In the section “Deportation Policy and the Making and Unmaking of Illegal Aliens,” Mya Ngai unravels the history of deportation while revealing society’s role in determining who was considered an illegal alien. Ngai explains how deportation has existed since the colonial times; but, in the nineteenth century, America rejected the principle due to immigrants being crucial for settlement and industrialization. This lead to the rise of unwanted individuals, such as Chinese laborers, paupers, and polygamists, who were considered “contaminants of social degeneracy” (59). Consequently, the first federal restriction on entry was passed by Congress in 1875 and it banned individuals who were convicted of “crimes involving moral turpitude” and prostitution, …show more content…
without legal status frightened the nation. In 1924, Congress passed a new act that involved a different approach to deportation, which was showing proof of proper visa, and it resulted in a dramatic increase in deportation. The idea of not having proper status in the nation gave birth to the term “undocumented immigrant” and referred to illegal aliens as criminals who were “fulling and fueling nativist discourse” (61). Nevertheless, an anti-alien movement occurred and its goal was to decrease the number of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. This inevitable created a hostile reputation of illegal aliens. According to Ngai, “the California Joint Immigration Committee described illegal aliens as ‘vicious and criminal,’ compromising “bootlegger, gangsters, and racketeers of large cities’” (62). Although illegal immigrants always had a reputation, this new perception did not focus on just one group, like the Chinese exclusion. Instead, the new perception included all nationalities and ethnic …show more content…
Many politicians believed illegal aliens threatened Americans’ right of free association, privacy, and movement. Yet, it was difficult to locate every illegal immigrant residing in the U.S., which is how race became a factor in the deportation process. Many Europeans and Canadians were able to blend in better than Hispanics and Asians, resulting in racial profiling. Additionally, during the Great Depression, Mexicans experienced the worse of racism when it came to interrogation due to economic insecurities. Euro-Americans inflamed racial hostility to anyone who had foreign characteristics. Border patrols also targeted Mexicans while treating other immigrants or travelers with courtesy and formality. Ngai notes how the Immigration Service was arresting nearly five times as many suspected illegal aliens in the Mexican border than it did in the Canadian boarder. This is another example of how America targeted certain groups in society for their
America is a nation consisting of many immigrants: it has its gates opened to the world. These immigrants transition smoothly and slowly from settlement, to assimilation then citizenship. These immigrants are first admitted lawfully as permanent residents before they naturalize to become full citizens. In her book “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America”, the historian Mae Ngai draws our attention to the history of immigration and citizenship in America. Her book examines an understudied period of immigration regulation between 1924 and 1965.
In the early 1830's, Mexican-Indians, seeking a better life in the "land of opportunity," crossed the border into America only to find themselves and all who followed forced to assimilate to a new culture. The white Americans pushed their food, their beliefs, their clothing style, and the English language upon these immigrants. Some of the seemingly brainwashed Mexican-Indians saw the American actions as signs of kindness and acceptance. Yet, fearful others considered being caught by the strict American border patrol a "fate worse than death" (490). Immigration officers warned "foreign-looking" people to carry citizenship identification at all times, and they "sneaked up on innocent dark-skinned people, and deported them," possibly also "mak[ing them] suffer unspeakable mortifications" (484, 486). Those legally able to reach America became subjected to American ideals and customs. The whites relocated those unwilling to live the "accepted American lifestyle" to specified areas. Aware of this law, Sancho cynically w...
Kavanaugh begins by introducing us to Maria, a woman who, due to her illegal immigration 25 years ago, has been torn apart from her family and deported to Ciudad Juárez, a city that has witnessed 600 crimes against women like Maria in the past 15 years. Kavangaugh’s introduction works to exploit the negative aspects of the American government’s current deportation system and how it can, knowingly, separate families and destroy the lives of productive individuals within our society. As Kavanaugh continues, his second paragraph brings into perspective the scope of the issue, quoting that there are potentially “12 to 14 million “undocumented aliens” (26) residing in the United States. Wh...
During the 1900’s, it was common for people to immigrate to America. They saw it as a land of freedom and opportunity. Some thought that this was a great way for the US’ economy to boom, but some thought otherwise. With the shortage of jobs, many believed that the immigrants were stealing their precious jobs. Because of the competition over jobs, immigrants became the new public enemy to many. Immigrants such as the Japanese. The Japanese had already been through some racial discrimination, but it wasn’t until World War II that it got much worse. During the war the US decided it was best to be neutral, but the longer the war went on for, The more the US’ neutrality was on the verge of breaking. It wasn’t until December 7, 1941, that the US
Daniel, Roger is a highly respected author and professor who has majored in the study of immigration in history and more specifically the progressive ear. He’s written remarkable works over the history of immigration in America, in his book Not like Us he opens a lenses about the hostile and violent conditions immigrants faced in the 1890’s through the 1924’s. Emphasizing that during the progressive area many immigrants felt as they were living in a regressing period of their life. While diversity of ethnicity and race gradually grew during this time it also sparked as a trigger for whites creating the flare up of nativism. Daniel’s underlines the different types of racial and ethnical discrimination that was given to individual immigrant
The drive to keep jobs out of the hands of Mexicans had the highly undesirable result of forcing many families to depend on welfare to survive. Many Mexicans were forced to leave and rounded up by immigration officials, while others were intimidated by immigration practices and left voluntarily. While some left willingly because of the poor economic outlook, hoping things would be better in Mexico, others were deported even if they had come to the United States legally. One reporter called for an investigation of immigr...
Latino/a immigrants share similar experiences of anti-immigrant rhetoric just like other immigrant groups. Many Latino/as in America have faced negative comments based on their identity. For example, Rush Limbaugh, a radio host, expounds negative comments toward Latino/as, particularly Mexicans. He claimed that Mexicans are “a renegade, potential[ly] criminal element” that is “unwilling to work” (Media Matters for America, 2/28/06). These malice comments were similar to that of other immigrants. As other immigrant groups of non-English descent started arriving in America, there was an immigrant phobia towards the newcomers. During the mid-1700s, Benjamin Franklin said ...
John Higham explains in "Racism Immigration Restriction" that in Americans at the turn of the century already had a dislike for the new immigrants and now with more entering America after World War I, the personal dislike intensified. He writes: "...the transformation of relative cultural differences into an absolute line of cleavage, which would redeem the northwestern Europeans from the charges once leveled at them and explain the present danger of immigration in terms of the change in its sources." (Doc 1) People believed these immigrants could not adapt to the "standardized" way of American living, as the Northwestern or Nordic immigrants did. These new immigrants' presence in America stirred up religious racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan.
What would it be like to wake up everyday knowing you would get bullied, mistreated, and/or abused just because of where you were born? Discrimination still exists! “Discrimination remains and there is an increase in hate crimes against Hispanics, Latinos and Mexican-Americans, as one of the perceived symbols of that discrimination, the U.S.-Mexico Border Fence, nears completion. Instead of pulling together in these difficult times, we may see a greater polarization of attitudes” (Gibson). But why are hate crimes increasing towards Latin and Hispanic aliens and what types of discrimination are occurring against them? Understanding violence towards the Hispanic and Latin alien is divided into three main classes; the difference between legal and illegal aliens, the attacks and effects, and the point of view of different people towards aliens.
Ngai, Mae M., and Jon Gjerde. "Congressman Jerry Patterson Details Needs of Refugees in California, 1981." Major Problems in American Immigration History: Documents and Essays. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 526-528. Print.
Starting in the late nineteenth century until the end of World War II, the immigration policy in the United States experienced dramatic changes that altered the pace of immigration. High rates of immigration sparked adverse emotions and encouraged restrictive legislation and numerous bills in Congress advocated the suspension of immigration and the deportation of non-Americans (Wisconsin Historical Society). Mexican American history was shaped by several bills in Congress and efforts to deport all non-Americans from the United States. The United States was home to several Spanish-origin groups, prior to the Declaration of Independence. The term “Mexican American” was a label used to describe a number of Hispanic American groups that were diverse and distinct from each other (Healey). Between 1910 and 1930, Mexican’s immigrated to the Southwest regions of the United States and began to work as low paid, unskilled physical laborers. Mexican immigrants took jobs as migratory laborers or seasonal workers in mines or on commercial farms and ranches. These jobs resulted in isolation and physical immobility with little opportunity for economic success (Mitz). Mexican Americans were not alone in their struggle to adapt to mainstream America and fight racial discrimination in education, jobs, wages and politics.
Erika, Lee. "U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues." Journal of American Ethnic History. Vol. 20. Issue 2 (2001): n. page. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
Ngai, Mae M. 2004 “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America” Publisher: Princeton University Press.
This resulted in nationalism. “Nearly a half-million Mexican’s entered the United States between 1920 and 1929. compromising over 15 percent of total immigration during that period” (Chapter 8, The Mexican). Immigrant Experience. Many Americans were distraught over the fact that foreigner’s from.
...xperienced harsh discrimination and even legal exclusion from our country. They were blamed for the lack of job opportunities and low pay of jobs and received extremely unfair treatment that labeled them as an inferior race. However, the inter-ethnic tension blinded us from seeing how the immigrants were contributing to our country in positive ways. They not only created economic and social gains for us, but also opened our minds to a whole new way of life and prepared us for the multicultural years to come. With all of the help and modernization that they contributed to our country, the racism and discrimination that the Chinese immigrants received day-in and day-out was not rightly justified or deserved.