Immigration-The American Dream
Ever since its discovery, the North-American continent has been the synonym for a prosperous country where by working hard one can achieve a fulfilled life and rich and lucrative career. Every day, people from different countries enter the USA in search for a better life for themselves and their children as well. One can notice the glimpse of hope, admiration, and fear in their eyes as they set out on this journey. However, they have to forget their previous social position, their university degrees, their ethnical background, and have to start from the beginning. As children, we listen to so many stories of how some important businessman or entrepreneur succeeded by beginning from selling apples to owning a multimillion company. The majority of immigrants have someone who has made it in the USA and driven by the same desire they are prepared to leave everything behind in order to pursue their dream. What is their dream: a good job, a nice house with a garage, and a pet, preferably a dog? This is an image of a perfect life that every immigrant dreams about. The reality and fact reveal different data. Many illegal immigrants are forced to do the jobs that no one else wants to do, without health insurance, and paid sick leave. This is pessimistic and gloom picture of America-The Promised Land and questions the myth of existence of the American Dream.
People who come to the USA in search for the American Dream, regardless of their race or ethnical origin, share the one thing in common- nostalgia. In the book Nostalgia and the Immigrant Identity, Ritivoi deals with the connection of nostalgia and immigrants. What is nostalgia for an immigrant? As cited by Ritivoi, "Nostalgia prompts questions regarding the function of remembering, distinctions between escapist fantasy and the imagination as repository of ideals, considerations of identity as a self-sufficient entity or as culture-and-context bound" (32). A familiar smell or a song can remind and invoke homesickness. Immigrants long for their friends, their country and culture. The vast majority of immigrants create their own piece of homeland on the American soil where they can speak their native language and enjoy in their food and culture. However, nothing can replace the familiar things that one has home. Many studies have been conducted on this issue. It seems that immigrants when starting up their search for a better life dismiss the possibility of feeling homesick and look only on the material side. Upon arriving to the USA, they encounter with cultural shock and the inability to adapt to the new surroundings makes them even more nostalgic and they tend to magnify all the good things about their homeland. Even though we live in the modern technological era, where communication is possibly on a global level, the nostalgia prevails in many cases.
The USA is branded as a country that offers equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their color of skin or ethnic origin. However, in reality the advantage is given to people who are of European origin and Caucasian race. Stereotypes relating to a particular ethnical population keep the same population in a ghetto, preventing them to have the same chances as the others. As the largest ethnical group of immigrants comes from Mexico, there is the need to reflect on them. The reasons for immigration are mainly rooted in their close connection and geographical position in relation to the USA. The Mexican immigration dates from the beginning of the twentieth century and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However, it is impossible to count the number of immigrants, especially illegal, because they did not enter into the system and cannot be counted. As cited by Powel, "In some cases, however, such as illegal immigration of Mexicans into the United States, the flow becomes so great as to require separate study based on unofficial sources, projections, and secondary figures related to the provision of government service" (Preface). However, there are some cities that are mostly populated by Mexican immigrants. Such city is Los Angeles. Powel states that, "By 2000, more than 5 million Mexican Americans lived in Los Angeles, making them the largest immigrant group by far" (180). The reason can be found in the fact that Los Angeles is neat to Mexican border. However, the division between different ethnical groups Mexicans and native American exist, and the hostility towards immigrants might even increased since the increased of arrival of South-American immigrants.
Today, Mexican immigrants are the main working force at the south of the USA. One cannot see the Mexican immigrant as the leading manager or a director of multi-corporation owned by the Americans. On the other hand, in their home country they would have the opportunity to be valued by their community. In spite of this, there are instances where Mexican immigrants managed to succeed and fulfill the American Dream. One of such examples is Rosa Lopez, a woman of Mexican origin who managed to fulfill her American Dream. Balogun (2014) reveals the Rosa's path by stating, "Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Lopez became an American citizen in 2008, and after decades of hard work she recently bought her first home." In spite of her success, Rosa is aware that many immigrants are left on the margins of the society and fearlessly fights for their rights. Furthermore, Balogun (2014) states "Although hers is an immigration story that exemplifies the best our country has to offer, she has witnessed the heartache of friends and families who live in the shadow". The conclusion that can be drawn from this example is that Rosa is one out of millions of undocumented immigrants who managed to win in the battle of achieving the American Dream.
Each day, the USA is faced with the increasing number of Asian immigrants. They come to America running away from the communist regimes, low standards, and civil wars. Notably, some of them come in order to receive an education and return home. The jobs that were done by low-class African-American population are now allocated to immigrants. As cited by Luttwak, "In uncounted number, they are now to be found working as manual laborers, janitors, restaurant workers, groundskeepers, office cleaners, warehouse loaders, etc. (208)" The social status of low-class working labor is changed through the influx of immigrants who have come to the USA in search for a better life. Even though there are many American companies that operate in the Asian countries, the wages and opportunities that are offered are better in America. This is one of the reasons why immigrants come to the USA.
Regardless of the gloom statistics, it seems that immigrants are the ones that maintain the existence of the American Dream. As Meyer states, "The United States is often referred to as 'nation of immigrants' "(1). America represents the land of opportunities with its impressive diversity and a place where if one works hard, he will succeed. The similar reasons prevail in all ethnical groups for immigrating to the USA. Due to the diversity, many universities that reflect on the life of Asians or South-American exist and deal with the issues of immigrants. However, many native Americans feel that the immigrants are obstructing their American Dream, as it is not just the privilege of immigrants. Furthermore, Meyer states, "Illegal immigration from Central and South America to the USA undermines core elements of the American Dream such as the opportunity of climbing the social ladder, security of life and liberty, and America's social security for everyone living in the U.S." (1). This creates a gap between native population and immigrants, as they observe each other as rivals. One must admit that the reasons are natural and the drive for self-preservation and survival makes immigrants to face with the adventure of going into the unknown.
However, on reaching the USA soil, many of immigrants quickly adapt to a new culture and new way of life. They become Americanized. This is what happened with Daniel Alarcón's character, Francisco. "He promised to write. He promised to call" (Alarcón, 2). Francisco, later Frank, forgot his parents and his brother who had placed all their hopes in him. They saw in Francisco their ticket for the better life, but they never received it. The society where one has to take care only about himself won. The individualistic life-style becomes dominant in Francisco’s case. In spite of the fact that Francisco had the American passport as he was born in America, he did not manage to fulfill the American Dream. The factors that separated him from others were that he was a Mexican who had become popular among his peers teaching them Spanish. He was like an entertainer. Francisco did not have the motivation to succeed. He frequently changed place of residence and could not keep a job for a longer period of time. The lack of motivation prevented him to become assimilated and help his family. Even Alarcón writes, "Maybe what he wanted most of all was to forget where he’d come from, to leave those troubles and stunted dreams behind and become what his passport had always said he was: an American" (7). One cannot escape from its own cultural identity, no matter how hard he tries. Maybe the things would have turned out better if Francisco helped his family to join him and pursued his education, he could have become a Spanish teacher and fulfill the American Dream. After all, it is the land of opportunities.
Ever since the boom of immigrating in the America, it seems that fulfilling the American Dream has never been more difficult. Bearing on mind the difficult position of immigrants in the USA, the cultural differences that may prevent someone to achieve this goal, the USA stands as the symbol of democracy and the country where ones dreams can come true. The research paper points out that there are cases where someone managed to achieve their American Dream, but the vast majority of immigrants see this dream as a disappointment. The racial and cultural stereotypes that exist towards population from Latin-America or Asia prevent them from fulfilling their maximum. Based on the given references, it may be concluded that race matters, even though in theory everybody has the same opportunities. The other negative consequence of the life of immigrants is the never-ending nostalgia that never fades away. The position of every person who is far away from his country is filled with long hours of solitude and longing. To sum up, the American Dream is a myth that echoes through the stories of the one who managed to come to the USA and assimilate.
Alarcón, Daniel. Second Lives. The New Yorker. 16. August 2010. Print.
Hoefer, Michael., Rytina, Nancy., and Baker C. Bryan. Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2010. Office of Immigration Statistics. 2011. Print.
Balogun, Jumoke. "Fighting for the American Dream: An immigration story". SEIU. Org. 28. January 2014. Web. 4. December 2014. http:// www.seiu.org/
Luttwak. N. Edvard. Endangered American Dream. Touchstone: New York. (1993): 208. Print.
Powel, John. Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. (2005). Print.
Meyer, Melanie, Maria. "The Undermining of the American Dream Through Illegal Immigration". Grin Verlag. 2010. Print.
Ritivoi, Andrea, Deciu. Nostalgia and Immigrant Identity. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2002: 32. Print.
