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Introduction:
Our country which has existed and been progressing for hundreds of years, isn’t what we were promised. The country that pledged us freedom continues to shut down those who don't fit the American Standard. Their toxic and unrealistic traditions prevent individuals from building a life where they can start over. A big group that suffers this fate is the immigrant community. When they come to the United States to build a fresh start for themselves, they are met with the harsh realities that drown their dream upon arrival. The once beautiful country that blossomed with millions of opportunities in the eyes of these individuals, turns rotten and impossible. A major difficulty that this community experience is with the job systems. They are met with discrimination about their work from employers and the system in the country even after being known for being a free country of the people for all the people. The American work system is set up to take advantage of immigrant workers by repeating old traditions, contrasting their image of a free country for the people.
Our History With Freedom:
From the beginning of this country, the United States has set laws that make our society democratic and a free country for all. Documents like the Four Freedoms, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution are all examples of contracts that provide freedom and equality for all. But when looking at the timeline of this country, how close does our country follow this standard? Historical events have shown that our society is hypocritical towards its own values, dehumanizing those who do not fit into this built standard. “Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of government power, not the increase of it.” It is explained by the president himself from that time, Woodrow Wilson, that the liberty we thrive for in our society comes from the people, not the government itself. He doesn’t fail to mention that the government prevents the growth of the liberty of this country, blocking the freedom that the citizens fight for.
As our society continued to expand and evolve, new statements and ideologies were created by those in charge. These ideas follow this scheme that the United States is a free country where freedom is provided to its citizens and encouraged that everyone is equal. The Four Freedoms was created to further “free” the United States from oppression and the views that make each individual unequal. Yet these Four Freedoms do not apply to everyone in this country. Franklin D. Roosevelt explored this idea in the writing of the Four Freedoms failing to acknowledge that a high number of people will not have the same experience. “This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith is freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.” If freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere, we as a nation haven’t achieved that yet. This freedom only applies to some individuals who fit the brand image of America. The white, blue eyes, blond hair. They are the ones who are truly free in this society. But those with darker skin, coily hair, and unwhite culture are the ones who suffer. This “freedom” shows itself in many ways, but never when one who is not in the standard mold wants to speak their voice, get jobs, government opportunities, housing, and just human rights.
"The white, blue eyes, blond hair. They are the ones who are truly free in this society. But those with darker skin, coily hair, and unwhite culture are the ones who suffer. This “freedom” shows itself in many ways, but never when one who is not in the standard mold wants to speak their voice, get jobs, government opportunities, housing, and just human rights."
These historical events begin to reveal the experiences that individuals who do not fit the standard suffer when just trying to live an ordinary life. Work is an essential part of the American dream, so many pursue to chase work to start their progress toward this dream that many want to reach. Historical documents show that all should have a chance of work in the American work system, yet in reality, many are kicked out and ignored just because they are “different”. In the Four Freedoms speech, FDR explores and mentions the principles that this country should follow as a way to be a free country for all. “The third is freedom from what-which, translated into world terms, means economic understanding which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants–everywhere in the world.” These principles have shown the American society what it should follow and what is promised to those who are part of this free nation. But current experiences of immigrant workers and events from the past have shown that the system in power continues to go against the rules that have been set to make this country an equal place. Immigrant workers have lower salaries and fewer rights compared to those who are native-born. Immigrants face a big threat of deportation and or losing their jobs due to their status. Knowing this, corporations use these vulnerabilities. Individuals with different skin colors, backgrounds, and titles have suffered discrimination at least once or have been betrayed by the system of the country they live in.
The Immigrant Experience:
Connections
There is a huge importance to knowing how minority groups have been looked over, especially the immigrant community. After revisiting this country’s original principles, we can compare them to situations that are currently happening and how they are connected to the main ideas of our country. With migrating to the United States, individuals have a clear dream that they want to accomplish. They wish to get jobs that weren’t available in their home countries. They want to start building up their American dream to accomplish the best for themselves and their families. But when trying to take a step in the right direction towards the American dream, they are met with a barrier that brings them down. Undocumented immigrants all face similar issues when trying to find jobs where they can be stable enough. A huge part of the immigrant community is the Mexican American community. Like many other groups, they are targeted and rejected from the workplaces that they should have the right to work on. Gretchen Livingston touches on this topic deeply further explaining how it impacts a major group in the US.“Since Mexican Immigrants typically lack U.S-specific skills and credentials, they will have a relatively high demand for assistance from their social networks, so are especially likely to use and benefit from these networks in the job search process. Having access to employment information via migrant social ties with pre-existing U.S experience will equip a new migrant with far more information than she/he would have in the absence of such ties;” Coming from a country you know everything about to one that you are seen as an alien, can be something that is overwhelming with the new ground to cover. The dreams that are built for this change are often shattered when met with the realities of society. When not knowing anything about your environment, jobs can be hard to come by. Without documents or connections, success is hard to touch. The American dream creates false hope for those who seek guidance in the country while taking advantage of its ideals to trick people who come to this country in hopes that it will be in some ways better with its stories of freedom.
“If immigrants possessed characteristics that mirrored those of the U.S. population, we would expect immigration to have little influence on wealth inequality in the United States because the wealth of immigrants would resemble that of the native-born.”
Complexions
Though all experiences of immigrant individuals are different, some are more lucky than others when it comes to getting opportunities here in the United States. It is recognized that individuals who have the American standard image are most likely to become successful. Their skin gives them an advantage and allows them to acquire more opportunities than those who do not fit into the standard would’ve gotten. “If immigrants possessed characteristics that mirrored those of the U.S. population, we would expect immigration to have little influence on wealth inequality in the United States because the wealth of immigrants would resemble that of the native-born.” Mathew Painter describes in detail that it all comes to fitting into the standard that the US has made for its residents. Those with whiter skin and soft features are most likely to get what those with deep complexions don’t. The United States has followed this protocol of race and racial profile to set a standard as well as set this complexion of whiteness as a way to demonstrate power. These separations cause the inequalities that we currently have today. It seems like our country is run by this standard and will continue to use this to maintain the “order” that we never had.
System
The employment world also takes a huge part in this discrimination act against undocumented immigrant citizens. The stereotypes and these ideas that have been integrated into American society since the beginning of time, continue to be a part of our societal norms. Philip Oreopoulus implies this major idea and how it connects to our country’s history: “Employers who are less accustomed to seeing foreign-named or foreign-educated applicants with adequate language skills are more likely to lump all foreign-named and foreign-educated applicants into one category even if there are other listed characteristics that offset the concerns about language skills.” Everything is part of history and everything is connected. Discrimination, racially motivated comments, and just abusive acts are a part of history that we can not escape. This problem becomes integrated into American society and it can impact one’s job or housing. And again this idea of race is still very present in our society today. It takes the form of a job, a job interview, or anything regarding immigrants/minority grounds that don’t fit in the standard. With these stereotypes being fed into America, many who do see themselves in the American standard use methods from old ideas to take away the freedom that all residents should have. Further repeating the cycle this country cannot seem to escape.
Becoming a “True” Citizen.
The United States has made it impossible for those who are seeking a better life to get the documents they need to proceed with a job. There is no clear start to where you can apply for or get citizenship. And if there is, prices become expensive even when there is no guarantee that the documents will be acquired. This factor puts immigrant workers at a disadvantage when starting from zero. Matthew Painter goes deeper with the process of becoming a legal citizen in the United States.“Immigrants do encounter costs associated with naturalization, which may encourage immigrants to maintain their status as LPRs….naturalization is a complex, time-consuming, and expensive process that requires financial resources, the ability to navigate bureaucracy, and satisfactory English language and civics proficiency.” Undocumented citizens are left with no option as they are always being taken advantage of. They are told that they should become a true American citizen by all in this country, but then they are rejected from becoming one. The system gives individuals no window of opportunities that allows immigrants to thrive in this environment.
"Undocumented citizens are left with no option as they are always being taken advantage of. They are told that they should become a true American citizen by all in this country, but then they are rejected from becoming one. The system gives individuals no window of opportunities that allows immigrants to thrive in this environment. "
Conclusion:
Patterns like these make the American word of a free society false. Every year, thousands of individuals come to the United States in hopes of building a better life for themselves and their families. These dreams are crushed by the American ideals that meet with them right after their arrival. The United States continues to take advantage of those who come to this country to make a name for themselves to keep the American standard alive. Past traditions become the present and normalize the powerful to continue their harmful ways. These ideas prevent this country from being what is truly meant to be; a free place for all.
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