The Mexican American Experience: Coming To The United States

Robert Courtney Smith (Ph.D., Columbia), the author of Mexican New York: Transnational Lives of New Immigrants, is a Professor of Sociology, Immigration Studies and Public Affair at the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York (CUNY). Smith many specializations include Ethnography, Globalization, Ethnicity, and Migration. His foremost book, Mexican New York: Transnational Lives of New Immigrants won a Presidential award from CUNY and the American Sociological Association in 2008 as the overall Distinguished Book as well as many other prizes. His purpose in writing this book was to analyze “local-level” transnationalism

Many Mexican Americans have been able to accomplish their own versions of the American dream by attending a 4-year college, owning businesses, and taking on political and public service careers. However, Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants continue to face the hardships that their ancestors went through in the 20th century. The ethnic Mexican experience in the United States has been a difficult one for Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans of the first generation. Two key factors that continue to shape the lives of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants are labor laws and the citizenship process. Focusing on the research, statistics, and information provided by Mai Ngai “The Architecture of Race in American Immigration”, Natalia Molina’s, “In a Race All Their Own": The Quest to Make Mexicans Ineligible for U.S. Citizenship”, and George J. Sanchez, “Becoming Mexican American” will provide the cause and effect of labor laws and citizenship laws that made an impact on the lives of Mexicans during the 20th century.

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family I have learned to recognize since a very young age that because of the status that my parents are placed in they cannot pursue a better future like the one I want. I have been given the opportunity to challenge myself with obtaining a higher education than just high school itself. My parents have demonstrated to me through their hard work that I have to value this opportunity unless I want to end up with low paying job. My life long dedication comes from seeing my parents make sacrifices in order for my education to continue.

When I was walking along a river to gather sticks for a fire and a lady came up to me and I quickly ran I jumped over rocks and made it across the river. I knew she had the black plague. When I knew she wasn’t following me, I stopped. I knew who she was, it was Annabeth’s mom. I had to tell her, so I went back to my treehouse where me and my friends hang out.

Communication apprehension has been a struggle for me being an immigrant from Mexico. Conversing in my native language I am very vocal, participative and communicative with extensive vocabulary. Communication in a second language presented a language barrier and apprehension of making grammar mistakes and embarrassment of my accent.

Being a Mexican-American, who was raised in the small town of Encarnación de Díaz – located at Los Altos de Jalisco, MX, – and then moved at the age of seventeen to Corpus Christi, TX, was not a smooth transition. The most difficult things I have encountered in my life must have been speaking a new language and adapting to a new type of living. I was fortunate enough to have amazing teachers who taught me to read, write and speak in English back in Mexico, but I was still not confident enough to speak the language when I arrived here. Although, many have told me that my English doesn’t sound as if I just moved here five years ago, I still believe I have so much more to learn.

Living a good life as an immigrant in America is a big challenge. In fact, getting a reasonable life is not easy in many countries around the world, but as an immigrant in the United States that involves huge determinations. Thus, anyone who decides to move to another place or community should expect to face many challenges. Most of the time, an immigrant’s reason(s) for leaving their country is based on a hard life for some without figuring out that life in the USA might be harder as well as a better life for others who may have a good life in their motherland. Generally, they are all disappointed by what they encounter. Denis Hunt, a director of Multi-cultural Human Services, a Falls Church, Virginia-based organization that helps immigrants adjust to life in the United States, said “the issues immigrants face can be even more daunting. Most immigrant parents who arrive in new communities are faced with immediate challenges to their survival, including securing a job, finding a place to live, buying food, and enrolling their children in school" (“US immigrants face new challenges”). Despite this situation, it is conceivable for immigrants regardless their origin, to live a good life in America. However, it cannot happen merely by snapping their fingers; massive efforts are required, including working hard, learning English, resolving transportation issues, understanding of the culture, and getting

Latin American immigrants are not just concentrated to one area of the country. Cubans mostly live in Florida, while Puerto Ricans live in the northeast, and Mexicans mostly live in the southwest (Chavez, et al, 2005: 508). Their main destinations in the United States could be based on the geographic locations of their home countries. They settle in the area of the United States that is the closest to their country of origin. The formation of ethnic enclaves is common among immigrants because it connects them to their home country. They are able to livie among people who speak the same language, or in this case the same dialect, prepare the same food, and have the same cultural values. This spatial distancing is further proof of separate ethnic identities. Immigrants tend to live within groups of people from their own countries, not just with people who identify as Latino. By living with people from their home countries, immigrants maintain connections with where they came from.

It had been 8 weeks on the vessel when we had been informed that we would be nearing the New York harbor soon, that meant eight weeks without any pyzy or kopytka, my favorite foods. The vessel was fairly clean and was filled with people such as myself and my brother, Jacek, escaping the grasp of Nazi Germany in Poland or the equivalent of so in their countries. On the other hand, some are here seeking greater economic opportunity and religious freedom. My brother and I were the only ones out of my family brave enough to leave our lives behind and venture into America. It wasn’t easy for me to leave everything behind and start anew, I had many friends, family, and prized possessions that I left, not knowing if I would ever see them again. I

Coming to the United States as an immigrant may be a daunting experience. If your first visit/arrival is to the north-eastern part of the country you may be welcomed with different customs and traditions (religion, food, music, dressing, language, family life and so on) by the more liberal society compare to the down-south where religious-conservatism is the order. On my flight, flying from Lagos, Nigeria to New York, I was a bit apprehensive because I sat next to an old white American lady. What caused my apprehension, I don’t really know but my fear quickly dissipated due to the kindness and politeness of this woman. She was always there for me anytime I need help, even before I could ask. It had an impression on me that American people must be very kind.

“Papa, no te vayas!” (Daddy, don’t go!) Those were the words that I said with tears streaming down my face every time my dad left our home in Mexico to return to California. I recall this fractured family existence, this inevitable sacrifice of separation in order to survive for seven long years, until my parents decided that it was time to reunite in the United States and finally become a stable family. While the United States was a new setting for my family, it was not a new place for me as it was my birth country. Yet, I remember feeling harassed and excluded, common emotions among immigrants to the U.S. and this new emotion created a fear I was unaccustomed to; I felt scared of this new lifestyle and of the limited possibilities.

They say that America is the land of opportunities and immigrants. The issue of Mexican

The American Dream, That's what we all want. Many people come from many different parts of the countries just to proceed the american dream. The American Dream is basically coming from a different country. America is famous for this because of the American movies, we created so many movies that have the american dream, it all started when we became independent and we made the american dream real, all through it wasn’t called the american dream because america wasn’t an actual thing back then well at least the name, It became a very real thing later on. It was just the 13 colonies.

I am Hispanic immigrant who came to the United States as a farm worker when I was 15. At the time, I was sent to Southern California where I picked peaches and worked in a vineyard. After the season was over, is when I would return to Mexico and prepare to go back the next year. I have been doing this for many seasons and just started working with the Custom Cutters. They travel from Texas to Canada harvesting wheat. The job begins in April and lasts until the beginning of September. ("Custom Cutters," 2007)

One thing was certain - I could count on was the advice of my family. Coming from a closely knit community, family support was a surety. They provided the support needed to my many cousins who embarked on this journey before me. No matter what doors being a Hamptonian was about to open, I could never forget them. Their sheer determination to see me succeed at anything I put my mind to provided me with enough motivation for the mission.