Category: Immigration

Media Bias and Immigration Policies: Shaping Perspectives and Public Opinion

Media Bias: Shaping Immigration Perspectives

Throughout the history of America, immigration has been a huge topic in the great country. Originally starting with the thirteen colonies, many people from England, and ultimately people from around the world, all immigrated to America to seek a better life. Those who came had nothing, struggling to stay alive and most likely seeking freedom, fleeing their homeland and looking for better opportunities in life. Unlike other countries, America has a lot of things that other countries do not have to offer.

Due to the number of opportunities and technology here in America, people in the States get to see the glorious life of being in beautiful cities. There are tall and beautiful buildings, roads that have a sense of direction, colossal buildings, brushed and paved highways, giant bridges, constant noises of cars, animals, and constructions surrounding the area with plenty of other factors that give people a sense of hope for a better life.

Not for long, immigration did not merely become a problem until conflicts started to take place that devastated the country economically. After incidents, such as the attack of 911, which caused a huge political Spurr throughout the country, newspapers, news channels, and people around the country formed many negative perspectives against America’s immigration policy. Not long later, government officials decided to strengthen the policy.

Immigration became harder to enter the U.S. and was followed by mass deportation. It created two sides of the perspective, one for the people of America and the other for the benefit of America. Deportation caused a great commotion throughout the country, especially for immigrant families. They were separated and had to take care of themselves. Children were abandoned, and parents had to witness their kids being taken away; not only that but also they had to find a way to stay alive for themselves and to seek their kids from afar.

Half the country is against the new immigration policy, and the other half agrees with it. The biased story forms that separated the country came upon liberals and conservatives. Media sources use biased tactics such as bias omission, biased selection of sources, and biased story selection to take sides. This is one of the only ways in which liberals and conservatives can express their own thoughts by writing articles through media sources. For the most part, media bias can be seen in everyday life without anyone knowing or paying attention to it.

Media Bias in Immigration Discourse

It appears on the news, shows, and even paper articles. It is very common for people to speak well for themselves and ignore the fact that disprove their beliefs. One of the most common media biases is called bias by omission. Bias, by omission, is a type of media bias that supports either liberals or conservatives. It focuses mostly on taking a side by promoting one side’s purpose while leaving the other side’s story out. For instance, ever since Donald Trump became the president, he promised in his quote to “Make America great again.”

Many people were curious as to what he would be able to do as the president of the United States. He is known for his wealth as the first billionaire to become president. Based on his background, he seems very knowledgeable about the economy as well as politics which makes him seem like a knowledgeable man. One decision he made to help improve the economy was his immigration policy. Trump made it hard for people to come to America as well as planning to deport all undocumented citizens of the country.

This seems like a bad decision that would go against one’s morals, but from Trump’s perspective, it will significantly benefit America. Through media, a source called “The Balance” talks about the pros of President Trump’s policy change. This is biased because of patriotism and a superpower country; everyone in the country would want the United States to stand on top of every other country. Anything that would help improve the economy would be good for the people as well as for the government.

On the other hand, the perspectives of those who are to be deported are different. They are rather sad and depressed since they are separated from their families and friends. Their view of the new policy is seen as harsh and evil. For example, the article from “Time” talks about “how Trump’s immigration policy is splitting families apart.” It is partly about how a husband from a family who was never accused of any crime but was ambushed by ICE agents while heading to work; got caught and was deported. Leaving without any words, he had no other choice except to part ways with his family.

Emotional Appeals and Source Selection

It’s biased because it ties into pathos, making people emotionally sad and angry. People do not generally want to hear these types of stories where families are forced to be a part of each other. Especially when the immigrant has not committed any crime and was merely driving to work in the hope of supporting his family. Bias by omission is a tactic that works well for one perspective while ignoring facts and statistics from the other opposing side. Besides bias by omission, audiences also like to hear opinions from experts or news sources. People generally believe words are coming out from experts. This type of media bias is called the selection of sources. Selection of sources is when media news sends out a speaker or source for themselves. The speaker can either be an expert in the field or a witness that shares their point of view on the subject, while the source is usually one-sided.

Most of the speakers that were picked are people that have the same perspective. They usually share what is usually called a one-sided story. It leaves out sources from the opposing point of view. For example, in the article from the “Time,” “No one is safe. How Trump’s immigration policy is splitting families apart”. The article is about an immigrant named Maria, whose husband was deported back to Mexico, and had to take care of her kid alone. In her quote, she cried, “It’s a cruel way to live!” Even though this quote seems short, it packs meaning to it. It is words coming out from the victim’s family that show the reader how it is cruel to live without her husband. It’s not only her; many other immigrants were also targeted and separated, and they all felt the same. One of the sources from the opposing side was from the list of pros and cons of the immigration policy. In the article, it said, “Illegal immigration lowers wages by 3 to 8 percent for low-skilled.

References:

1. “The Balance” (Source discussing pros of President Trump’s policy change)
2. “Time” (Source discussing the impact of Trump’s immigration policy on families)
3. List of pros and cons of the immigration policy (Source providing opposing viewpoint)

Contemporary Immigration Policies and Their Implications on the United States

US Immigration: Trends, Impact, and Demographics

Who are these people rushing by you on the street’? More than 200 million people now call America ‘home,’ but most of them can trace their families back to other parts of the world. There is great freedom of choice among ideas, dresses, food, and social customs in America. Everyone can find some part of his or her familiar place in America. In the past half-century, immigration has been very popular; every well-developed country has an influx of thousands of immigrants each year, and the United States is one of the most popular countries to people immigrate to. Since Trump took office, the new immigration rules are one after another. Even if they enter the US visa, they may be refused entry or even repatriated. Immigration ban recently implemented more and more strictly.

The United States is the country with the largest number of immigrants in the world. Immigrants are hailed as a way of migration on the planet. Such demographic changes have a positive effect on global economic and population optimization. According to the American Community Survey (ACS) data table, in 2015, the number of immigrants exceeded 43.7 million, accounting for one-fifth of the total number of global immigrants that year. The number of immigrants in the United States has increased significantly since 1970. The number of immigrants in the 1970s accounted for a percent of the US population. By 2015, the immigrant population had accounted for 13.5 percent of the total population of 323.1 million, almost three times that of 1970.

Immigrants are mainly concentrated in 20 cities in three states in the U.S. About half, 46 percent, of the nation’s 43.7 million immigrants live in these three states, California, Texas, and New York. California is the most populous state, with more than 10 million immigrants, and each of Texas and New York has about 4.5 million immigrants. The reason why immigrants choose to settle in these three states, in addition to the economic living environment, the most fundamental reason is that the first generation of immigrants is mostly rooted in this area, such as Chinatown gathering Chinese immigrants. Immigrants are distributed in 20 cities across the United States. New York, Los Angeles, and Miami are the most immigrant cities. The remaining cities with more immigrants are San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and Seattle. These 20 cities have about 30 million immigrants, accounting for 65% of the total number of immigrants in the United States. Some illegal immigrants also live in these areas.

Evolution of US Immigration Laws & Policies

The United States has always been an immigration country, it is common to know America is a country with very strict immigration laws. However, the government didn’t create anything restrictive against immigration in the first one hundred years of the history of America. At the time, there were numbers of people who came from Western Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland; there were also large numbers of people who came from China looking for a better life.

Most of the American public disliked immigrants and disapproved of the religion practiced. Seem Asian immigrants as outsiders, competing for jobs or people that steal American technology. Sadly a Chinese Exclusion Act was placed in 1882; none of the Chinese immigrants was allowed to enter the country for ten years; then, it became known as the first significant law restricting immigration. Over the years, many immigration bans have been passed, blocking millions of people away from us.

Since Trump took office, the US immigration policy has been tightening. When the controversy over the “zero tolerance” policy against illegal immigrants has not subsided. The Trump administration has successively released a series of signals of immigration ban. Three new immigration policies recently issued by the United States are becoming more and more demanding.

F/J/M visa overdue detention will be severely punished. The “F” visa is issued to international students who are studying in the United States for academic study. The “M” visa is issued to international students who are not academic or professional, and the J visa is issued to exchange visiting scholars. According to the US Chinese website, starting from August 9th, the illegal stay of F/J/M visa holders in the United States will be calculated strictly according to the new algorithm and increase the penalty effect. If the expired visa is not extended before August 9, the overdue days will be counted as illegal stays. The penalty is: if the single entry accumulates for 180 days, it will be subject to a 3-10 year immigration waiting after departure. If the illegal stay has accumulated for more than one year, I am sorry that I will never be able to obtain entry.

Recent US Immigration Policy Shifts and Impact

Legal immigrants who enjoy public welfare programs may be deprived of their status. The Trump administration is expected to sign a proposal in the coming weeks for immigrants legally residing in the United States if individuals or family members have used Medicaid, child health insurance, food stamps, women and infant nutrition programs, and other welfare programs, Its legal immigration status may be deprived, and it will face greater resistance when applying for a green card. Making it harder for legal immigrants to obtain green cards and US citizenship is the biggest change in the legal immigration system in the United States in the past decade. According to statistics, more than 20 million immigrants will be affected.

US visa applications with incomplete information will be rejected directly. Recently, the US Immigration Service issued a new policy memorandum: In order not to waste human resources, from September 11 this year, when submitting a US visa application, if the materials are incomplete, the US immigration officer can directly refuse. The immigration application category covered by the new regulations covers multiple immigrant visas. Previously, when submitting a visa application, if the materials provided by the applicant were incomplete or did not meet the requirements, the immigration office should issue a supplement notice unless there is no approval. After the New Deal, the immigration officer does not need to issue supplementary materials or veto the notice of intent. It can be directly refused.

In fact, prior to this new regulation, the Immigration Department issued another statute that corresponds to it: Non-citizens who apply for a visa extension or change their status, apply for a green card or citizenship will be deported if rejected. This rule knows that if a visa application is rejected due to incomplete information, it will be sent back to the country, and it will not give you a chance to reason! Throughout the three US immigration policy reforms, it can be said that the intention is very obvious.

First, those who legally enter the country but overstay, and then abuse the legal immigrants who abuse the welfare, and then refuse to sign the visa application with incomplete information and repatriate to the country. US President Donald Trump ordered a moratorium on all refugees and temporarily banned entry from seven citizens of Muslim countries. This decision triggered protests in many places across the United States and was condemned by a wider international public opinion.

Controversial US Travel Ban: Legal Battles and Implications

The order temporarily suspends the US Refugee Admissions Programme for 120 days. There is also an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Everyone from seven Muslim-dominated countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen – is temporarily ineffective against a 90-day visa. Some of these visa categories, such as diplomats and United Nations personnel, are not included in the ban. The order also set a maximum of 50,000 refugees in 2017, and the previous president Obama set a ceiling of 110,000. Minority believers facing prosecution in their respective countries will receive priority. On one visit, Trump specially circled Syrian Christians.

After the ban was issued, several federal courts banned the deportation of the deportees, creating a confrontation between the judicial and executive branches of the US government. In the past, the United States has banned people from certain countries and even entire regions. However, in 1965, the US Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, stipulating that no individual can “discriminate in the immigration visa issue because of his race, gender, nationality, place of birth or place of residence. ‘.

Therefore, the order to exclude all Syrian entry permits is sufficient to bring Trump to court. The fact that all the countries involved in the ban are Muslim countries also provides evidence that the ban is an “anti-Muslim” argument – ​​and this is what Trump’s team has been actively denying. Supporters of the Trump executive order mentioned the terrorist attacks in the post-9/11 era and the government’s ability to take measures to protect national security.

Moreover, they also pointed out that the law enacted in 1952 on ‘non-admitted foreigners’ stipulates that the president has the power to ‘suspend entry’ to ‘any type of foreigner’ as long as he believes that the person concerned will bring the United States It is not good. They also said that the US president could ignore the 1965 immigration bill. The most cited example is Jimmy Carter, who used to ban some Iranians from entering the United States during the hijacking of 52 Americans in Tehran in 1980. Activist organizations say that Trump’s order targets Muslims and targets their religious beliefs, so they will challenge his orders through legal channels. They also stated that no refugees were convicted of terrorism-related crimes. They also stated that some of the recent attacks in the United States were carried out by US nationals or nationals from outside the ban list.

Adaptation and Emphasis on Skilled Workers

Although Trump is currently adjusting immigration policies, it will not stop the pace of immigration. The United States is still a country of immigration, and immigration will not be closed. No matter how you adjust your immigration policy in the future, you will be charged. Immigration from all countries to increase population and talent accumulation will not be easily changed. From the changes in the education level of the immigrant population, the United States will pay more and more attention to highly educated immigrants.

It is even possible to protect the immigrant population by reducing the number of visas for people such as EB1 or NIW and to protect them by suppressing illegal immigrants. In the US labor market, it is also certain that the US population has been growing. Controlling the immigration population by raising immigration requirements is a hidden rule for immigration cases.

References:

1. The History of immigration ban US Has Long History of Restricting Immigrants Kelly https://www.voanews.com/a/united-states-history-of-immigration-restrictions/3700234.html
2. Immigration Act against Chinese History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882.
3. Zong, Jie, et al. “Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 27 Feb. 2018, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states.
4. Kelly, Kelly Jean. “US Has Long History of Restricting Immigrants.” VOA, VOA, 1 Feb. 2017, www.voanews.com/a/united-states-history-of-immigration-restrictions/3700234.html.
5. Who is being affected? Singhvi, Anjali, and Alicia Parlapiano. “Trump’s Immigration Ban: Who Is Barred and Who Is Not.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/31/us/politics/trump-immigration-ban-groups.html.
6. The immigration ACT 1924 U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act.

The Controversy and Reform of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

ICE’s Mission and Directorates: Budget and Functions

In today’s local news and media, there are often news reports consisting of concerns with ice. To those who do not know what ICE is, it stands for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It happens to be a law enforcement agency of the federal government of the United States tasked to enforce the immigration laws of the United States and to investigate the criminal and terrorist activity of foreign Nationals residing in the United States. Lately, there has been much controversy going on with ice wrongfully separating families. So much controversy to-the-point news headlines had made it to the news under “abolish ICE.” yet, what today’s society fails to understand is that ICE is very much needed, yet should be reformed.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is an agency that has an annual budget of approximately six billion dollars, all devoted to three separate operational directorates. 3 in which our homeland security investigations (HSI), enforcement and removal operations (ERO), and Office of the principal legal advisor (OPAL). There also happens to be a fourth directorate which is management and administration (M&A), which overall supports the three operational branches to advance the Ice mission. Each directorate has its specific duty to perform. For example, enforcement and removal operations specifically Target Public Safety threats. Public Safety threats generally refer to convicted criminal aliens in gang members, as well as individuals who have violated the nation’s immigration laws. That also includes those who illegally entered the country after being removed.

HSI’s Global Reach and Legal Expertise

Homeland security investigations, on the other hand, is the principal investigative component that consists of more than 8,500 employees. Many of those employees are assigned to more than 200 cities throughout the U.S. and as well as more than 60 offices in more than 45 countries. Homeland Security Investigations deal with criminal investigations that protect the U.S. against threats to its national security and bring to justice those seeking to exploit U.S. customs and immigration laws worldwide.

They also have the legal authority to investigate all types of cross-border criminal activity. Actions that include smuggling and cross-border criminal activity, and financial crimes. The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor consists of over 1,100 attorneys. They deal with the actual immigration removal cases, including those against criminal aliens, terrorists, and human rights abusers. They are the ones who take everything to court.

Now as for ICE in its current situation, many have disputed with ICE. It has come to the point where Abolish ICE has become a new political movement. The movement gained traction in June 2018 due to controversy over the Trump administration’s family separation policy. According to sources, as of “May, 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the Southern U.S. border, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as part of a new immigration strategy by the Trump administration that has prompted widespread outcry.”

ICE’s Evolving Family Detention Policies

President Trump signed an executive order reversing his policy of separating families and decided to replace it with a policy of detaining entire families together, including children, but ignoring legal time limits on the detention of minors. According to the president himself, ‘It is also the policy of this Administration to maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together and consistent with law and available resources.’ It did provide an exception for when authorities believed that keeping the family together would be harmful to the child. Until recently, when it was realized that usually minors who crossed into the U.S. cross alone. Therefore creating another subject of matter. Now it also includes children who have been separated from their families by authorities, including much younger children.

Overall, although ICE has created much controversy, it would be wrong to fully abolish ICE. ICE has an overall important purpose. Its purpose is to prevent illegal immigration as well as to cut down threats to homeland security. If ICE were to longer exist, there would be much more crime occurring and impossible to stop. ICE helps prevent crime from over-exaggerating. Therefore ICE should stay yet be reformed. Because there are instances in which ICE is responsible for the wrongful doing of separating families.

References:

1. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (n.d.). About ICE. https://www.ice.gov/about
2. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (n.d.). ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). https://www.ice.gov/hsi
3. The Washington Post. (2018, June 15). ‘Abolish ICE’: The roots of the new Democratic litmus test. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/06/29/abolish-ice-the-roots-of-the-new-democratic-litmus-test/
4. American Immigration Council. (2019, July 2). The Trump Administration’s Family Separation Policy: Eight Months Later. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/trump-administrations-family-separation-policy-eight-months-later
5. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2019). Fiscal Year 2019 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_1211_Memo_ICE-ERO-FY2019Enforcement-RemovalOperations.pdf

Revamping U.S. Immigration Policy for Skilled Workforce Growth

U.S. Visa Limits: A Barrier

The U.S. needs to remove the limit they have on employment-based visas. For generations, immigrants from China, India, and the Philippines have brought with them hypercritical expertise. The number of visas issued to immigrants from those countries places limits on bringing skilled workers to the United States, that can help the U.S. economy prosper and grow. When highly skilled immigrants wait for visas because they are coming from a large country, it discourages highly qualified candidates from wanting to come to the United States. The wait times for not-so-highly-skilled immigrants from smaller countries are shorter, and what you are actually bringing into the country is a lower-quality worker. The United States needs to find a quick and effective way to issue visas to highly skilled workers to be able to enter the United States labor market as quickly as possible. (18)

Conclusion

A change to the current immigration policy would help the visa categories the United States has established give priority to highly skilled immigrant workers. Even without immigration reform, the government should implement a plan that would expedite the visa process. Just that one change would help meet the needs of the changing labor shortage that would benefit the economy of the country. That one change would still make a difference. To improve the immigration policy, the government and business owners will have to cooperate.

Business owners have to inform the government about how the current immigration policies are benefiting them or hurting them when it comes to labor shortages and filling jobs. Employers need to figure out what immigration policy changes would benefit their own companies and make lawmakers aware of how the immigration policy in place is affecting their business growth. It would allow the public and private sectors to come together and reform the current immigration policies to boost the economy and grow the U.S. workforce. It would create a workforce in which immigrant workers would be able to work jobs that the aging population is leaving. They would help increase economic growth without taking jobs from the American workforce. (19)

Recommendations

There is a crisis in the labor market in the United States due to labor shortages. The solution to the labor shortages in the United States is to reform the Immigration Policy. Reform has to be placed on the American system of issuing work visas. The United States is cheating its economic growth by not issuing adequate work visas. The limits placed on the visas issued and the labor shortages are ensuring the path for an economic disaster. The cap for STEM fields is 85,000 visas. Worker immigrants filed 2000,000 petitions were submitted during the first five days of the visa application opening window. There were 115,000 jobs still left open because of the limit on the visas that were issued. The 115,000 applicants were highly qualified and could have taken the 115,000 jobs left, but due to the current Immigration Policy, that is not possible. (20)

A report that was released in June 2018 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that American employers are looking to employ workers. However, there are no workers to fill in those jobs. The only possible way to stop labor shortages is to increase the influx of immigrant workers to the United States. It is crucial to fill job openings in the United States. The only way to do that is to bring workers from outside countries and increase the number of visas issued. The country is facing critical times in its history. In the year 2035, the elderly population of over 65 outnumber people. An aging population group has fewer people paying Medicare and Social Security taxes. In turn, there will be more people receiving those benefits, yet no one to pay them to support them.

It is forecasted that the Medicare and Social Security funds will be empty by 2034. There is an urgent need for healthcare workers. The United States will not have enough healthcare workers by the year 2025 to be able to care for its aging population. The healthcare field today consists of immigrants. For the United States to increase its revenue, the United States has to reform its Immigration Policy. The United States has a low GDP growth. It has increased its public debt.

The economy can’t grow without growing its labor workforce. A strong economy can only happen by increasing the number of immigrant workers. (21) The Immigration Policy needs to change for employers to be able to hire immigrant workers that can come and be contributors to the United States economy. It would be a great start to increase the number of visas issued. The United States is not able to reach its economic potential without immigrant workers that work here. (22)

References:

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). Employment report for June 2018. U.S. Department of Labor.

The Enduring Impact of Mexican Immigration on American Society and Culture

Settlement Patterns and Challenges

Mexican immigration affected America in many different ways and still continues to affect us today. Mexicans started to immigrate around the 1600s but did not actually come to the United States until halfway through the 1800s (“Mexicans”). Mexican immigrants continue to come to America today, some legally and others illegally. They came over to America for a couple of different reasons, one of them being that the United States offered more jobs for people and a better state of living.

Coming over to America for them meant that they could have a home and a good job, and this offer was better than what was back in their homelands, where there was poverty and social classes. In turn, the United States offered lots of opportunities because it was a democratic nation, and it offered movement on social ladders. From 1876-1911, the president of Mexico made many people lose land, brought in foreign investment, and tried to create a labor force that people did not like (“Mexicans”).

This pushed many people to leave Mexico during this time. Also, many immigrants were usually stuck in one place, and it was most likely at the bottom of the social classes. Any way to move up was enticing to them. All of these things pulled people to America, and they started to settle in or around the same area.

When people immigrate, they tend to keep and stay in the same area as other immigrants because they share the same culture, beliefs, and religion with each other, and it makes it easier to be comfortable and make friends. They could be by other immigrants and have a better job if they moved to areas near each other. There is still a plethora of Mexican immigrants in the United States today, and currently, they are most apparent in North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Delaware (Batalova). Living in America was better than living in Mexico, but the immigrants still faced hardships when they came over.

Mexican Immigrants’ Challenges and Advocacy

Adjusting to life in the United States was not easy for any immigrants, and many had to overcome lots of barriers. The 1930s were most likely the toughest for Mexican Immigrants because this was when the Great Depression happened (“Immigration…Mexican”). Everyone, including immigrants, struggled during this time because there was not a lot of food and not many jobs that were available. Deportation became a big threat to Mexican immigrants during this time. “As unemployment swept the U.S., hostility to immigrant workers grew, and the government began a program of repatriating immigrants to Mexico” (“Immigration…Mexican”). Many Americans were angry that immigrants came in and took their jobs, and it created hateful feelings toward Mexican immigrants.

The government did not force the immigrants to go back but used tactics such as “systematic intimidation, harassment, and the lack of culturally appropriate practices” (Tadeo) to push them back to Mexico. This was tough for immigrants, especially for sick and older in age people. Being disliked and having people wanting to send them back to Mexico are some barriers that Mexican immigrants still struggle with these things today as well. But immigrants fought back and still continue to fight back today against this. There are many advocates for them, laws that were created, and policies that help protect them today.

Diverse Job Opportunities and Gender Roles Among Mexican Immigrants

One of the reasons that immigrants came to the United States was because it offered many job opportunities for them. There were many different jobs that were offered to them, some better than other jobs. But, certain jobs employed more Mexican immigrants. As found by Elizabeth Grieco, “over half of these individuals worked as operators, fabricators, and laborers in the service occupations” during the early 2000s because “compared to both the native and overall foreign-born worker population, Mexican and Central American workers are less likely to be employed in professional and related industries.”

Immigrant women have different jobs than immigrant men do. Most immigrant workers that were women were found to have a job as either a maid or housekeeper in a 2015 study (“The Impact of Immigrant Women on America’s Labor Force”). The reason these women might have this type of job is that many might not have the education to get a better job in America. Other jobs might include restaurant work, in a hotel, and doing domestic work or manufacturing (“Mexicans”).

Mexican immigrants that are men have different jobs. Most men have jobs such as construction, reforestation, and agricultural work (“USA: Development of Jobs Held by Mexican Immigrants”). Similar to women, men might not have the education to get a better job, nor do they have the resources to get an education to apply for a job such as a doctor. For these jobs, not much was needed to be able to apply, which made it easier for men to be able to do it.

Cultural Influence and Transformative Contributions of Mexican Immigrants

America has been affected by Mexican immigrants in a different number of ways, and they are still impacting the United States today. Their values and beliefs are strong and can be different from people who are born in America. But, Mexican immigrants do keep bringing the Spanish language to America, keeping it thriving and not letting it be forgotten (“Mexicans”). By continuing to bring Spanish to America, it has made an impact on music. Spanish music is very popular, as are artists with Latino or Mexican backgrounds, such as Shakira, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and Thalía. Another impact they have made is on clothing and food.

The bright colors and patterns are highly influenced by Mexican culture, and these qualities are still present in American fashion today. Food has influenced America’s cuisine deeply as well. There are many Mexican restaurants that offer food like nachos, tacos, rice and beans, and quesadillas. Also, popular chips such as Doritos and tortilla chips have been influenced by Mexican culture. In the economy, Mexican immigrants helped America go from a colonial economy to a more agricultural one and increased the population (Hipsman).

Mexican immigrants made a significant impact on America in many ways through music, the economy, and food. They faced many hardships and continue to face them today. But, coming to America was a better opportunity for them and created more jobs and success for immigrants.

References:

1. Batalova, Jeanne Batalova Jeanne, and Elijah Alperin. “Immigrants in the U.S. States with the Fastest-Growing Foreign-Born Populations.” Migrationpolicy.org, 1 Aug. 2018, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrants-us-states-fastest-growing-foreign-born-populations.
2. Davis, Tadeo. “Mexican Communities in the Great Depression.” University of Chicago – SSA, www.ssa.uchicago.edu/mexican-communities-great-depression.
3. Grieco, Elizabeth. “What Kind of Work Do Immigrants Do? Occupation and Industry of Foreign-Born Workers in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 12 Aug. 2015, www.migrationpolicy.org/research/what-kind-work-do-immigrants-do-occupation-and-industry-foreign-born-workers-united-states.
4. Hipsman, Faye, et al. “Immigration in the United States: New Economic, Social, Political Landscapes with Legislative Reform on the Horizon.” Migrationpolicy.org, 2 Mar. 2017, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigration-united-states-new-economic-social-political-landscapes-legislative-reform.
5. “Immigration…Mexican.” Planning D-Day (April 2003) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin, Victor, www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/mexican6.html.
6. ‘Mexicans.’ American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation, edited by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, Macmillan Reference USA, 1997. U.S. History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/BT2337000103/GPS?u=lnoca_joseph&sid=GPS&xid=deba1865. Accessed 14 Feb. 2019
7. Steinhauer, Jason. “The History of Mexican Immigration to the U.S. in the Early 20th Century.” The History of Mexican Immigration to the U.S. in the Early 20th Century | Insights: Scholarly Work at the John W. Kluge Center, 11 Mar. 2015, blogs.loc.gov/kluge/2015/03/the-history-of-mexican-immigration-to-the-u-s-in-the-early-20th-century/.
8. “The Impact of Immigrant Women on America’s Labor Force.” American Immigration Council, 15 June 2017, www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/impact-immigrant-women-americas-labor-force.
9. The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. “Mexican Immigration to the United States: A Brief History.” Time, Time, 12 Mar. 2015, time.com/3742067/history-mexican-immigration/.
10. “USA: Development of Jobs Held by Mexican Immigrants | Statistic.” Statista, Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/203046/development-of-jobs-held-by-mexican-immigrants-in-the-us-by-economic-sector/.