalt writes this story in a hopeful way, leaving us with an idea that anything is possible in America.

“Bread Givers, gives us a different depiction of what the immigrant experience is, as it shows more struggle, and a not-so hopeful ending. The story focuses on the Smolinsky family, and the girls’ father who attempts to wiggle out of poverty with the help of rich mates for them. Reb, their father, tears apart the daughters love lives and decides that any money that they make or marry into is his. Bessie, one of the daughters, falls in love with Berl Berenstein, until Reb sees that he cannot live without the money that Bessie gives the family. From then on, the daughters are always caught between true love and their father’s disapproval. The reader then sees Reb as a cruel and greedy man who doesn’t allow the daughters to find happiness. This immigration story is one of struggle, as Reb lives in poverty and tries to escape it in any way. Toward the end, there is a glimmer of hope as Sara and Hugo are drawn closer together. This shows that even in spite of struggle, some members of an immigrant family can find true happiness.

The immigrant story hasn’t changed in the sense that struggle is still very much alive. For Antonio Alarcon in “My Immigration Story,” the majority of this struggle came from being separated from his family. When he was 11 years old, he crossed the border from Mexico. Leaving his grandparents and his younger brother behind, he made the harsh trip over and arrived in Arizona dehydrated and sore. Ending up in Los Angeles and then New York, the family made their home in America. The struggle to fit in at school and overlook his family working long days and nights to afford living, Alarcon knows the struggle of immigration. He says in “My Immigration Story,” that he hopes immigration reform can bring his family back to him and allow for a more inclusive country.

Over the years, immigration has shaped America. While my family doesn’t struggle with immigration, I grew up in a very diverse and agriculturally rich community in Northern Califomia, Seeing many Mexican field workers growing up, I understood and felt their pain. This country has always gained on other’s loss. From the very first European settlers until now, this county has served as a land for bleeding other’s dry. When immigrants come to this country, with the exception of most white immigrants, they are immediately forced to break their backs to find any form of success. This immigration story sometimes ends in a prosperous situation, as for the Laxalt’s who have many buildings on this very campus named after them. And for those like Alarcon, the story of struggle still continues with very little hope at the end of the tunnel.

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