Immigrants helped build and grow our country ever since the colonial times. Many different people left their struggling homeland for various reasons and migrated to America from all parts of the globe in places such as Ireland, Europe, Spain and Mexico. They all wanted to make the great journey sharing ultimately the same desire. They come to American with high hopes of living the American dream. By 1940 there was an estimated 1.6 million immigrants who came to America. That number increased to nearly 4 million immigrants in the 1960’s and has since dramatically increased in numbers ever since. My Dad’s father was a one of the people who made the difficult decision to migrate. Ascension, my grandfather, is a take a bull by its horns type of guy. Born in 1942 he grew up and lived in Delicious, Chihuahua until he was 17 years old. He wanted to advance his education but was unable too due to financial situations and politics in the schools. He said “Your name and connections are all they looked at”. He did not come from a wealthy family, so unfortunately was unable to pay for school alone. That slowly started to reside in him and eventually started to motivate him. …show more content…
Beginning to wander and travel to different locations in Mexico he had a realization of the poverty and difficulties there were there. He was rather disappointed and disturbed with Mexico’s system. After traveling all throughout the far corners of Mexico he saw it all. He yearned for a better life with more opportunities. “Mexico was tough for people and work,” he said, “Even with education was still hard.” He pushed himself up in his seat and adjusted the blue sofa’s pillows next to him. He added, “In America more economic openings available, and the equal treatment for people was here.” By the late 1950’s my grandfather’s curiosity began to take hold of the thought of traveling to America. He knew the risks in crossing but still decided to cross in a time when border security had slowly started to increase patrol measures. Finally realizing that he had no opportunities in Mexico he “Decided to come to America to see what opportunities were here”. He made the solo journey here to America in the early 1962 at the age of 19 leaving everything behind. He knew the challenges that came with starting and in some ways beginning his life in a different country. He crossed over into Al Paso, Texas where he began wandering again for another 6 months trying to find his place in society. The largest difficulty he faced crossing over was the language barrier. Struggling to find work in Texas he started to seek options in other places. Eventually he found himself a job opportunity in Lancaster, California that he took. He worked on a ranch field as a hay-bell worker when he first arrived to California. The more he worked around English speaking individuals he began to pick up English as a language. In addition to finding a job in California, he also discovered the love of his life.
While working with the hay-bells he met my grandmother where they eventually started dating and got married in Lancaster. My grandparents decided to move to Los Angeles. After working at different jobs and living in Lancaster for a few years my grandfather, 21 at the time, had a well understanding of the English language but struggled speaking it correctly. When he arrived in Los Angeles he found himself new employment as a supervisor in a warehouse facility. He said, “Plenty of opportunities” because in Mexico even if you wanted to work there was no positions open. Not stopping there he found a better job as a manager for a machine manufacturer where he stayed at a long time saving up
money. My grandfather stayed in Los Angeles for 15 years where he started his own family with his new wife. He gained his citizenship at the age of 34 and attempted to join the US Army but was not able to because he was not a fluent English speaker and sergeants feared he might not understand an order. Although they enjoyed staying in LA and making a living for themselves there, they still only rented a house. So after saving money up for over a decade my grandfather started to search for a new place to call his home. My grandfather found a new home in Baldwin Park, California after searching for a few months. He said “Moved here to Baldwin Park at 37 years old, bought my first and last house.” Nodding his head he added, “I changed financially from Mexico.” He has stayed living in Baldwin Park for the last 35 years. That’s the house my Father and Aunts grew up. Whenever my grandfather speaks about the American Dream, he acts very nonchalant. He says “I’m proud in the way I did it because I did it my way with hard work.” He always claimed America was the land of opportunity. He lived it; he experienced what living the American dream is like. Left as a teenager alone with nothing came to America and worked hard until he became successful. He owns his own house, has married for over 30 years, and started a family. All by himself, brought my family’s bloodline to America.S
Like any other family, they immigrated to the U.S. thinking about the American Dream, a better future for their kids and the generations to come. The parents wanted to provide the life they did not have to their children. One example is Carlos mother deciding she was willing to leave Mexico for her son. The book says, “Manuela was hesitant to return to the United States but felt there would be more opportunity for her younger son there… In the United States, school was free…and more demanding” (Davis 43). Manuela did not want to leave, but she knew her son would have a brighter education in the U.S. Later on it also shows the struggles of achieving what they desire because they were illegal. Another example is Oscar himself. Goins, the ROTC commander told Carlos, “you gotta be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident” (Davis 51). Oscar was trying to enroll in the Army, but unfortunately he could not serve his country like he wished because he had du that he was not legal in the country and would be taking a privilege from U.S.
One of the main challenges people face is the language barrier, then come to the US not knowing any English hoping that some relatives or friends with help them. Not only is language barrier hard enough but there is also the difference between men and women that migrate, overall this general sexism that occurs and what goes behind closed doors when women are trapped into these circumstances. The one big factor that comes into play is the separation between families, many families are separated for years, before they can finally reunite. Mainly it is men who leave their families and find work elsewhere, with some men being gone for almost the entire year they like to send remittances back home to their families. In the book “Transborder Lives” by Lynn Stephen she talks to many Oaxaca families and their experiences with living transborder lives and how the women are now the ones in charge of the farms and children. Migrating to the United States can be hard because you experience this culture shock and hardships of trying to survive, some people are lucky enough to now people in America but other don’t know anyone and have to overcome more obstacles to
The travelling progression seems to advance the sense of togetherness between individuals who migrate." when migrant workers whose living conditions I have described here crossed the border, they separate themselves from the social structures of their home country" (Chavez pg. 92) Some migrant workers make a sensible choice to leave their old insufficient way of life for what they think will be a certain paradise and freedom. The American dream search is short lived for some, never thinking about why or what they left behind. In most cases though, this is not the case at all, people leave for their families and the opportunities to work and return home.
Immigrants come to America to seek a better life and receive a better education. America
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
Immigration to America began when Christopher Columbus discovered the new land now called the American continent. Immigration increased in the 17th century when people came from Europe, Africa, and Asia to the new land. There were many colonies, such as the British and Dutch. When people came they go to their people and find jobs as farmers. The first immigrants were in the east coast around 1607 to 1775 after the number of immigrants increased. In 1790 - 1850 there were few immigrants who came to America, but in 1850 to 1930 the number of immigrations increased (Dolan 4).
Since I am not of native decent my family has gone through the immigration process on both sides. My family tree dates back generations to Ireland and England. My father is mainly Irish, his Irish roots trace back to his grandparents. His family had remained in Ireland for centuries until later immigrating to the U.S. The history further than my great-grandparents is vague as my father’s family had lived in Ireland for generations before. Despite being predominately Irish my closest roots with immigration come from England. My grandfather on my mother’s side is a first-generation citizen and is the only immigrant I have known in my family. He often discusses his roots in England and what life was like adjusting to life in America. His stories provide a unique perspective of life in America, verse life in England where our family originates from.
Growing up, the biggest challenge I faced was being a first generation Latina student. My family came from an extremely rural neighborhood in Guanajuato, Mexico called La Sandia. Both my parents achieved up to 5th-grade education in their hometowns. They decided to sacrifice their lives in Mexico to provide a better life for their family and then decided to migrate to the U.S to achieve what many people consider the American dream.
In 1975, my mother’s parents had gone to America to try to find a stable job so they could later bring their children, to live a happier life since most of Mexico believed that America was where you
In conclusion, migration is part of everyone’s life, had it not been for immigrants, and migrations of our ancestors the United States would not be known as country with a variation of different nationalities, and ethnicities. Without my Great Grand Father’s migration to America my family would not be where it is today and I most likely would not have all of the opportunities that I currently have when it comes to school and religious freedoms. I am very indebted to my ancestors for migrating and permitting my family to live the life that we have in America.
Before I was born, my grandfather, Robert James Kilian, died of lung cancer. He was a father, husband, and WWII Veteran. My dad always described him as short, stocky, and strong. I really wish I could have met him. Sadly, I don’t have spare time machine lying around though. So, I figured the least I could do was try and capture his essence and have it live on in the memories of others.
In the story, the author is getting pulled in various directions. Rodriguez wants to stay true to his Mexican culture for his parents sake claiming they, “grow distant, apart, no longer speak,” (Rodriguez 105), but also wants to belong in American culture where his education has driven him to a position not many Mexicans get to or have to opportunity to be. This story confronts the idea that anyone can succeed as long as they are willing to sacrifice their cultural identity in the process.
First of all, I want to explain what the immigrants are. By “Immigration Assist” website, Immigrants are people who have citizenship in one country; however, they go to another country to establish a permanent residence.
My grandfather came from Kent, a county on the southeastern shores of England, in 1947 after coming back from serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. My grandfather died before I was born in 1996, but I have always felt a deep connection with him and my English heritage since he was the only first generation immigrant in my family. When I traveled there at 16 years old, I made it a priority to travel to Kent and retrace the steps of my grandfather and his life. This journey was important to me because it reflected my life and my grandfather's, which are two lives that can never intersect but will always be connected.