About Immigration

Hi, everyone!

I get excited about writing a blog! I never did that before.
Our teacher Vanessa asked us to write about Immigration. Here we are!

The dictionary says Immigration is the process of coming to live permanently in a country that is not your own. Along the history of the world it is a very common process.
In fact, the birth of the USA was a result of several waves of immigrants. Early European colonies in North America include Spanish Florida, the British settlements in Virginia and New England, French settlements in Louisiana and Dutch settlements in New Netherlands.
Manny immigrants to the American colonies came for economic reasons. They were, in the majority, servants looking for a new life in the overseas colonies. Other groups came for the right to practice their religion without persecution. The lure of cheap land, religious freedom and the right to improve themselves with their own hands was very attractive to those who wished to escape from persecution and poverty.
Pilgrims is the name applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony, MA in 1620. They faced many challenges: bureaucracy, internal conflicts, storms, disease and uncertain relations with the indigenous people. Their story has become a central theme in the US Christina identity.

But, there were also those people that were forced to immigrate. Approximately four thousand black slaves came to the USA until 1810.

The golden age of immigration through New York took place in the early 20th century. From 1903 to 1914 one million people were processed through the Immigration Center on Ellis Island. The majority of the 12 million third-class passengers who arrived between 1892 and 1954 came from Europe: Italians, Russians, Turks and many more.

When they arrived in America after a long journey they saw The Statue of Liberty symbolizing new hopes and new dreams. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French to commemorate the Franco-American alliance against the British during the American War of Independence. She stands 50 meters high and has been a familiar sight since 1886. She guards the entrance to New York harbor and she is the most famous symbol of the USA.

The American society is considered a “melting pot”. This is a metaphor for the way in which homogeneous societies develop. The ingredients in the pot are people of different cultures and religions mixed together. The “melting pot” implies both a melting of cultures and intermarriage of ethnicities.

To many people around the world the USA represents a dream: the land of liberty, democracy, progress and wealth.
They want to live there even as an illegal immigrant.
People become illegal immigrants in three ways: by entering the country by crossing the border without authorization or inspection, staying beyond the authorized period after their legal entry and by violating the terms of their legal entry. Since 1992 between 400.000 and 700.000 unauthorized migrants have entered the US, each year, mainly crossing the US-Mexico border.

Border Patrol activity on the United States –Mexico border is concentrated around big border cities such as San Diego and El Paso, which have extensive border fencing. The Border Patrol has failed to control illegal immigration, instead pushing the flow into more remote regions and increasing the cost of each arrest.
Each year there are several hundred immigrant deaths along the US – Mexico border due to heat stroke, dehydration and hypothermia.

Brazil used to be a country that received immigrants from around the world. In recent years, however, at least a half million Brazilians have immigrated to the US. The largest Brazilian settlements are in New York, Florida, Boston and California. Almost 70% of Brazilians living in the US are illegal immigrants. They are, in the most, from middle-class families, ashamed to be immigrants and they think that is a temporary situation. While 59% of the Brazilian female immigrants in New York have gone to college, the majority work as maids, housekeepers, cooks or nannies. Among the men, almost all of them work as laborers, construction workers or bus boys in restaurants.

In 2006, millions of people were involved in protests against a proposed

reform in US immigration laws. The protests began in response to proposed legislation known as HR 4437, which would raise penalties for

illegal immigration and classify unauthorized immigrants and anyone who helped them to enter or remain in the US as felons. As part of the wider immigration debate, most of the protests wanted a review of this bill, but also a path to legalization for those who had entered the US illegally.

The USA owes its existence to immigration- from the Pilgrims in 1620 to more recent industrial pioneers and businessmen. But after the attack terrorist of 11th September 2001 there was an increase in the prejudice against immigrants. For some people the American dream can turn into a nightmare and even in the cause of their death.

Posted by Neide Silva

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