Immigration Struggles In America

America was born from a group of immigrants ever since the colonial era of English, Spanish and French settlers looking for a land to call their own. Since then, diverse multicultural ethnicities such as Hispanics, Asians, etc... have wanted to do the same and thus gave the identity of America a more different look than the earlier times which majority comprises of European immigrants. The idea of “The American Dream” has inspired all of those who would wish to seek a better life than what their origins has to offer. Despite how enticing for immigrants to arrive in America, the process of living a successful life is actually not the reality that many wish for. Instead, the process will further continue the struggle of immigrants no matter the

Further observations also present ethnic percentages of the overall population; whites take up majority of the population at 77.7%, Hispanics take up 17.1%, blacks at 13.2%, and lastly Asians represent 5.3%. Grieco et al. (2012) stated, that the overall population for foreign-born immigrants is approximately 39,956. By dividing by regions of birth, African represent 4%, Asia 28.2%, Europe 12.1%, Latin America 53.1%, Northern America 2%, and lastly Oceania at .5% (Grieco et al., 2012). In comparisons of both overall and foreign-born populations, we can see a drastic difference in ethnicity. The most important and alarming amount was of immigrant Hispanics entering the United States which just only took account of those went through the legal process. According to Hoefer, Rytina, and Baker (2012) stating, that unauthorized illegal immigrant population in the United States is estimated to be 11,510,000. This an astounding large number that completely overshadows to the total amount of legal foreign-born immigrants. The statistics also have revealed the top ten most populated unauthorized illegal immigrant states as well; California ranked first at 2,830,000, Texas at 1,790,000, Florida at 740,000, New York at 630,000. Illinois at 550,000, Georgia at 440,000, New Jersey at 420,000, North Carolina at 400,000,

Obviously most people would leave their families and become the breadwinners to provide for them, but the most challenging factor is that they are away from their families for years at a time (“The Golden Door,” 2005, 7:50). When the illegal immigrants are ready to move out north, most people would hire guides and group up that will help lead them to their desired location. However, there are many hazards present in the deserts of the border such as, if they get lost nobody will be able to help them, exposure to sunburn, dehydration, kidnapping, mugging, rape, or death (“The Golden Door,” 2005, 22:17). Despite the overwhelmingly amount of risks and the low chances of being successful in achieving their goals, the odds are stacked high against the illegal immigrants. For those who do get caught without criminal records, are usually let go immediately, yet they will always try again next time to get lucky (“The Golden Door,” 2005,