Asian American Immigration And Cultural Politics - Essay Example

Asian American Immigration And Cultural Politics The United States of America has long been referred to as the land of migrants from all across the world. In fact, it is indeed ‘the global village’ in true sense. America has served as a sanction for desperate people who leave their homes, let the reasons be hunger, politics, religion, education or employment. Asians have always been the larger chunk of people who opted to live in America. However, their immigration policy has always been subject to racial indifferences and political instability. Moreover, Asians have also passed through a series of issues regarding integration into the society and fitting into the American culture as one of their own. Nevertheless, the truth remains that Asians have brought about a noticeable difference in the existing American culture. The question of how does immigration, integration and membership play a role in upholding the status of Chinese Americans in the twenty – first century, in order to achieve a better and prosperous future for tomorrow’s America is worth giving a thought.. I will be concentrating on the American immigration policy regarding Asian immigrants in an attempt to evaluate and analyze the American legislation and how it has dealt with Chinese immigrants, the first Asians to make a significant immigration to the United States.  Zhenggao Zhang, a 25 year old Chinese immigrant, is studying finance at San Francisco State University. His father and uncle immigrated to United States soon after the Immigration Act of 1990 (more or less, a replica of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965) was passed. The Act called for increase in employment of immigrants in various professions and supported unification of families, and hence, attracting large numbers of Asians. Such a favorable and profitable reform resulted in a drastic change in the number of the Asian American neighborhood in the United States. Families, previously split under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, could now be reunited. Also, many professionals chose to make the most of this by taking up the jobs in the United States and bringing their families along with them. As a routine, the male members of the family would migrate first, find some jobs to earn livelihood and then be able to get females and children shifted along them. This very phenomenon has been termed as chain immigration. (Lowe) Zhang and his family followed his father a couple of years later in the pursuit of good quality education, along with many other families who made good use of the favorable immigration policies at that moment. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Asian immigration has always been subject to racial discrimination. Although never officially declared, Asian immigrants suffered from denial of certain jobs, citizenship and segregation from the local American community, ultimately leading to its effects on officially designed immigration policies and legislation. (Lowe) The very first immigration incidence following the California gold rush was not unpleasant at all, rather it was well - accepted by both the local community and the government. However, with the gigantic number of Chinese laborers settling in the country, repulsive feelings amongst the locals erupted leading to unfortunate incidences of violence and restrictive laws in terms of citizenship and legal rights. (Chan) This racial discrimination was based on the superiority of white Europeans over different looking stereotyped Asians who may pose a threat to the local cultural and social setup. One can observe the race-biased thinking of the Americans by the laws enforced by the government during the early days of Chinese immigration, especially during the colonial period. During the colonial period, immigration wasn’t even considered legal and so all immigrants from Asia were considered as aliens, something from an inferior world who simply weren’t worthy of citizenship. But on a brighter side, a sense of maturity soon came into the American state of mind, and with the approval of the 15th amendment to the U.S. constitution, citizenship was granted to every baby born within the American border. Despite the oppositions it faced, the law stood firm on this and the policy did not become subject to any racial or ethnic discrimination. With this law, now the children of all those Asian immigrants were granted with American nationality, something their parents had long been hopelessly striving for. Whenever a person is introduced to a new surrounding or society, it tends to adapt to the cultural norms and values of that place in an effort to adjust to the change. This is called acculturation or integration. (Le) If that particular new society is American, then some of those adaptations include getting a citizenship or learning to speak English. Integration all depends on the individual. Where some are adamant to cling to their roots and adopt only the customary or necessary norms of the new society, there are others who are ready to leave behind everything and look forward to leading a purely ‘Americanized’ life. Most families who aspire to integrate well into the American society never recorded any Chinese given name and raise their children speaking English. They avoid living in Asian American settlements and associated broadly with Americans. Yet, they are never quite accepted into the American society and spend their whole lives living on the margins of both Chinese-American and American society. (Ngai) That is why most Chinese Americans like Zhang are particular about their cultural values. They may study at American schools, learn to speak English proficiently or enjoy eating a hamburger but they still would not forget to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival. The Chinese society prefers a domestic mode of living where it keeps its families close and intact, where on the other hand, Americans prefer an individual, self dependant living. Naturally, most Chinese immigrants feel threatened by blending into the American lifestyle. The first-generation Chinese obviously compare their lives in America with their previous lives in China and continue to feel misfits and inferior due to them being treated as second – class citizens. This is totally opposite in case of the second generation who has little passion for China and is quite happy with their life in the States. Zhang himself admitted that he is no more inclined to visit his mother nation in the future. This does pose a problem of cultural identity. Asian immigrants have always been considered inferior and hence, mostly not given technical jobs. In the past, most of them were offered to work in areas such as laundry, gold mining and railroad work. These jobs were more labour requiring, less paying and had extremely unfavourable working conditions, when compared to the ones the white Americans had. Nevertheless, the earned money was sufficient enough to meet the needs of their families back in China, something they would have been able to achieve had they not taken a step of migration. This shows that Asians, by tradition, are hard working people who are willing to take up even menial or tedious jobs in striving to earn a good livelihood for their families as well as to get their deserving position in the community. In this twenty – first century, racial and ethnic factors contribute greatly to the ease of integration for the Asian immigrants. Housing segregation, employment discrimination and educational inequities are some intimidating problems which make integration into the society quite difficult for the immigrants and continue to limit opportunities for them. Getting a job in America for an immigrant is not really a piece of cake. Either it requires fluency in the native language i.e. English or possession of a certain skill or talent. Sadly, many Chinese lack both these requirements. Zhang also shared his personal experience with me regarding the difficulties faced by him and his mother in finding a job when they first came to the U.S due to their mother tongue being Chinese. All, his mother could manage to find, was a menial job at a laundry shop while his English speaking skills were doubted when he applied for a finance internship. Some statistics also show even though majority of the Chinese Americans are more qualified than the whites in terms of education, they still get jobs which pay poorly or inadequately. (Sowell) Such actions give rise to ethnic differences in the community and make it difficult for a non – native speaker to find a suitable employment. The ethnic discrimination has been taken more seriously by the families whose predecessors migrated to America decades ago with their children born and reared exclusively in USA. Even these children who may not have visited China even once in their whole lives feel the stigmata of being labeled and treated as Asian Americans. Their strive, their hard work and all their lives’ efforts for USA do not earn them the right of mainstream American society. In the early days, Chinese immigrants set up their own isolated communities in certain parts of the cities, which have been called Chinatowns. (Lee) This led to ethnic segregation within the society. However, the gap between the Chinese and American community narrowed with the passage of time and the areas previously regarded as notorious for crime and illegal practices now became appealing for the tourists. The Chinese American also expanded their businesses, which helped them move into American neighborhoods in cities like San Francisco, similar to where Zhang lives now. A social dilemma of such a community pointed out by Zhang was the lack of interactions with neighbors. This proves that sadly, even after all the efforts of submerging and integration by both the communities; Asian Americans are still viewed as foreigners are still unable to become an accepted part of the native society. Legally segregated schools for Asian Americans have existed previously in California and Mississippi for whites, blacks, and Chinese. (Hendrick) (Loewen) In California part of statutory school segregation was setting up of Chinese schools which were to be attended by all Chinese pupils. However, all statutory school segregation ended shortly by 1960s and currently, there is no such segregation of students in this twenty-first century. Many school integration strategies remain legal under the Supreme Court’s Decisions, which is because the government has accepted that integration and diversity in public education benefits all students. Thus, policies to support classroom integration and related curriculum development are implemented, which I think is why Zhang seems quite satisfied with his life at San Francisco state university. Wearing a Levis jeans, drinking an American beer and enjoying the fireworks of 4th of July do not make you an American at heart. When it comes to choosing a life partner for the rest of your life, the Chinese Americans always go after a Chinese girl. Someone who shares their language, moral and cultural values and philosophy of life; someone they have a better chance of developing an understanding with. Moreover, the Americans also disapprove of ‘intermarriage’ which is why they passed strict laws against such marriages in the past. (Koshy) When asked, Zhang also spoke against interracial marriages and clearly expressed his preference for Chinese ladies. According to him, it is easier to communicate and develop an understanding with people of the same culture. When it comes to their active participation in the society, there is no question that Asians have brought about a change in the modern American culture. With the inflow of skilful workers in 1960s and 1990s, lot of handy people poured into the American territory. These skilful workers mainly took jobs in restaurants and thus played a huge role in the establishment of “China Towns” in major cities of the entire country. (Lee) Thus they were responsible for the introduction of various different kinds of Chinese cuisines and snacks to the American society. The Chinese food proved so popular that it became an important part of the country’s diet, and led to opening of restaurants and take – outs in various areas across the U.S. The Chinese immigrants also have had a profound effect on American economy and scientific community. Primarily, the Chinese supplied the labor for America's growing industry. And have worked in almost twenty five different professions which include industries like wool mills, cigar, shoes, garments, etc. As a whole, the Chinese provided a quarter of California's labor force. (Wu) The Chinese labor also helped the American government greatly in abolishing slavery from the world. The Chinese were the first to stake claims in California gold fields causing the relocation or reposition of many settlements, and which then lead to the beginning of the railroad building. The numerous railroads the Chinese built in America helped open rich resources in many of the states. Nowadays, Chinese businesses help develop the local economy with international investments and businesses mixed with small businesses, mom and pop stores and restaurants. When it comes to science, evidence of Chinese contribution to the society include references of people like Jerry yang, co founder of yahoo and Lieutenant Colonel Onizuka, the first Asian American in space. On the medical side, Chinese doctors introduced an effective method of relieving pain and treating diseases called the acupuncture. Although practiced in China for several thousands of years, it was introduced in America in 1972 and since then, has been used in various medical procedures.  A significant number of Asian Americans earned fame and respect for United States in the government and humanities sectors. Congressman David Wu played a pivotal role in bringing reforms through government policy making. On the artistic side, the Chinese immigrants have made vital contributions to the fields of sports and entertainment. Their customs which include artwork, dresses and music have also provided Americans with a chance to witness a unique blend of creativity and originality. The music of the renowned musician and cellist Yo – Yo Ma has been used in numerous films along with the works of many other Chinese musicians and has been greatly appreciated over the years. The Chinese Americans have proved that strong will power accomplishes everything and have thus, been honoured by being called ‘a model minority’. (Osajima) I have presented my argument in an appropriate manner along with supporting evidence and references. A just and equal immigration process allows prospective immigrants to smoothly integrate into the host society. The thought process changed and acceptance threshold raised generally, yet the feelings of rejection and hurt still shadow lives of many Asian Americans. The integration, immigration and membership of the Asian community in United States does not require some change of legislature or some amendment in the constitution anymore. All it requires is a change of state of mind of the American nation. Instead of thinking of themselves as superior and the immigrants inferior, they should consider them as moral equals in the society. The Americans should accept the Asians as an integral part of the society that has brought about many improvements and changes in the American society, not only culturally but economically as well as entertainment. Living amongst them for decades, the Asian Americans are part and parcel of United States economic infrastructure and financial model that cannot be dispensed off merely due to biased racial stereotyping. The future America needs every citizen’s earnest effort for achieving a better and prosperous tomorrow. References: Top of Form Lowe, L. (1996). Immigrant acts: On Asian American cultural politics. Durham: Duke University Press. Bottom of Form Chan, Sucheng. Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. 1991. Le, C.N. Asian American Assimilation: Ethnicity, Immigration, and Socioeconomic Attainment. 2007. Ngai, Mae. The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America. 2010. Sowell, Thomas. Ethnicity and IQ. The American Spectator. February, 1995. Lee, Calvin. Chinatown U.S.A. 1965.  Wu, Dana Ying-Hui. Coming to America. 1993. Hendrick, Irving G. The Education of Non-Whites in California. 1977 Loewen, James W. The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White. 1971  Koshy, Susan. Sexual Naturalization: Asian Americans and Miscegenation. 2005. Osajima, Keith. A Companion to Asian American Studies. November, 2007. Read More