Unequal Treatment of Asian Immigrants - Essay Example

Unequal Treatment of Asian Immigrants Introduction Since the birth of America, the United States has become a place for hopes for people who have relocated from their hometown because of various problems like poverty, political insecurity, and famine (Pyong Gap Min, pg 200). These immigrants have turned to the United States as a way of getting a better life for themselves and for their families. However, this is not always the case and do not always find the lives that they dreamed of in the United States. Unfortunately, the United States has a shameful history of treating immigrants poorly. Many immigrants have over the years been persecuted, avoided, and discriminated against, and on top of this, they have to deal with the burdens because even though the conditions might be miserable, in most cases they have been better than those in their homelands. The Asian immigrants have many motivations for leaving their homeland. Some fled war, others fled poverty and famine. Body Early Forms of Unfair Treatment on Asian Americans In the mid-19th century, Asian Immigrants groups came to join the labor force in the United States. These groups included Japan, Philippines, and the Chinese. Chinese immigrants were the first Asian group to come in the United States. Prior to 1850, only 43 Chinese resided in the United States, however, after the discovery of gold in California in the year 1848, there was a dramatic increase in their population (Wong, pg. 111). Chinese from Asia came to America to work, especially in the transcontinental Railroad. They however, suffered a lot of exploitation. They were discriminated in terms of being forced to work under abysmal conditions and in their pay. During these periods, Asian immigrants faced discriminatory laws and there was a widespread act of violence against them. Under the famous slogan, “Chinese must go!” a movement came up that made sure that Chinese immigrants were deprived of means of making a living in the general economy. Example of discriminatory laws that were enforced are those that saw interracial marriages as being illegal because the white considered their racial purity as being threatened. Another law that came up was the Chinese exclusion act of 1882 that forced many Chinese to retreat into isolated areas. The Chinese Exclusion Act was further extended to with the introduction of the Scott Act (1888) that prohibited Chinese laborers, who had chosen to leave US from reentering. The passage of these acts were very damaging to early Chinese immigrants and resulted to the manifestation of anti-Chinese in America that spread from California to the rest of the American West. These acts were seen as cruel, violent, vicious, systematic and brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Asian immigrants faced attacks despite their vital role in contributing towards the establishment of timber and lumber, mining, fishing, railroad, agricultural industries and coal mining in the West. Sentiments towards Asian immigrants grew and its peak was seen in the 1870s and 1880s (Min, pg. 40). The anti-Chinese era was one of the most outrageous and ferocious display of cruelty in American History against this group where they were being beaten, humiliated, harassed, and murdered. Led by Denis Kearney, the Workingman’s party’s argument was that the Chinese laborers were a curse to the land and a menace to their liberties. Among hundreds of people lynched in the West during this people, many of them were Chinese. By the end of 1880s, many towns had kicked out Chinese either though their legislation or by angered mobs. Unfair treatment that Asians faced even reached Washington State where they adapted the anti-Chinese sentiments. A legislature was adopted in the year 1853 which denied the few Chinese living on this territory their right to vote. On top of this, a new legislation was adopted in the mid-1860s that barred Chinese from testifying in court against whites. Violence in Washington against Chinese reached its peak in mid-1880s with attempts to get rid of Chinese. Hundreds of Chinese in Tacoma were removed from their quarters which were later burned to the ground. Others were forcibly removed from Seattle during this period. Chinese also faced unfair labor competition because they were willing to work on jobs that whites shunned at low cost. The aim of this treatment was to exclude the group and the perception that Chinese were despotic, deceitful, cruel, cowards, filthy, and intellectually inferior. Asians were seen to be unworthy of the American citizenship. Japanese-Americans on the other hand face segregation in the 1940s because of their ethnic background. During the World War II, after Pearl Harbor, many people lived in constant fear of Japanese attack. Many Americans feared that if the Japanese do not attack, Japanese citizens would become sympathetic and join the fight against Americans. As a result of this, the government locked up all Japanese in what was called the Assembly Center’s but which was a prison camp in reality. People lived in unbearable conditions where they slept in horse stables (Danico, pg. 105). During this period, Asians faced a high level of cruelty because they were denied their basic civil rights and equal protection under the law. However, Asian immigrants fought for equal rights and the repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). These led to a repeal of most laws that were discriminatory to Asians. Asians were now eligible for naturalization. Treatment of Asian Immigrants Today Today the population of immigrants has considerably increased especially with others coming from the southern parts of America. Unfair and cruel treatment of this group is not so different that of the past. These include hate crimes, discrimination, and lack of justice. Asian American face discrimination in their day to day lives. In workplaces, one of the most outstanding form of discrimination during the employment process is based on stereotypes. In many organizations, Asians are not given fair chance because they are not regarded as being capable of performing as well as their white counterparts. They also face the problem of inadequate time off, low wages, and lack of health benefits. Many immigrants are hired by small and individual businesses that do not have any union to join. Those who are working in big companies are usually alienated as being independent contractors whose rights are unequal as compared to formal employees. Statistics show that racially motivated crimes amount to most of the hate crimes that are committed in the United States. Hate crimes are usually underreported because victims are not comfortable in reporting about their experience to officers who are not from their decent. These people fear mistrust with the local police, the risk of disregard of hate crimes, and problems related to their immigration status. A good example is seen among Asian women who are victimized because of their descent. Asian women are vulnerable and are prone to rape because of their race. Reporting this as a hate crime is difficult because law enforcement agencies are not able to recognize the acts as being racially motivated. Even though a lot of effort has been put in place to address hate crimes and discrimination in the United States, Asian Americans still do not get justice for the racial crimes against them. It is difficult for the law enforcement officers from differentiating racial crimes from ordinary crimes. Conclusion Since the birth of America, the United States has become a place for hopes for people who have relocated from their hometown because of various problems like poverty, political insecurity, and famine. Unfortunately, the United States has a shameful history of treating immigrants poorly. Many immigrants have over the years been persecuted, avoided, and discriminated against. Asian Americans have come a long way from a history of segregation and discrimination that are faced by other racial minorities. They come in the United State to work in the railroads, but were seen as a threat against the white racial purity, the economy, and the general public. This led to the creation of legal actions to exclude Asian Americans from getting fair treatment that is enjoyed by people from the white descent. These issue has continues to the modern day America. The law enforcement agencies failed to recognize racial crimes until in the 1990. Even after the Hate Crime Statistics Act was passed, Asians still face racial discrimination and crimes because of lack of proper differentiation of these crimes from other form of crimes. Actions against these crimes are also disregarded because focus on racism is usually concentrated on the white and black races. It is unfortunately that the minority Asian Americans are usually treated differently because of their race. Racial labels, slurs, and fear still persist in the society today. This racial group is stuck between being considered as a threat to the well-being of other groups and being a contributing member of the society. This situation will continue unless changes are made and awareness is raised on the fact that Asian Americans can also be victims of racial acts. Works Cited Danico, Mary Y, and Franklin Ng. Asian American Issues. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2004. Print. Min, Pyong Gap. "Major Issues Related to Asian American Experiences." Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues, Second Edition (1995): Pg. 38-57. Print. Pyong Gap Min. "Korean Americans." Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues (1995): Pg. 119-231. Print. US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Edward Bing Kan: The First Chinese-American Naturalized after Repeal of Chinese Exclusion. 17 03 2013. Web. 20 11 2014. Wong, Morrison. "Chinese Americans." Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues, Second Edition (2006). Pg. 110-145.Print. Read More