Week 9- Dominique Lawson- Rethinking Immigration/ Remaking Identities

Rethinking Immigration
     I have no personal experiences with immigration except for my relationship with Alina. My mentee immigrated from Costa Rica. She was integrated in a school similar to the settings that we find in The Inner World of the Immigrant Child. Attending AMIS has allowed Alina to acculturate easily. She speaks English very well and puts time into making sure that she does not forget her native Spanish. Seeing her with the other students shows me that she is comfortable in her new life because she has many friends and has many other students come up just to say hello to her. She always has a smile on her face and rarely tells me of negative experiences in her life.
     The U.S. has multiple views of immigration. In times of economic hardship there is a negative view on immigration, in times of economic prosperity there is a positive view on immigration (Suárez- Orozco, 37). There are also many stereotypes surrounding immigration to America. Many think that there are more illegal immigrants than there are legal immigrants in the U.S., they also believe that almost all immigrants are associated with crime. There are thoughts that immigrants take all of the jobs of Americans and that they are impartial to the American culture because they don't speak English. Each of these misconceptions was proven wrong in the second chapter of Children of Immigration. It is important that Americans learn the facts so that the thought surrounding immigration is changed. The internet is a viable resource of statistics and there are many books that can be looked at so that Americans can become better informed.

Remaking Identities

There are many pressures surrounding immigration identity. There is the peer pressure, societal pressure, pressure to succeed, and the pressures and stresses of everyday life as an immigrant. In order to rethink cultural identity to be more encompassing of cultural differences we must realize that it is hard to adjust to a new culture. We must also learn to accept the cultural differences of others instead of judging them. Many of the differences are not that much of a change from our own cultural practices. In chapter 4 of the Suárez- Orozco novel we are taught of the many challenges faced by immigrants in adjusting to a new society and deciding how to form a desirable identity. It is not an easy task and we must recognize that and attempt to help those struggling with it.