Immigration Victor Thompson vthompso@stanford.edu Friends or family in the U.S.? Is it hard or easy to immigrate to the United States? Number of immigrants? Are immigrants successful or failures?

The first of this land… Everyone except for American Indians, African Americans and some Latinos are descendants of voluntary immigrants American Indians were the first people to immigrate. Walked over the Bering Straight into North and South America Estimates of their size prior to Columbus range from: Estimates range from 2-18 million but most likely it was between 5-7 million In the 1900 Census less than 250,000

…."Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Total population of foreign born has increased Percentage of foreign born population has fluctuated

Where do they all come from? Five Leading Countries of Immigrants 1850-2000   1850 1880 1900 1930 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 1 Ireland Germany Italy Mexico 2 China 3 Great Britain Canada United Kingdom Philippines 4 India 5 France Sweden Poland Cuba Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2001

Open Land Reasons to come to America Religious or political persecution Opportunities Sparsely populated Room for expansion Industry Abundance of wealth Rich agriculture Gold Why not!

Types of Immigrants Voluntary Immigration Involuntary Immigration Push Factors Political or Religious persecution Refugees War Economic Environmental Pull Factors Work Family Education Quality of Life Involuntary Immigration Many African Americans in the U.S. are descendants of forced immigrants Slavery

Government Policy Early policy Age of restriction Recent Policy The Naturalization Act of 1790 The Alien Act of 1798 Age of restriction Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 Gentleman's Agreement-1908 Immigration Act of 1924 Recent Policy Bracero Program (1942-1964) Immigration Reform Act of 1965 Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 H-1B Visa Program U.S. Patriot Act (2001)

Well…we’re here, now what?

Melting Pot or Salad Bowl Melting Pot (Assimilation) Discard old identity Adopt American culture, tastes and habits No longer feel ethnic or close to immigrant identity Salad Bowl (Pluralism) Maintain “old” culture and identities Share common goals of the nation

What do you think? Melting Pot or Salad Bowl???

Two ways sociologists study this question Education How much education do immigrants and their children have? Income How much do immigrants and their children earn?

Education

Immigrant Length of Stay and Percent with 4 or more years of College Less than 10 years 30% 10 to 19 Years 23% 20 or more years 25%

Education of different groups U.S. Average 77% are high school graduates 20% completed 4+ years of college Immigrant groups above U.S. Average for college India (65%) Taiwan (62%) Hong Kong (47%) Japan (35%) Korea (34%) China (31%) Groups near U.S. Average United Kingdom (23%) Canada (22%) Cuba (16%) Greece (15%) Ireland (15%) Groups Below Average Ecuador (12%) Italy (9%) Cambodia (6%) Mexico (4%)

Income

Labor Force participation U.S. average (16 and older) 65% are in the labor force 14% are in professional occupation Above U.S. average Labor Force Professional India 75% 34% Taiwan 65% 29% Canada 52% 21% Former Soviet Union 40% 20% Japan 55% 18% China 62% 17% Below U.S. average Labor Force Professional Columbia 74% 9% Portugal 72% 4% Laos 50% 4% El Salvador 76% 3% Mexico 70% 3%

Immigrant Length of Stay and Occupation Percentage in Professional Occupations Less than 10 years 23% 10 to 19 Years 19% 20 or more years 14%

Household Incomes Total for U.S. $41,000 Immigrants Asia 52,000 Canada 46,000 Europe 42,000 South America 40,000 Africa 37,000 Caribbean 38,000 Central America 38,000 Mexico 37,000

Immigrant Length of Stay and Income Average Income of Immigrants Less than 10 years $31,000 10 to 19 Years $37,000 20 or more years $40,000

What does this mean? All groups have gained in education and income over time Some groups consistently have more education or income Length of residence in U.S. has an effect on some things Even after several generations many groups are still unequal

Melting Pot or Salad Bowl? Depends on who we are talking about Some groups do better some do worse Variation even within categories and nationalities Does race matter? What else might make a difference?

Other topics interesting to Sociologists Attitudes Competition between immigrants and citizens in: Jobs Education Social Welfare Programs Immigration Control and Policies Intermarriage Immigrant culture Family Economic Social

Diversity of experiences The way immigrants are received Their success The success of their children The experiences they have What others think of them

Angel Island and Ellis Island

Ellis Island Mainly European Some of them were welcomed…some were not Name changing was common Medical inspections were common. Sometimes people were kept to check for medical problems

Angel Island Almost entirely Asian Not welcomed Many were detained or denied admission Some were quarantined for as long as 2 years