Immigrants who are residing permanently in a country are less likely to be attached to their country of origin as they depend on their host country for the material and financial needs of every kind that they were unable to have in their home countries. While they face a lot of heterogeneous-level cultural differences while living in the United States of America as an immigrant, the statistics depict that a record 44.4 million people were living in the US in the year 2017, making up almost 13.6% of the total population (Kerwin & Warren, 2017). These are ground-breaking realities that will have drastic effects on the well-being of immigrants. This paper revolves around the life of an average first-generation immigrant and how the policies of host countries affect their lifestyle and will provide insight into the life of the immigrant both before and after migration, and the changes they have been a witness to.
Eduardo Magana is a first-generation immigrant who has been living in America for more than 20 years. Without paying heed to what subsequent generations think about this particular country, he definitely holds optimism and pure belief about the policies and protection of ethnic groups in the US. However, the question arises as to what life was like while he was a new immigrant starting a new life in the US. Was it easy, or did he need to compensate for his mental and physical well-being to adjust to such a diversified cultural arena? The paper is about the first-hand experience of my dad after he moved to the USA.
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The very first question that came into my mind as an interviewer was why he thought of moving to the United States while his parents and other family members were residing in El Salvador, to which my dad replied, that he had always fanaticized the American lifestyle as a young boy. His basic ideology was that Americans are so well-mannered and idealized generation that can surpass in every walk of life. He considered it to be an ideal place to live and to earn a livelihood, and so chose America to spend his life.
The next question was based on how old he was when he moved to America, to which she replied that he was 16 years old, a young man who only had a fifth-grade education and was entering a life where all he saw were dreams and beliefs and an ideal world that he could thrive in. It was obviously not an easy decision and journey whatsoever. My dad came, led by a coyote who is a leader of a group of immigrants helping them cross the border, for a great amount of money of course. My dad was caught by immigration but was able to hide his Salvadorian accent and said that he was Mexican so that they would not send him back to El Salvador but rather to Mexico.
I asked my dad if he spoke fluent English when he arrived in America. He replied that in El Salvador it is not a compulsion to learn English as a basic language skill. He definitely had to face lots of difficulties while adjusting to a new environment as he lagged behind in basic language skills. He had to learn English by going to an adult school called Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana. School was a great help, but another big way in which my dad learned how to speak English was in the streets. Moreover, apart from language, he also learned the narratives and thinking patterns of common Americans.
I asked my dad if his culture was similar to the US or not. He explained that cultural differences do exist in every society which definitely affects you when you have decided to live from a country like El Salvador to live in an American state. People tend to hold certain negative beliefs about the immigrant already, but it is completely dependent on the immigrant as to how he or she is going to deal with it, as cultural differences are also affecting the norms of any country. What suits and is considered normal in your state might be awkward and strange in the host country. For example, the way you speak, the way you dress, etc. So, you should be fully equipped with the cultural ties and differences of both host and origin countries. He explained that as an adult, he was fully aware of the narrative opportunities that have become part and parcel of immigrant lifestyles, and this was the biggest gift that he was provided as an immigrant to the United States of America.
I asked my dad how these similarities and differences have affected his experience. He replied that this country is regarded as a 'land of opportunities', which means that it holds pivotal importance; you are fully aware of your motives and your skills, as early-generation Americans. Otherwise, the fear of isolation and hostility will bring frustration and aggression. He learned it the hard way as a first-generation American, but once it was clear, his cultural differences with Americans did not affect him anymore. Negativity and assumptions do separate people, especially in this country, but understanding is the key; once you are well-versed in it, things become easier and digestible. You have to be able to understand why people think a certain way, even if it is not a way you agree with.
He was also asked to describe the prejudice and discrimination from members of dominant cultures, to which he replied that sometimes it feels like we are so blessed to be an immigrant in the host country called America. My dad later on in life got a job at the University of Irvine and worked his way up to become a supervisor for the dorms. He works in an office with a lot of white people mostly. There was a particular coworker who did not believe that he could do the job he was promoted to. She would give my dad task after task, but my dad would say: “With no problem, I will have all of these tasks done for you, not tomorrow, but they will be done”. He proved he could do the job just as well as anyone else would be able to. Although there is a sense of security without any prejudice in some ways, you are free from surveillance, you can exercise your right to vote, and you have all the freedom to movement and expression, but you do require vigilance. My dad became a citizen in 2005, at the age of 34.
My dad was asked the question of if he feels prejudice towards an ethnic group. He does not think he feels prejudice, even though he had to experience his fair share of prejudice and racism from many white people. Minorities, on the other hand, were quite welcoming and never seemed to treat him differently, which led him to develop a greater bond with them over white people. But he would not go to the extent of saying that he hates white people. He understood that everyone had their own personal agendas and that not everyone should be labeled as discrimination.
I asked how the prejudice and racial threats affected him. My dad said that, as a first-generation immigrant, the idea of being harassed and being a victim of violence worried him. But once he started to feel secure and familiar with the ways of the American people, it no longer was a concern. He also credits America for making him a stronger man. With that fear in mind, he set out to be brave and did not want mere thoughts of the potential of being harassed to hinder his progress.
I also asked him about raising his children and how they have become familiar with their original culture. My dad has been married for 24 years and has three children, aged 13, 20 (that's me), and 23. My dad says that he does not want to forget his native culture, which is why he keeps on visiting El Salvador and brings the whole family along to familiarize us, kids, with his roots. Growing up, Spanish was spoken in the household. My dad explained that he did not want to focus on teaching us English language skills because this is something that we will be ultimately learning through school, but our native language will always be an important part of us. At home, we are encouraged to speak Spanish so that our key identity might not only remain as English-speaking people but they should be recognized as bilingual.
Life in America has been idealized by people all over the world. They always look at the pros and cons of both. Foreign-born people who are residing in America have crossed record statistics, and this amount has quadrupled since 1960 after immigration and naturalization were promoted (Kerwin & Warren, 2017). Growth is not increasing at an expected rate, but the number of immigrants is expected to double in the next few years, even though current policies are working to deport immigrants.
The assimilation of immigrants does affect the daily life of an average resident. Research has also been conducted to study expectations and how they vary according to different cultures. Most of the time, people are motivated to be accepted as a part of society, which is proportional to how they are ultimately going to behave in consumer culture. Motivation is compulsory for those who regard their host country as their permanent residence. Some of the time, your origin country fails to provide you with the desired lifestyle and opportunities that the host country is offering you, and hence you start to idealize and admire the lifestyle of your host country. This points to whether families are forced to migrate as refugees or leave their home country of their free will. The stories of immigrants are similar regardless of the country from where they are migrating, and most of the time the reasons for the migration are quite similar as well.
Some prominent factors during the whole interview were cultural assimilation, attitudes, and behavior toward Americans, along with the melting plot theory. According to Socratic.org, “The melting plot theory is the idea that different cultures and ideas will blend together”. The point that my dad was trying to explain was that an immigrant should be aware and proud of their identity; they should not try to intermingle both cultures, otherwise they will never be able to spend a successful life in the host country. The identity of the person defines who a person really is, one should always accept new cultures and learn from them, but at the same time, one should never forget the original identity of a person even after migration.
It is important to note that thinking of adopting certain aspects of American culture is a survival tactic, formulated by first-generation immigrants such as my dad. This was one of the interesting ways to cope with challenges as a new citizen or resident. The phenomenon of globalization mostly goes hand in hand with the elimination of traditions.
It will be interesting to see how, in the coming times, globalization is going to affect different communities and traditional people in terms of their beliefs. The interview was very interesting since it gave insight into the first-hand experience of an immigrant who experienced a hardship most of us have not experienced because of the fact that it was our parents who took the risk to have a better life for themselves as well as for us.
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