American History

The reference to America as a teeming nation of nations by poet Walt Whitman many years ago has continued to be a feature of mainstream America even in the 20th century. The patterns of immigration witnessed in the 14th to 18th century have proliferated in modern days albeit with a slightly different orientation. Modern Immigrants to America literally stream from all parts of the globe. According to statistics provided by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (1990), the majority of modern immigrants to the US are from Latin America (Mexico), the Asian subcontinent (India) and Southeastern Asia (China, Vietnam, Philippines and Korea). This study will concentrate primarily on the Chinese and Latin America immigrants who have largely exhibited characteristics of the early immigrants to the United States.

There is a significant similarity between the reasons why the modern immigrants and the old immigrants came to America. In his book, coming to America, Maestro (1996) asserts that some of the major reasons why immigrants left their countries of origin included the search for better economic opportunities that were lacking in their home countries, pursuit of better educational opportunities, religious freedom and political asylum. For the early immigrants, America was a beacon of freedom, liberty and opportunities. For the modern immigrants, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) identifies the search for better economic opportunities as the primary reason for their immigration. The United States has proliferated greatly in the 20th century and overtaken 19th century supreme powers of Europe in both industrial and military might. As such, individuals seeking better opportunities find the United States more alluring to their adventures. The great upsurge in immigrants to the United States since 1960s have significantly rewarded a majority of the immigrants who have found jobs and educational opportunities in a fast growing and expanding economy. A good number of modern immigrants also come to the United States seeking better education opportunities (Bankston  Hidalgo, 2006).  These are mainly young people seeking specialized training in special fields such as medicine, architecture, and Engineering and computer science. This trend has especially risen due to the rise of international cooperation between the US and their home countries and the rapid improvement of technology and ease of transportation.  The clamor for higher quality education by immigrants in the United States has been contributed by a rising competition for job opportunities in the immigrants home countries. For instance, the population of Latin America was approximately 150 million in the 1950s. An exceptional population growth in the region is expected to push the population to about 845 million by 2025. 50 of these people will be more than 18 years of age by then and this induces an exceptional strain on the countries to reciprocate employment opportunities for such a staggering population growth. Faced by stiff competition when they go seeking for employment, the young people are forced to venture out to reputable countries to seek better education that enables them to have competitive advantage when they go back to their home countries. A good number of those seeking educational opportunities repatriates back to their countries to offer specialized services within communities where they do not feel as outsiders (Williams, 2004, p. 83). However, a good number settle in the US permanently where they find employment and opt to be sending money to their kin back home. Unlike the early immigrants who had a choice to explore America and go back to their countries loaded with wealth, modern immigrants have to struggle in a competitive environment and are forced to stay due to economic implications other than choice.

In addition, some of the skills they acquire in the US do not find immediate application in their home countries due to lower levels of development. Such immigrants fear going back to their home countries for lack of opportunities to apply their skills. Just like the initial immigrants experienced disappointment with America, the same happens with modern immigrants coming to the United States. The arrival of immigrants is marked with incredible expectation of the US as the land of possibilities and opportunities. This however changes dramatically when they face a tight and demanding economy as well as the prejudice and discrimination that still permeate the modern American society. Most immigrants especially from Latin America who comes in with little education and low skills only manage to get low paying and menial jobs such as in restaurants and the transport sector. The amount they earn strains them and they are forced to work many hours to supplement their income. The realization that one has to be competitive to make it in America dashes the hopes of these new immigrants which was a unique feature among the early immigrants who upon settling in the US started longing to go back to their home countries.

Another significant similarity, for instance, between modern Chinese and Latin America immigrants to the Asian and Greek immigrants who came into the country early is a tendency to occupy specific locations within the country where they form strong social groupings. For instance, nearly half of the Chinese immigrants in the US have settled in only California and New York while the other 50 is spread in many of the other states (Migration Information Source, 2008). This implies that the unique settlement patterns that were a characteristic of the early immigrants have continued to dominate the settlement patterns in modern day immigration. For instance, majority of Mexican immigrants are concentrated in States such as California, Arizona and Colorado indicating that modern immigrants are likely to live and move to areas populated by immigrants with similar backgrounds.

Developments and changes in the United States since 1960 have produced different effects on immigrants. First, economic changes in the wider American society produced an economic boom in the early periods of 1960s and 1970s. The proliferation of industries around the period resulted in a great increase in demand for labor which resulted to a great absorption of the immigrants in formal sectors. A good number of immigrants especially from China were also able to acquire technical and industrial skills that enabled their absorption into growing sectors such as engineering and medicine (Daniels, 1988, p. 17). More recently, immigrants of Chinese Origin comes into the country with a vast background of information technology knowledge and this has contributed to their absorption in the massively grown computer related industry. 

Despite the gains made by immigrants in the mid and late 20th century, the end of the 20th century has witnessed a resurgence of prejudice and bias against immigrants especially in relation to employment. Native Americans feels that the overwhelming numbers of immigrants have taken away their deserved employment opportunities and this has generated negative perceptions of the immigrants (Fallows, 1983). Due to this perception, immigrants have become susceptible to economic and social forces and were affected more than natives by economic trends such as the financial crisis that affected the US economy in late 2008 and 2009.

For instance, compared to native born Americans, Hispanic immigrants were adversely affected by the sub prime mortgage crisis and a majority faced foreclosures as opposed to other individuals. Socially, immigrants continue to face mild and active racism especially in schools for those children who are immigrants from non-English speaking countries. Changes in the legal systems have also affected the entry and status of immigrants in the United States. For instance, the 1965 Naturalization and Immigration Act restricted the entry of immigrants on the basis of their skills and family ties in the US. This implied that immigrants who could be allowed in the US from countries such as China had to meet some educational criteria and this segregated the stature of immigrants who could come into the country.  For instance, a proportionate number of modern Chinese immigrants are either allowed in through family ties or fulfillment of minimum educational requirements. The result is that most immigrants are skilled middle aged people who compete aggressively with other Americans on available opportunities.

In conclusion, there exists a great correlation between present day immigrants and old age immigrants in terms of motives and expectations when they are immigrating to the United States.  Though the modern immigrants are currently faced by massive challenges that impinge on their integration in the society, a majority have realized their American dreams of getting better jobs, education and being able to support their families in their native countries.