Immigrants in Detroit - Research Paper Example

Immigrants in Detroit The literal meaning of immigration is to enter and settle in a country or region to which one is not native. And the person whomigrates to another country, usually for permanent residence is called immigrants. Immigration plays a very crucial role in the population of the United States. The country is looked at as a place for many to begin a new life. The country offers people the opportunity to make their own choices and have their own freedom. However, many native Americans look down on immigration because they see migrants just coming to the United States and taking jobs from less fortunate Americans, which in all honesty those Americans are not willing to do those jobs anyways, but that still remains to be a huge debate. Americans get angry on immigration because if immigrants take the time to actually come to this country, they should take the time to become a legalized citizen of the US. Even if immigrants get the citizenship would Americans opinions change? Another problem associated with immigration is that it increases the population of the country and therefore, many look at immigration as a huge dilemma and in some eyes it is completely true. Detroit is one of the most exposed states of Michigan where immigrants visit to find jobs, socioeconomic status, etc. Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a major port city on the Detroit River in the Midwest region of the United States. Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south of Canada. Detroit is known as the world’s traditional automotive center and that’s why it has got two nicknames: The Motor City and Motown. From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan. History The city assumed great importance after the mid-19th century as a shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing center, attracting migrants from around the world including Poles, Italians, Germans, Serbs, Croats and others. However, large number of migrants came from the South, especially African Americans who arrived in Detroit after 1900 as factory production increased rapidly. Detroit was the leading producer for the military during World Wars I and II. Industry spurred growth during the first half of the twentieth century as the city drew tens of thousands of new residents particularly workers from the Southern United States to become the nation’s fourth largest. At the same time, tens of thousands of European immigrants poured into the city. Social tensions rose with the rapid pace of growth. The color-blind promotion policies of the auto plants resulted in racial tension that erupted into a full-scale riot in 1943. In spite of all such economic and political turmoil, immigrants visited the city to start a new life in order to raise their family and the social status in a more meaningful manner. . Experiences of African Immigrants in Detroit Detroit is a laboratory for African-African American relations. It is therefore important to examine the relationship between African immigrants and African Americans in Detroit. African immigrants and African Americans have a delicate relationship. At first glance, similarities in skin tones, facial features, and other physical characteristics render many African immigrants and African American indistinguishable from each other. However, their shared ethnic heritage does not override their varied history and cultural legacies. Unlike other cities in which African immigrants have settled, African immigrants to Detroit live in both the largest African American majority city in the U.S. and the most racially-segregated metropolitan area in the U.S. At first Detroit could be seen as a microcosm of the world: in Africa and Detroit, persons of African heritage predominate. However, Detroit is not a microcosm and shared heritage and historical events that brought African Americans and American immigrants together in Detroit do not override stereotypes and perceptions held by each group toward the other. African immigrants feel welcome in a city where African Americans occupy important political and economic positions in the city administration. As in Atlanta, in Detroit, African Americans hold virtually all city executive and staff-level positions, the cost of living is relatively low and residents of Detroit are overwhelmingly African Americans. Despite its sluggish economy and entrenched poverty, Detroit continues to attract persons of African heritage seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Communication Barriers: For many African immigrants, difficulties in associating with Americans stem from a more basic concern: the actual or perceived inability of many African immigrants to understand the speech patterns and intonations used by Americans as well as African Americans. This is a common refrain among African immigrants to Detroit. Though most Africans speak English but the inability to understand the English spoken by Native Americans and African Americans may impede the ability to interact socially and professionally. English speaking African immigrants such as Nigerians, and Anglophone Cameroonians also struggle with American vernacular and intonations. They believe that learning correct English is the first step to assimilate into American culture. Importance of Race Many researches have revealed that Africans attach less importance to their race as defining characteristics than do African Americans. African immigrants are not preoccupied with race but instead focus on educational attainment and human capital as necessary for success in the U.S. However, African immigrants recognize that racism and discrimination exist in U.S. society and can impede economic progress but believe those obstacles can be overcome through education, persistence and entrepreneurial motivation. Importance of Education: The Detroit public school system faces many challenges, including declining student enrollment, low relative test scores and history of financial and administrative mismanagement. In general, African immigrants are better educated than their African American counterparts. Based on perceptions of the Detroit public school system and the importance placed by African immigrants on education, many African immigrants will go to great lengths to ensure that their children are not placed in what they perceive to be failing school system. African immigrants place a greater value on education as a means of advancement and are willing to work hard to afford houses in Suburban Detroit where the schools are perceived to provide a better education. Social Relations: African immigrants have found to socialize largely in intra-African immigrant circles and social and economic relations are formed primarily among immigrants from the African Diaspora. The immigrant experience of African immigrants brings them into contact with African Americans but African immigrants self-select their social peers from among other African immigrants. A great deal of African immigrant socializing in Detroit is centered on a soccer league comprised almost entirely of African immigrants Conclusion: African immigrants in Detroit have little affinity for African Americans, much less any interest in being identified by others as African American. Integration of Muslim Immigrants in Detroit The series of terrorist attacks carried out across the globe in the past years by individuals and groups claiming legitimacy for their actions in the name of Islam have deepened the fear in the Western world that a clash with the Muslim world is inevitable. In the light of the magnitude and the symbolic weight of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, it is often assumed that Americans in particular are increasingly affected by prejudice against Muslims. However, a report indicates that on average, immigrant Muslims in America, particularly in Detroit (the American city with the largest Muslim population outside the Middle East) are better integrated than their European counterparts; they are more likely to move on to higher education, have less difficulties in finding a job and generally speaking seem to be more accepted as part of the society. While Detroit is noticed for an abundant history of immigration, largely revolving around the automobile industry, and while diverse groups of new immigrants (South Asia, Latin America) are well represented in Detroit’s demography, its special place as one of the world’s leading destinations for immigration from the Middle East and Muslim world means that it is highly comparable and policy relevant to European and specifically Belgian social and political concerns. There are some common problems that immigrants face in any country, including language, training, and citizenship or permanent residents status, finding a job or starting a business that pays enough to live on, finding descent housing, avoiding discrimination and engaging with the culture. In Detroit, despite periodic backlash and persistent signs of racism, there also appears to be a greater cultural and political value placed on diversity in education and employment than other Muslim predominant countries such as Europe, entailing the acceptance of ethno-cultural and religious difference. For example, the expression of religious and cultural symbols, such as head coverings is generally not an issue in the U.S. schools. Immigration in America is more in tune with the national psyche in terms of equal opportunity and pluralism than other Muslim dominant country. The flexibility of the American system of higher education and the labor market frequently give the immigrant his or her the first chance to step on the ladder of economic success. And in Detroit especially, it is wealth creation that is encouraged and admired. Illegal immigrants sometimes cause problems, as they steal jobs at low wages or else find some way of living off the welfare state rather than finding their own way to earn a living. Arab and Muslim immigrants in Detroit generally arrive better prepared and educated. In Detroit, a city hard hit by economic downturns, even lower socioeconomic immigrant groups such as Yemenis, Bosnians, and Bangladeshis, generally put a high premium on seeing their sons and daughters obtain higher education and move on from initial merchant type to professional occupations. Religion and Faith: All immigrants from countries where Islam is the dominant religion are Muslim, and so are their descendents, whereas, some of them may belong to other religions (certain predominantly Muslim countries have or had large Jewish or Christian minorities) or be nonreligious. There are 1209 mosques in the United States, 33 of which are in Detroit. Dearborn, Michigan is home to the Islamic center of America, the largest mosque in North America, along with the Dearborn mosque. The Islamic center of America, nominally Shi’a in orientation, was rebuilt in 2005 to accommodate over 3000 worshippers among the increasing Muslim population of the region. At present, many mosques are still served by imams brought from overseas, as only these imams have diplomas from Muslim seminaries. In the U.S, many African Americans embraced Islam because it reconnected them to a history and a cultural identity that had been lost in slavery, teaching racial equality and the need for self-improvement. In addition, there is a small but growing population of White and Hispanic converts, many of whom are women who have married Muslim men. Consequently, the proportion and the importance of Muslim converts are greater in the United States. In the U.S., African American Muslim population has ranged from one-fifth to one-third of the total for all Muslim Americans. The other most important ethnic groups are Arabs and South-Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, etc) but also Turks, Iranians, Bosnians, Indonesians, Nigerians, etc. Socio-economic Status And Citizenship Profile of Muslim Immigrants: After the First World War, the Muslims who entered the U.S. tended to be better educated and more urban than their predecessors. According to a 2007 survey by Pew Research Center, 65 percent of the Muslim American population are first-generation immigrants and 61 percent of the foreign born arrived recently i.e., in the nineties. However, Muslim Americans lack strong institutions and recognizable public or political voices to gain regular access to government and suffer a lack of elected representatives. Attitude towards Muslim Immigrants In spite of freethinking and social values in the U.S., fear, suspicion and misunderstanding are linked to common representations and images of Islam. There is growing “us versus them” mentality about what are considered to be the values of the host society (equality, freedom, democracy, etc) and those of Islam, which very often are perceived as linked to violence and the submission of women. The media coverage of Islam is negative and globalized. Muslim immigrants most often consider themselves as Muslim first. However, since they are immigrants and carry dual identity. When they visit to their native place, they experience the sensation that they do not really belong in either society. In Detroit, Muslims find less discrimination and many travel to and keep family and business connections to previous homelands with a basic sense of American identity. Again though the 9/11 period has seen some jarring crackdowns on individuals and families, Muslims here feel more safe and homely than other countries. Detroit is home to approximately 300,000 diverse people from the Middle East and beyond, many of whom are Christians or Chaldean Christian from Iraq. Work Cited "Immigrant Suns." phoneticrecords. Web. 2 Dec 2009. http://phoneticrecords.com/immigrantsuns/reviews.htm Read More