Immigration in the 19th Century
Causes of Distrust
Immigrants could not be trusted by the Native Americans because of economic concerns, cultural differences, and racial fears. Groups such as Italians, Irish, and Chinese were treated harshly both by the public and government officials. They were seen to be dangerous, unruly, and took jobs away from the Americans. They were resented because the natives feared the competition that the immigrants brought along (McCorkle 2018). The natives resented them because they had the perception that they were unassimilable, and were a rebellious group. They were also perceived to have wicked customs and habits and were accused of undermining the American cultural heritage. Immigrants were perceived to be a threat to the American way of life especially when they were linked to revolution and anarchy.
For the Chinese, their appearance was the perceived blame for their inability to assimilate. Apart from their physical appearance, their traditional dressing and hairstyle for the male were also blamed (Young 2017). They also preserved their cultural practices and spoke their native language and this for the American natives was a reason for not trusting them. For the Chinese, they got job opportunities in the mining field and on the railroads and within no time the Chinese immigrant population became extensively disseminated in most of the coastal and mountain states. Their culture was an existing threat to American democratic institutions. Economic factors played a role in the distrust; an example is how the Chinese showed competition with the natives for jobs in gold mines and the railway industry and could agree to work for minimal wages. Almost all the immigrants were distrusted because they were perceived to be immoral, criminals, subversive, and servile and could not assimilate.
These ideas came from racial and cultural prejudices which drove the perceptions that the natives had about the immigrants. The different languages they spoke, their religious beliefs, and traditions made them seem unwanted in the native population (Young 2017. These ideas came from how the immigrants appeared physically, their cultural practices, and how they dressed. The immigrants from Eastern Europe were Jews and were perceived to be greedy and materialistic because they competed with the natives in terms of work and housing. Immigrants who came as slaves were blamed for crime and conflict in labor just because they migrated to the U.S as slaves. These believes and ideas were a result of where the immigrants originated from, their tradition, culture, and the notions they had about the different immigrants. The Italians and Greeks were accused of kidnapping, the Russians for dealing with stolen goods, and the Italians for excessive drinking.
Current Immigration Debate
Both in the past and today, the American natives have expressed concern about immigration lowering wages and also the new immigrants failing to assimilate into American society. The current debate about the nature of migration selection has posed policies on how to migrate to the U.S whereby the migrants are selected from the source country, based on observable skills and education. This is reflected in the past concerns about immigration policies whereby there were no strict policies on the selection of immigrants. Currently, strict policies on immigration have been placed (Abramitzky & Boustan 2017). Advocates of the restrictive policy argued that immigration jeopardizes the economic, political, and cultural welfare. The American labor movement opposed immigration on the basis that the immigrants take American jobs and decline their wages. It was also argued that the immigrant’s unfamiliarity with the American political structure, their cultural and religious backgrounds cause a threat to the political institutions. Current research shows that the presence of immigrants has an increased impact on the economic growth, locally and nationally and this leads to a wage increase for the native workers. High levels of immigration encourage economic growth by increasing demand for housing and other facilities.
About the immigrant assimilation in the U.S, much of the modern works focuses on solving methodological problems to measure the changes in immigrant earnings with the time they have been there. Initially, immigrants earned less compared to natives when they first arrived (Abramitzky & Boustan 2017). After spending some years they caught up and currently immigrants reflect growth in their earnings. Advocates argue that immigrants are a cultural asset, who enriches American life through diversity. Immigrants assimilate into American society compared to the debate in the 19th century that the natives thought that they could not assimilate. They learn English and find employment in the public economy but very few feel fully part of the new society. The immigrants still speak in their mother tongue and continue with their cultural behaviors. Research shows that the new immigrants and more so their children are doing better in terms of assimilation.
The current debate about the ban on travel from Muslim countries in the country, criminal deportation, suspending the issuance of visa, refugee ban reflects a repetition of history (Young 2017). Muslims are perceived by natives as dangerous due to their alleged connection to religious radicals which is a fear that resonates with past fears about the dangerous civil associations on certain immigrant groups. In the 19th century, there had been several instances when the American government successfully issued a travel ban. People who are opposed to the Muslim religion claim that the group is unassimilable and that they originate from a culture that is extremely different from the natives. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first American federal policy to block the mass migration of a particular ethnic group. Another act referred to as the literacy act was another federal law that prevented the migration of specific groups. The Reed act was aimed at conserving racial uniformity by banning Arabs and Asians. The current debate about implementing immigration policies are meant to reduce the number of immigrants entering the country and discourage European countries from migrating. The separation of immigrant families which is also a recent debate brings a reflection of the past where people of color were separated from their families by being sold as slaves in different countries.
Difference between Current Concerns and the Past
Today’s concerns differ immensely from the past because unlike in the past where immigrants did not have to be skilled, today skilled workers are needed. In the past, low skilled workers could be employed but currently, because of modern technology, skilled workers are required. Today’s immigrants are permanent and generate net costs compared to the past who were temporary (Hirschman 2014). America today is congested due to many immigrants to the point of passing laws to limit the growth of their populations. In the past, the country was empty, and states recruited immigrants. Today there is a chain migration in that having close relatives in the United State makes you eligible to immigrate because the foreign relatives are eligible.
Migration today has become common as people migrate in search of a better livelihood, security, and employment. Today’s concerns include the different categories of immigrants and the issues that affect these populations. These issues include immigrant imprisonment, court backlogs, state and local immigration regulations, and legitimate rights that spread out to non-citizens (Schmidt 2019). Families have been scared by the recent policies on immigration fear that they will be deported to the foreign countries that they left long ago. Legal strategies have been set to deny asylum seekers to access the system. The different categories of people in the United States include US citizens, the associate members who are lawful permanent residents, family, immigrants who are there on employment, refugees, asylees, friends, and the undocumented category. The current concern about these categories is the changes in the current administration which has placed governmental obstructions to slow the legal immigration process. These obstructions are meant to discourage and burr prospective immigrants from seeking permanent residency. Another concern currently is the exclusion of a specific religion and making immigration almost impossible. For the refugees, their cases have been politically tossed and their admissions to the country could be blocked. Mass deportation for the undocumented category is a concern for the immigrants. It is perceived that they are an economic drain to society because they use government resources and do not pay taxes and are dangerous. The American undocumented immigration to date is an ongoing administrative, societal, and human rights challenge and a major concern.
References
Abramitzky, R., & Boustan, L. (2017). Immigration in American Economic History. Journal of
economic literature, 55(4), 1311–1345. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20151189
Hirschman C. (2014). Immigration to the United States: Recent Trends and Future Prospects.
Malaysian journal of economic studies : journal of the Malaysian Economic Association and the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, 51(1), 69–85.
McCorkle D.W (2018) Using History to Inform the Modern Immigration Debate in the United
States. Journal of International Social Studies, v. 8, n. 1, 2018, pp. 149-167
Schmidt, P. W. (2019). An Overview and Critique of US Immigration and Asylum Policies in
the Trump Era. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 7(3), 92–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/2331502419866203
Young, J. G. (2017). Making America 1920 again? Nativism and US immigration, past and
present. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 5(1), 217-235.
