Immigration in America

1. Immigration in America Songhua Hu Sociology Department Stanford University songhua@stanford.edu

2. Part IChinese, Koreans, Japanese Asian AmericansAsian American Immigration

3. Basic Questions: • What were the immigration experiences of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans who first came to the United States? • What happens to Asians who immigrate to the United States?

6. Why do people immigrate to the United States? • Involuntary Immigration • Many African Americans in the U.S. are descendants of forced immigrants • Slavery • Voluntary Immigration • Push Factors • Political or Religious persecution • Refugees • War • Economic • Environmental • Pull Factors • Work • Family • Education • Quality of Life

7. Asian Immigration History: the Chinese Experience • Chinese immigration begins mid 1800s • First to Hawaii, then to California (mostly San Francisco) • Push factors: • Many were escaping intense conflict in China: • British Opium Wars • Peasant rebellions • Bloody wars between the Punti (local people) and the Hakkas (guest people)

8. Asian Immigration History: the Chinese Experience • Pull Factors: • Cheap labor and docile work force • Economic opportunities • 1860s, in China a man might earn $3-5/month while in America he could make $30/month working for the railroad companies.

9. Asian Immigration History: the Chinese Experience • Discrimination from white laborers • Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 • Severely limited the number of immigrants from China • From 1910-1940, Angel Island was used to detain those who were trying to come the U.S. from China. • 1924 Immigration Act denies entry to virtually all Asians

10. Asian Immigration History: the Chinese Experience

11. Asian Immigration History:The Japanese and Korean Experience • Similar stories like Chinese immigration • Push and pull factors • Brought in to divide the labor force

12. Discrimination Against Asians • 1906: School segregation • 1913: Denial of right to own land • 1924: Immigration Act denies entry to virtually all Asians • World War II: Japanese Internment

13. Japanese Internment: • “all persons of Japanese ancestry” are given 2-5 days notice to dispose of their homes and property and report to the “camps” • Why?

16. Japanese Internment: • “all persons of Japanese ancestry” are given 2-5 days notice to dispose of their homes and property and report to the “camps” • 120,000: Japanese Americans detained in the camps • 80,000: U.S. citizens • 40,000: younger than 19 years of age • $400,000,000 worth of Japanese property lost

17. Apology for Internment • 1987: House of Representatives • 1988: U.S. Senate • 1989: President George Bush: Pay $20,000/person to each survivor of the camps.

19. Asian Immigration History: Women’s Experience • Come along with their families • Brought in for the interests of plantation owners • “Picture Brides”

22. Contemporary Asian Immigration • Importance of the 1965 Immigration Act • changed the criteria for judging immigration applications. • National origin was no longer a criterion • helped many Asian groups enter America

24. From Chinese, Japanese, Koreans to Asian Americans • What happens to Chinese, Japanese, Koreans who have been in the United States for a long time or their entire lives (second generation and beyond)?

25. Melting Pot or Salad Bowl • Melting Pot (Assimilation) • Discard old identity • Adopt American culture, tastes and habits • No longer feel ethnic or close to immigrant identity • Salad Bowl (Pluralism) • Maintain “old” culture and identities • Share common goals of the nation

26. Asian American Stereotypes in U.S. • Asian Males portrayed in U.S. media • Everybody knows kung-fu • Everybody is good at math • Asian Females portrayed in U.S. media • Submissive and quiet • Sexually exotic and desirable

28. Part IIRecent Immigration Debate

32. How big is the problem? • About 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States • Each year some 500,000 to a million more enter the country • Mostly through the US-Mexico borders • Many are poorly educated, unskilled workers • For example, much of California's agriculture relies on migrant labor

35. Why is it so charged? • Polls: illegal immigration as a very serious problem

37. Why is it so charged? • Polls: illegal immigration as a very serious problem • Minutemen movement

38. Minuteman Movement

39. Why is it so charged? • Polls: illegal immigration as a very serious problem • Minutemen Movement • “Day without Immigrants” protest

40. “Day without Immigrants”

41. Mountain View Stanford San Jose

42. What are the key issues? • The enforcement of the country's land borders • The reform of existing laws on immigration • A wall along the border? • The penalties against businesses employing illegal migrants • Plans for guest-worker programs • English as a required language?

43. The debate • National security • Taking Americans’ jobs • Punish the employers • Have tried amnesty, but it did not work • Human rights and civil rights • American dream • Family ties • Be practical • Guest-worker program

44. Conclusion • The history of Asian immigration in the USA • Melting pot or salad bowl • Immigration debate