Being An Immigrant In The US

Emma Doci, Yuki Kawabe

Bellbrook High School

CPEnglish 12

November 17, 2021

 Why is “immigration stress” a social issue?

Immigration stress is a social issue because it can increase suicidal ideation and risk due

to the distress associated with cultural stress, social marginalization and intergenerational

conflicts.

Immigration has always been a large conflict people have faced all across the world. There are

plenty of reasons why people migrate to a country, whether it may be the United States or any

other particular one. Many people often come in an attempt to escape poverty, crime, or to

simply have a better opportunity to better their lifestyle. Although there are people who migrate

and commit severe crimes, there are others who sacrifice themselves in order to live a better life.

In addition to that, I believe the government should approve new immigration laws in favor of

immigrants who come to better their life and achieve their dreams. For many, the United States

has become a great place to escape their various circumstances. They come to the United States

as immigrants for a variety of reasons, including their own hunger, poverty, torture, and

oppression of the human spirit.

According to Bartleby research, he said; “Immigration trauma has different phases, but

generally begins years before the individual leaves the country. The person is usually leaving

conditions deemed intolerable; poverty, unemployment, and violence, and fear for one's safety

are common”. The immigrant then has to endure acculturative stress, the loss of social support,

and displacement.

Internally displaced persons are people who have immigrated to the United States for a

variety of reasons. Some of them are forced to migrate, and some of them migrate regardless of

their will.
 Most of the time, it is very difficult for immigrants to adjust to the new place and live

comfortably right away, and they face many problems.

There is also no guarantee that they will get a good job just because they migrated. There

is also a possibility that they will only be able to find jobs that are below their abilities.

Heuberger said: “Any disturbing experience that results in significant fear, helplessness,

dissociation, confusion, or other disruptive feelings intense enough to have a long-lasting

negative effect on a person’s attitudes, behavior, and other aspects of functioning”. (2020)

Binios said: “Being an immigrant is not an easy way to live well and have a better life

and it is not easy to adopt the culture and the way that people behave”. (2005)

Any immigrant would have a story to tell about sacrifice, so much so that the two words,

immigration and sacrifice, might as well be synonymous. Many immigrants are seeking better

economic conditions in a new country, so the cost of moving can be substantial for them. It is not

uncommon for immigrants to liquidate their assets, potentially at a substantial loss, to be able to

afford to move. Also, during immigration many individuals are without work and must find work

once they get settled. The majority of challenges associated with immigration deal with

assimilating into life in the host country. Many immigrants take low wage jobs until they can

adjust to society, gain housing, and obtain an education. Immigrants must learn a new way of life

and become familiar with the language and laws of the host country. While many immigrants

leave their home country to escape persecution, it is possible that they could face discrimination

or even racism in the host country.

Binios said: “Some people even get sick because of working hard during the day and

night. But, they do not choose to quit their jobs, because they must work hard to get money for

their needs and wants”. (2005)

 Powell said: “Any immigrant would have a story to tell about sacrifice, so much so that

the two words, immigration and sacrifice, might as well be synonymous. It takes enormous

sacrifice to immigrate to the United States, and our family paid the steep price of a decade of

separation before finally being united in December 2001”. (2018)

Immigrant teens experience difficulties in both adapting to their host society and

retaining customs from their native heritage. Torn between two different communities, they

struggle to identify themselves with either culture, knowing that they will never truly belong to

either one. Studies show that adolescents suffering from identity crises frequently experience

confusion and frustration, and often withdraw from social activities in search of solitude.

Difficulties for teenagers are a lot like depression, anxiety, and panic disorders are

common among immigrants' children. The pressure that children of immigrants face is high, and

mental health support is low. Various socioeconomic and political factors such as language

inefficiency, difference in cultural and education system, financial instability and their illegal

immigrant status are primary barriers that immigrant students face as they enter American

schools and colleges.

Medina said: “New York is one of the only states to identify these difficult cases,

classifying them as Students with Interrupted Formal Education, but state education officials do

not offer a suggested curriculum, provide any additional financing or track their progress. Last

year, New York City provided a total of $2.5 million to 53 schools with large populations of these

students — about $165 extra per person; they are entitled to the same extra services as others

who are still learning English, but nothing more”. (2009)

Medina said: “They don’t always have a notion of what it means to be a student,” said

Stephanie Grasso, an English teacher at Ellis Prep, which opened this fall and is New York’s first
school devoted to this hard-to-educate population. “Certain ideas are completely foreign to

them. They have to learn how to ask questions and understand things for themselves.” (2009)

America was founded as a nation of immigrants. With the exception of Native

Americans, who predate recorded history, Americans are descendants of people born elsewhere.

Over the past 500 years, millions of people from different countries have come to the United

States seeking freedom, peace, and the opportunity promised by the American Dream.

Hanlon said: “Davila works primarily with high school-aged immigrant students but

cautions against categorizing people. “You can’t really lump groups together: ‘English learners’

or ‘immigrants’ or ‘US citizens,’” she says. “There’s such diversity within those categories; we

need to understand the nuanced experiences of immigrants or refugees as individuals and as

groups”. (2020)

Hanlon said: “People come from different places with their own histories. They come

here, or wherever, to settle, and their experience will be different from other immigrants. But

there are some common threads that come out of that. Regardless of a person’s language,

background, or immigration history, that person will still have basic needs in school—language

support, caring adults, that kind of thing.” During her research, Davila has discovered an

increased understanding of the importance of immigrants maintaining their first language, even

as they learn a second. “You see more dual language or bilingual programs now than you did 10

years ago,” she says. “Society is beginning to see linguistic diversity as a resource rather than a

hindrance.” (2020)

The language barrier is the number one challenge as it affects the ability to

communicate with others, which is vital for survival. It can create problems for newcomers, such
as difficulty finding work, getting an education, obtaining medical care, finding housing, and

generally getting around.

Hanlon said: “Among the challenges immigrants and their families face, Davila says, are

learning a new language; speaking with accented English; having skills that don’t transfer and

that lead to lower-paying jobs; and differences in the way subject matter is taught”. (2020)

Barratt said: “Most international students suffer from a lack of self-confidence, which is a

key aspect of learning a new language because constant communication as well as social

integration with local students boosts one’s proficiency in the new language. Confidence in

speaking a second language occurs when one is not ashamed to communicate while making

mistakes. This is consistent with the findings of another study that found international students

with a significantly higher level of English expertise and communication efficacy face minimal

perceived humiliation and anxiety and are less self-conscious about their accents or ethnic

backgrounds”. (1994)

Multiculturalism is the diversity of two or more cultures in some region or country.

America is an immigrant country; most people in America are immigrants. They come from

different countries and different ethnic groups; they have different languages, educational

backgrounds, customs, values and religions. When they arrive in America, they must

communicate with other people in English. They learn English and the culture from American

people or earlier immigrants who are around them. In their public activity, they must accept

American cultural traditions, but in their private lives, they inevitably use their own customs,

values, religions, traditional festivals and experiences to influence their behaviors. They are still

retaining their own cultures.

 Emma - An immigrant is a person from one country who moves to another country

permanently for a better life. There are many different reasons why people go to another country.

Actually, I'm not an immigrant. Where I am from, coming to America is an unachievable dream

for most people; however, that dream became attainable to me. When I decided this, I was very

excited and I thought about a lot of things and I was thinking about all of the opportunities there

were in the U.S. I also thought that everyone in the U.S. lived in big houses, and every school

had a swimming pool because most of what I conceived about America came from watching films

on television. When I got in the plane that would take me to the U.S., I was very excited. It was as

if I had butterflies in my stomach but also nervous because at the age of 17 I changed 3 planes,

traveled for more than a day and traveled to the other side of the world. On the first day of

school, I was in culture shock. There were so many different races of people: from Whites to

Asians to Hispanics to Blacks. This diversity was foreign to me and the only diversity that I was

exposed to from my perspective. Since I still wanted to make friends, I desperately continued to

try to break down the barrier between my peers and I and I slowly began to succeed. As I began

making more and more friends, my experience in the U.S. started to become a happier one. Now

I am living my life to the fullest, enjoying every single moment and dreaming of a better future

for me.

Yuki - I’m not actually an immigrant but I moved to the US from Japan with my mom

with almost no knowledge of English. For the first month of school in my first year in the US.

That was the hardest month ever in my life because I had no idea what people were saying, what

was going on in the class, and how to make friends without any idea what they were saying. And

since I couldn't read, write, listen, or speak, going to the grocery store or restaurant, going

shopping, was stressful for me because “ENGLISH” stuck with me all the time. But I could get
help for studying English at school and outside of school. I was so lucky to be around people

who are happy to help me. There are always people who are happy to help people and that

reduces stress. So I think the immigration stress can be solved.

Being an immigrant is not an easy way to live well and have a better life. For immigrants

it is not easy to adopt the culture and the way that people behave. It is obvious that there are

many pros and cons associated with the immigration process. But constant efforts from both the

immigrant and the receiving country can lead to quick assimilation. This quick assimilation can

be beneficial and can help in a fruitful life in a peaceful environment. As we mentioned before

in this essay, there is a lot of stress and it affects immigrants. That causes stress, but there are

always places to get help and reach out for support such as free English lessons in church. The

environment around immigrants used to be inferior but it’s definitely getting better by people’s

cultural understanding and helping. The situation is getting better, even if it’s not perfect. In the

future, the day will come when immigrants can live without a lot of stress.

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