Antropologhy - Essay Example

The authors (1995, p.1) write, “Immigration is the very core of American society; with the exception of the Native Americans, every American is an immigrant.” The authors further opine, “This large presence of immigrants in our midst can easily give rise to strong expressions of nativism, especially when people are faced with deteriorating economic conditions.”(p.2) On the basis of information provided in the movie/video that I viewed as for the migration of Hmong and the pattern of migration of people of many nationalities to New York City/State, the summing up of the issues are as under: Hmong: Hmong are mainly from Laos, where they are an ethnic minority group.

Their influx into USA was due to the American Cold War policies in Laos. Majority of the 200,000 Hmong refugees found their destination to USA. The pattern of migration was not due to economic reasons, but the political development in Laos. Hmong immigrants were mostly settled in Minnesota, Wisconsin and California. To halt the communist takeover in Indochina, USA conducted a ground operation in Laos and the Hmong ethnic community sided with USA. In May 1975, when communist takeover was imminent, evacuation of the Hmong into Thailand began.

The first batch of 3500 Hmong arrived in USA in December 1975 and by 2000, more than 100,000 had immigrated and resettled. Most of them arrived in USA due to duress and to escape harassment at the hands of the Communist regime. Assimilation in the American society was a tall order for them. Most of them were farmers in their country and to adjust into a capitalist society was a tough call in the initial stages. Hmong cultural values clash with that of Americans. A good number of Hmong youth have taken to criminality and to gang life.

Notwithstanding all these challenges Hmong ethnic group as a whole looks forward to a bright future in the land of their immigration. New York – The Worlds City The City of New York has always been in the limelight for one reason or the other, even before USA formally emerged as an independent Nation. It was the important entry point for the Europeans since 1880s. About 20 million immigrants had reached the point of their first landing Ellis Island till the early 20th century. The European immigration continued unabated during the 18th and 19th centuries.

An acute condition of the agricultural products known as potato famine in Ireland was the cause of the first wave of immigrants from Ireland who arrived in 1840s. During this period German immigration also began and gradually increased. They settled in Rochester and Buffalo. European immigration picked up momentum and Eastern European Jews and Italians followed suit. This was in 1880s by which time the number of German speaking Jew immigrants in New York was 80,000. By 1920, it had risen to 2,000,000.

Italian immigrants began arriving in 1800s. By 1950, their number had increased to 500,000 including the city and the state. The New York City was like the transit centre. As soon as one wave of immigrants dispersed to other areas, a new wave arrived. Yankees from New England were in the forefront as for migration and most of those arriving in 1790 to 1840 in New York were from this country. The Chinese first entered America in 1849.They came as laborers, seeking employment. They arrived in San Francisco.

The Chinese suffered immense discrimination as American workers felt