Challenges Facing New Immigrants in America

America is often known as the land of opportunity, a place where you can be free. Many Immigrants came to America so that they could have a greater possibility at succeeding in life. Immigrants took a leap of faith when coming to America, for some it worked out well but for others they had a difficult time here. Despite the struggles that the immigrants encountered such as; standing out from others, being separated from their families, and breaking their culture, the immigrants are still grateful to be in America because they were in better conditions than they were in their home land. When viewing interviews or looking at an immigrant’s perspective you get many responses to being in America, some major things that stood out were the amount of freedom the immigrant had, and the age of the immigrant. These two things had a huge impact on the opinion of America from an Immigrants point of view.

For some people, fitting in is a natural thing, but for others it was a different story. Immigrants often had a hard time blending in with Americans because of their clothing, the way they spoke, and the way they approached people. When reading the experiences of an immigrant’s child, you will find out that some fit in because of how independent they are while others do not fit in because they follow the wishes of their parents. In the book Living In Two Worlds, it appears that for Aisha it came natural to fit in with Americans, it was as if she was a natural born teenager. She “was dressed like any American girl of her age- large gold earrings, baggy jeans, and an oversized sweatshirt” (Kosof 19-20). Her father hated the fact that he brought her to America and that he was the reason she had received an American influence in ...

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...immigrants made sacrifices. Not only were the parents affected but children were also affected. By looking at situations from a Immigrants point of view and how they express things the way they do, you will be able to see that they are more than grateful for the opportunities given to them.

Works Cited

Bhagwati, Jagdish, and Rivera-Batiz, Francisco. "A Kinder, Gentler Immigration Policy." Foreign Affairs. 11/12 2013: 1-8. Print.

Coan, Peter Morton. Ellis Island Interviews. New York: Checkmark Books, 1997. Print.

Kosof, Anna. Living In Two Worlds. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1996. Print.

Mendoza, Louis, and S. Shankar ED. Crossing into America. New York: The New Press, 2003. Print.

"My Immigration Story - Home." My Immigration Story - Home. Myimmigrationstory.com, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .