What caught my attention from Alysha's blog was the was the story of the Honduran immigrant, that was taken over custody after reporting a case of domestic violence that her sister had. To me this is unfair and unreasonable since they focused more in the immigration problem than in the crime that was reported. I cant believe how can people separate a family for their place of origin.
Stephanie Rivera's heritage history was the post that caught my attention the most. The most surprising paragraph was the fourth were she speaks of her grandmother ancestor and how her family practically owned Santa Isabel. How would have thought that a typical American family had so rich history.
In Stephanie Ruiz heritage its little different from the rest of my class mates, since she also has French blood. Her immigration story is not the same as many of the other students stories since her family originally immigrated to the United States passing trough Ellis Island; after becoming American citizens part of her family moved to the island were she was born. Her family is wide and full of history and that's why this post is so interesting.
Her culture choice for the immigration post was the Japanese, just like me. it was interesting compare information she had to the one I had; most of the information was very similar but it still it was cool to hear her opinion about this topic.
If you are from Puerto Rico and you look back at your ancestry for sure you will find at least one person of each of these races: Spanish, Indians, and Africans. Our history begins with the arrival of the Spanish conquerors to America in search for gold. Their desire for wealth, fame and pride led them to take the indigenous population almost to the point of extinction. The decrease of the laboring hand forced them to bring the third mayor racial influence, the Africans. Even though there are other countries from where people immigrated to Puerto Rico those are the three most prominent.
In my family there is no one that looks a like due to the racial variation. My mother heritage is from Spanish planters that settled in Cayey, as clearly seen in their pale skin, light eyes, and blond hair; but we do not have to go that far to see an example of immigration since my grad parent migrated to the United States in search of a better job, they settled there for a few year then, just like many of the immigrants to the U.S. they returned to Puerto Rico and settled in Guayama where they lived until they parted. As for my father’s heritage I don’t know much but from tails that my grandmother told me they were Spanish miners that lived in Barranquitas.
My family has a lot of Spanish influence when it comes to our appearance but just like everyone else in the island, somewhere in my blood line there are Indians and Africans as well. I am proud of my heritage since thanks to them I am here now living a life full of liberties that many other people in the world don't have.
From the time of the nation's founding, immigration has been crucial to the United States' growth and a periodic source of conflict. In recent decades, the country has experienced another great wave of immigration, the largest since the 1920s. However, for the first time, illegal immigrants outnumbered legal ones. The number of illegal immigrants peaked at an estimated 11.9 million in 2008. About 11.2 million illegal immigrants were living in the United States in 2010, a number essentially unchanged from the previous year, a 2011 study showed.
Republicans and Democrats have agreed for years on the need for sweeping changes in the federal immigration laws. President George W. Bush for three years pushed for a bipartisan bill before giving up in 2007 after an outcry from voters opposed to any path to legal status for illegal aliens. Since then the issue had in effect been dormant, as both parties were wary of the divisive passions it can arouse. But immigration reform came back to life in April 2010 after the passage of a new Arizona statute that is the nation's toughest on illegal immigration.
On July 28, 2010, one day before the law was to take effect, a federal judge blocked Arizona from enforcing the statute's most controversial provisions, including sections that called for officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws and that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times.
While Arizona's law was blocked, the center of activity on immigration began to swing toward the states. In the lame-duck session of Congress in late 2010, Democrats put forward legislation that would would allow illegal immigrant students to earn legal status through education or military service. The measure was meant to bolster support among Hispanics, an increasingly important voter group, and in fact, Hispanic support proved crucial in saving some Democrat seats in the midst of a Republican sweep.
It passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. And the Republicans given control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections do not support an overhaul of immigration laws that President Obama has promised to continue to push.
Legislative leaders in at least half a dozen states have said they will propose bills similar to Arizona's law, and have announced measures to limit access to public colleges and other benefits for illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them. And at least five states have agreed on an unusual coordinated effort to cancel automatic United States citizenship for children born in this country to illegal immigrant parents.
Opponents say that effort would be unconstitutional, arguing that the power to grant citizenship resides with the federal government, not with the states. Still, the chances of passing many of these measures appear better than at any time since 2006, when many states, frustrated with inaction in Washington, began proposing initiatives to curb illegal immigration...
In a way I agree with senator Ruben Diaz argument, were are their promises. It is easy to promise something but were is the action, both in this article and in the video it is spoken about the ineffectiveness of the federal government plans for the future, since much is being planed little is being done. The effect of this ineffectiveness is clearly seen in the Arizona bill were the state government went over the federal government and passed a set of racial laws specially to Latinos, but like senator Diaz I think it had to happen since this are the things that force the government to take action. Immigration is a serious social and economic situation in one state, it is a problem that affects every one and it is time that the government get their ideas straight and start tacking action.
After almost two years of absence in Japan my father has return to our small mountain village, to take us to America. We have been preparing for this journey almost a year from now, and today is the day we part to America. We traveled miles to a small city in the east coast of Japan. There we boarded a big ship and began our oversea journey, to this place called America. I hold my tears as I saw our home land disappear under the blue waves of the Pacific Ocean, knowing that I would not see it for a long time.
June 5, 1909:
Today after month on sea we have arrived at a small island at the coat of what my father said is California. My father had to leave us in this island until mom, my big brother and I were allowed to enter the country.
It is night time and my brother and I have been separated from our mom, and sent to a room where we had to spend the next couple of days. This day has gone so slow and I my boredom grow by the minute.
August 12, 1909:
It has been almost a week since we were allowed in the United States. It is so hard to feet in especially since I do not know that much English. At the table I have asked my father several times, “Why couldn’t we go back to Japan?” he would always say, “Going back is not an option; that here we, his sons, could achieve more.” Tomorrow we start in Asian middle school, and I cannot wait to meet new friends.
August 4, 1910:
Today my dad’s restaurant was rubbed for the second time since we got to America. I asked my father: “Why they do this?” and hi responded: “They fell threatened by us.” I do not understand why are we hated so much, and why don’t they understand that we could not go home.
After school and the incident at the restaurant we gathered at home to commemorate our first day as a family in America. This new life has been hard, but we have managed to finish our first year at it well and together.I am afraid for what this new year could bring, but I am ready for it!
By the second half of the XIX century Japan was undergoing a harsh transition to a modern economy. The modernization of Japans economy led to a rise of unemployment’s, and a great number of bankruptcies. This forced many Japanese citizens to live their home land in search of economic opportunities, and to ensure safety to their love ones from the civil riots caused by the economic downfall. These needs for immigration led many Japanese to the Hawaiian island were the sugar industry was flourishing, were they would not come as settlers but as labors hired by plantation owners. Most of these workers were single men and they used to return to their homeland as sun as they made enough money. When The United States took over Hawaii many of these contracts canceled, leaving many Japanese settlers free to travel to the main land U.S., especially to California.
When a Japanese citizen or a family decided to leave to America they had to make preparations. Most of the time the Male would leave to America and raise the money for the rest of the tickets and for the new life once they got to their new home. The over sea journey took week and even months, and when they got to the U.S. they had to stop at Angel Island. Angel Island is the place where all Asians immigrants stayed for evaluation, before they were allowed in the country. After a process that could have taken month they would be asked some questions; if they answer them right they would be allowed in the country, and if they didn’t they would have been deported back to their country.
At first Japanese immigrants were welcomed as substitutes for the Chinese at low skilled jobs. Mostly they started working at plantations were they were pay by how much they collected and since they worked harder and longer than the white they earned more money; then they acquired land since they were willing to pay more for it than other people. This quick transition brought many racial problems. Both in Hawaii and in the main land legislations were passed to prevent them for getting better played jobs and to stop them for purchasing more land especially in California. The racial attitude toward the Japanese Americans increased in the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the mainland many Japanese Americans were detained as illegal aliens, and because they could not continue working many of their businesses had to be liquidated. Dot to the devastating economic ad racial effects many Japanese had to start over at works in housekeeping, plantations, and other low paying jobs. This racial problems began to change with the more educated and Americanized second generation Japanese Americans, that by the 1980 had equaled the incomes of an average American family. This changes of the second generation brought more racial acceptance to the Japanese community in America.
By making this editorial I have become more self aware of the serious topic that is immigration. I had always seen immigration as other people’s problems since in my life time I have not been affected by it, but now I can comprehend how serious and painful immigration can be. Usually our ignorance keep us from remembering that somewhere in our ancestry there were immigrants, that just like the Japanese left all they knew and had to search for a new beginning. Thanks to those who dared risk their live or were forced to come here I can enjoy the advantages of this land of opportunities, which is America.
Japanese American eating at one of the internment camps were many of them were sent s after the attack on Pearl harbor, Hawaii.
In this picture one can clearly see thee racial hate toward the Japanese immigrants.
Asian immigrants being medically checked in Angel Island
