Discrimination In America Dbq Analysis

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Throughout history, America has been one of the most preferred destinations for immigrants because it is said to bring opportunities. It is said to be the land of freedom but in many cases, it has not provided the freedom not protection to certain groups of people. Even though America is a country made up of immigrants, many of them have faced, and are facing many challenges. The two most significant challenges that immigrants face in the U.S. are discrimination and xenophobia.
Many immigrants coming to the U.S. in the past faced different types of discrimination. An example of this was when the Chinese first immigrated. At first, they were welcomed with “open arms” but later on they were seen as invaders, because of the amount of Chinese
coming in. Document D describes the racial discrimination and racism that the Chinese faced in the United States. “As an Asiatic, a Mongolian, an Oriental you are ineligible for citizenship, unable to become a naturalized American, and if you are in California, you are forbidden by law from owning land. If you happen to have been born in the United States, you are legally a citizen, but you face widespread discrimination in work, housing, and the law.” The Chinese were not only discriminated by other people but by the government. The Constitution of the United States says that States may not make any laws which limit or lessen the privileges and rights of the citizens of the United States. Even though the Chinese were being discriminated against not many people took a stand for them just because of their race.
Discriminating immigrants has not only been a problem in the past but it is still an issue today.
Due to recent political actions, there are more stereotypes and different types of discrimination in the U.S. President Donald Trump has called an executive order that bans people from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, and Yemen traveling to the United States. This travel ban has been placed because it is said that most terrorists have come from there. Since these countries in the Middle East are mostly made up of Muslims, a stereotype that has influenced the mind of others is that all Muslims are terrorists. However, this overall idea is not true. Document E is the United States’s former president, Barack Obama, saying his opinion about illegal immigrants. “To begin with, our borders have been porous for decades. Obviously, the problem is greater along our Southern border, but it’s not restricted to that part of the country... We need to provide farms a legal way to hire the workers they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status. And should stop punishing young people for the actions of their parents by denying them the chance to stay here and earn an education and contribute their talents to build the country where they’ve grown up.” Obama’s opinion on the topic of illegal immigrants is that the U.S. help them and their children become legal so the United States can help them and they can help us. President Trump’s opinion suggests that all illegal
immigrants are coming in from the Southern Border and that the U.S. should build a wall. This suggestion from the President has caused an uproar of stereotypes against people who immigrated here legally and illegally from the Southern border specifically Mexico.
The fear of being seen as strange or foreign, also known as xenophobia is a big challenge for many migrants. Trying to fit into anywhere is hard especially if you don’t know what to expect like the Chinese. Many people in the United states opposed East Asian Immigration because they were taking up many jobs for very little money so they were seen as enemies. An Excerpt from the Investigation of the immigration (Dillingham) Commission, 1911 describes the ways the U.S. should limit immigration. “As far as possible the aliens excluded should be those who, by reason of their personal qualities or habits would readily be assimilated or would make the least desirable citizens.” This small quote reveals that immigrants were seen as aliens and that they should be seen as valuable or invaluable. This could be suggested so that the Chinese would not come into the U.S. to work and “take jobs” from people. Since they were seen as the enemies who were taking over everything they were excluded from many things. Study Guide-Introduction and Part 1 tells us that because of all the hatred that the Chinese were facing, they formed an ethnic enclave. An ethnic enclave is a closed community with people of the same ethnic background surrounded by major cities. So the Chinese cut themselves out of the rest of the communities and became its own independent community called Chinatown.
Xenophobia plays a big part in who you become especially as an immigrant from a very different place.
Most immigrants in the 1900’s were seen as strange and alien. Because you were seen as that way, it was hard to find a living in the United States especially when you were being discriminated against. Document D comments on the Chinese immigrants’ challenges. “You would find it difficult to live outside of Chinatown [ethnic enclave] -almost no one except other Chinese would rent or sell to you...If you are of Asian ancestry in the Unites States in 1923, you are seen as alien-very few people see you as American. Even among those who tolerate you and your existence, there is an overwhelming sense that you are unknown, a mystery, perhaps even inscrutable.” As a result of all the discrimination that they faced as Asian immigrants, they were forced to form their own ethnic enclave where they could live and have jobs. But many problems were caused there too. Many laws that were not enforced in other communities were enforced there.
In conclusion, the most significant challenges that immigrants face in the U.S. are discrimination and xenophobia. These challenges that immigrants face have not only happened in the past but some immigrants are still facing them today. The fear of being seen as strange can come from the stereotypes that come from the discrimination not only from society but the government as well. Although some people believe that immigrants face no challenges we can see
that along the way you can still face problems with society and the government.