Anti- Immigration Attitudes in America

602 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Stats showing relation between race and crime

The ideologies of racism and nativism affect people by racially driven hate crimes and the overall human treatment of immigrants and foreigners today, and must be changed by first changing the anti-immigrant attitudes in America. The social structures of politics and laws affect both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike and can only be changed by reforming America’s immigration system.
Racial prejudice and nativism are still social issues that define our present reality and affect us all. Everyday, immigrants in America find themselves victims of hate crimes like genocide because of their race and ethnicity (Wong 2). Genocide, “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group,” shows itself in racial crimes of all degrees in America (Merriam-Webster 1). Of the 6,216 single-bias hate crime incidents reported in 2011, 46.9% were racially motivated and 11.6% stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias (FBI 1). Racially-based crimes are big issues today in America that will only worsen over time if not stopped and changed.
The ideologies of racism and nativism themselves must be changed in order to change the mindsets and actions of most Americans. One cannot expect the structural issues and impediments of racism to change without first an attitude change of the American people. As a nation we must start from the core and center of the problems of immigration and find a way to rid our nation of this anti-immigrant way of thinking. Instead of understanding immigration as ‘bad for our country” and as ‘a threat to the America we know today,’ we as Americans must understand that immigration serves to primarily benefit and better our country’s already destitute economy and that immigrants add a more divers...

... middle of paper ...

... The F.B.I. 10 December 2012. The F.B.I. Web. 6 December 2013.
Legrain, Philippe, and Myers, Joanne. “Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them.” Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. 2013. Web. Carnegie Council. Web. 6 December 2013.
Marcotte, Amanda. “Arizona Law Affects More People Than Undocumented Immigrants.” Slate.com. n.d. The Slate Group. Web. 6 December 2013.
Merriam-Webster. “Genocide.” Merriam-Webster. 2013. Merriam-Webster. Web. 6 December 2013.
Wong, Jessica. “Racism In America Hasn’t Disapeared.” The Herald Sun. 29 October 2013. The Herald Sun.Web. 6 December 2013.

Show More
Related

  • History of Latino/a Immigration to the U.S.

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ves of immigrant groups such as the Indians, Chinese, and Germans have proved that prior policies have been based on anti-immigrant rhetoric at that time. Therefore, reforming the immigration policies today should not be based on racism, or nativism. In addition, it is important to dispel the misconceptions of the Latino/a immigrations today because it is a mistake to formulate polices based on preconceptions of racialized groups.

    Read More

  • Immigration: Important to the Success of America

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    The United States of America has the largest foreign-born population in the world. With nearly thirteen percent of the total population being foreign-born, one may find it hard to imagine an immigrant-free country (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration has been an integral part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy since it was established and without it, would have never been founded at all. Although there are some negative issues associated with immigration and many native-born Americans believe to be more of a problem than a solution, overall it actually has a positive effect. Immigrants in America, among other things, fill jobs where native-born Americans may not want to work or cannot work, they contribute to Social Services and Medicaid through taxes and they help provide the backbone of America, especially by working jobs that natives may have not even considered.

    Read More

  • Fences Against Freedom

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, racism is a big issue in the United States affecting not just only foreigners but also citizens. Leslie Marmon Silko as a mixed-ancestry-person has had to face discrimination and racism in the United States. The author feels very proud of her family because racism did not grow up in her hometown along with her. Moreover, she shows her sympathy to undocumented immigrants by pointing out the cruelty that Border Patrol offices do not just to them but also to citizens. Also, her tone is very disappointing and angry because of what is going right now with the United States and the Border Patrol making racism stronger and stronger overtime making some rights, such as freedom start to vanish all because of the same issue, which is racism.

    Read More

  • English Should Be the Official Language of the United States

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perea, Juan. Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States. New York or London: New York University Press, 1997. Print.

    Read More

  • Racist Nativism Essay

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    While race is a social construct, it has historically been used as a tool to maintain and perpetuate institutional racism that inherently creates social inequities for people of color (Huber, 2010). Nativism is an act of assigning values to perceived real or imagined differences in an attempt to justify superiority of the native, and to validate the “natives” right to superiority at the expense of non-natives (Huber, 2010). According to Huber (2010) racist nativism a conceptual framework researchers use to help them understand how the historical racialization of immigrants of color has shaped their experiences in the U.S. Nativism can be approached in numerous ways, but there are three critical

    Read More

  • Immigration in the United States

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States has often been referred to as a global “melting pot” due to its assimilation of diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. In today’s society, this metaphor may be an understatement. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of foreign born United States residents nearly doubled from 20 million to 40 million, increasing the U.S. population from almost 250 million to 350 million people. With U.S. born children and grandchildren of immigrants, immigration contributed to half of this population growth. These immigrants, consisting of mostly Asian and Hispanic backgrounds, have drastically changed the composition of the U.S. population. In 2010, Asians and Hispanics made up 20 percent of the U.S. population, in contrast to a 6 percent share of Asians and Hispanics in 1970. It is predicted that by 2050, the share of immigrants in the United States will increase to one half of the entire population. With this rapid increase in diversity, many citizens have opposing views on its impact on the United States. In my opinion, an increase in immigration does contain both positive and negatives effects, but in general it provides an overriding positive influence on America’s society (“Population”).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Immigrants

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    Immigrants have been a vital part of the U.S. ever since the day the country was founded. But perspectives on immigrants have varied through time and one of the most popular ways of presenting them was through political cartoons. From the 1860s-1910s one of the biggest issues the U.S. was facing was how to properly regulate the flow of immigrants into the country. We also see this tying of Americanness and whiteness, where even certain Europeans weren’t considered full American even though they were white. White Americans wanted more white seeming migrants which would help further establish the American identity as white. The political cartoons show the shifting perspective placed on immigrants, from a universal fear of them, to a more divided

    Read More

  • America Needs More Immigrants

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    America is sometimes referred to as a "nation of immigrants" because of our largely open-door policy toward accepting foreigners pursuing their vision of the American Dream. Recently, there has been a clamor by some politicians and citizens toward creating a predominantly closed-door policy on immigration, arguing that immigrants "threaten" American life by creating unemployment by taking jobs from American workers, using much-needed social services, and encroaching on the "American way of life." While these arguments may seem valid to many, they are almost overwhelmingly false, and more than likely confused with the subject of illegal immigration. In fact, immigrants actually enhance American life by creating, not taking jobs, bolster social service funds through tax payments, and bring valuable technical knowledge and skills to our country. If we are to continue to excel as a nation, the traditionalists who fear an encroachment of foreign-born Americans must learn to accept that we achieved our greatness as a result of being "a nation of immigrants."

    Read More

  • The United States and Illegal Immigration

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gomez, Alan. “Illegal immigration levels off in ’10.” USA Today n.d. (02 February 2011): 02a. Academic Research Complete. Web. 25 March 2011.

    Read More

  • Immigration in USA

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wellman, Christopher, and Phillip Cole. Debating the Ethics of Immigration is There a Right ti Exclude?. New York : Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

    Read More

  • Understanding Immigration: Stratification and Prejudice in USA

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though the United States is home to many immigrants, controversy surrounds the issue of immigrants in the United States. The United States in a melting pot of various backgrounds and cultures, yet it is hard for all to merge into acceptance of one another. The first chapter of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and class covers stratification, prejudice and discrimination, and inequality.

    Read More

  • The Development of Racism

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racism continues to remain "our American Obsession" (Loewen 139). Works Cited Blum, Lawrence. The. I'm Not A Racist

    Read More

  • The Selma-Montgomery March

    2478 Words  | 5 Pages

    Reed, Roy. “He Says ‘No Wave of Racism Can Stop Us Now.’” New York Times. 26 Mar. 1965: 1+

    Read More

  • Racism in America - Past and Present

    2883 Words  | 6 Pages

    Racist and racism are provocative words in American society. To some, they become curse words. They are descriptive words of reality that cannot be denied. Some people believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities and behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiorities. People of color are often injured by these judgements and actions whether they are directly or indirectly racist. Just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can be overtly or inherently racist. Institutions can also injure people. The outcome is nonetheless racist, if not intentional (Randall).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Immigration

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Immigration is a controversial topic that features conflicting opinions on a global scale. This is because skeptics believe that immigrants are taking away the original culture and traditions of individual societies, whereas, those supporting immigration believe that immigrants in fact enrich the culture of the host countries and provide great benefits to the country overall. This ongoing debate regarding immigration has led to the increased difficulty in gaining national citizenship in some countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Other countries, however, welcome immigrants as they believe foreigners are valuable to society. Immigration around the world should be encouraged as immigrants increase diversity, add to the amount of skills and labor opportunities available to the countries they move to, and improve the economy.

    Read More

More about Anti- Immigration Attitudes in America

Open Document