Anyone who is an immigrant is
labeled as being an outsider, as being different, as being a problem. Why does
every immigration story have an undertone that has been heard throughout the
ages? Every ethnic group of people that has immigrated to the United States
started from the same place, the bottom. Anita Diamant’s The Boston Girl tells Addie Baum’s immigrant experience and
assimilation into American culture. My grandfather came in 1985 from Ecuador to
chase the American dream; my father came to chase after my grandfather. Whether
it’s 1915 or 2016, there is an immigration story out there of someone’s life
changing and adjusting to American culture and society.
In 1960 there were 6 million
Hispanic immigrants making up 3.24 percent of the nations population; today,
there are more than 50 million Hispanic immigrants making 16 percent of the
nations population. During the Great Depression the number of immigrants ceased
to rise, and many Mexican immigrants went back to Mexico. After World War II,
there was a farm labor shortage and the Federal Government, “approach[ed]
Mexico about the possibility of implementing an emergency bilateral labor
agreement.” But Mexico was, “still stinging from the humiliation suffered by
Mexican nationals and their children during the repatriation campaigns of the
previous decade…” Eventually the agreement was signed, the economy of the U.S.
rose for the first time since the Depression and the number of legal immigrant
workers grew exponentially. After every boom there is a bust and the demand for
immigrant workers decreased, but people still found ways to cross the boarder
in order to prosper economically (Gutiérrez).
On December 18, 1985, my
grandparents had decided to tell my dad and his siblings that they were leaving
to America. My grandparents would go first, making some money, and have a place
for them to live for when they brought my dad, aunt, and uncle. America is
pictured as the roads being painted in gold. They believed that they could have
a better life in America than they did in Ecuador, but it was not the case.
Jacob, my uncle, was 13; Aracely, my aunt, was 10; and Hugo, my dad, was 11
when they left. At the time having a cell phone was only for those who were
really well off, most people only had landlines. My grandparents would call to
check in on them every month or so, but it was not enough to fill the void they
had left behind. About a year later my grandparents arranged for my uncle and
dad to cross the boarder with a coyote. They traveled to Mexico with their aunt
and were picked up in the middle of the night by the coyote to begin their trip
north. They made it past the boarder, but were caught trying to meet up with
their parents. My dad and his brother spent two months in juvenile detention
until a family friend was able to claim them and take responsibility for them.
Education was not at the top of my grandparent’s list similar to Addie’s
parents. My dad went from a Jesuit school to Beranger, a whole new environment
to adjust to. My grandparents came with the idea of having a better life in
America, but they were struck with reality and working twice as hard to get by.
My dad was still hopeful to achieve that better life that his parents dreamed
of (Zavala).
Hispanic immigrants came in search
for work and were turned away after the Great Depression hit. After World War
II, Hispanic immigrants were given working visas in order to make up for the
shortage of farm laborers. It was then when Hispanic immigrants saw America as
a way to prosper economically; they started arriving in waves. My grandparents
later in 1985 came for a better life. The immigrant experience has not changed
much from the late 1900s up until the 21st century.
Work Cited
Gutiérrez, David G.
"Immigration." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the
Interior, n.d.
Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageinitiatives/latino/latinothemestudy/immigration.htm
>.
Zavala,
Hugo. "My Immigrant Experience." Personal interview. 23 Feb. 2016.
