Immigration and Families
• 23 million Southern and Eastern European immigrants
in the years from 1880-1917... up to 70% of the
population in America's largest cities... the two
largest immigrant groups, Russian/Polish Jews and
Italian Catholics... all these newcomers were viewed
as inferior races in the genetic hierarchy of the day
• Why did they settle in the big cities and which cities
were they most apt to end up in? 1. New York City
• 2. Chicago (birthplace of American sociology in this
period)
Anti-immigrant reaction by the time
of World War I
• Theories of genetic inferiority: smaller heads,
shorter stature, lower IQ scores
• Widespread testing of those becoming
soldiers
• After the War: the Immigration Act of 1924 set
a yearly quota of 2% of the number of a
nationality present in 1890
Immigration Act of 1965
• Immigration based on 1) family already in the
United States, and 2) job skills needed in the
U.S. economy
• Also a large amount of undocumented
immigration, particularly from Latin American
Countries.
• Why do they come? Think about Siler City
(“Matters of Race: the Divide”)
Aldarondo and Ameen: “The
Immigration Kaleidoscope”
Two premises:
1. We Are all stakeholders in the well-being of
immigrant families.
2. We pay a high price for not knowing the facts
about immigration.
Immigrant woman at hotel counter: “I worry we are
losing hope… We are a hard-working people and
they think we are here to do nothing… How could it
be that they don’t see that we are here to work,
that we are good people?>
Immigration statistics
• 2006: Immigrants and the children of
immigrants, 60 million, more than 2/3 here
legally
• What do we think about the ones that are
not? Mexican-American War and its effect on
my attitudes… (Henry David Thoreau:
wouldn’t pay taxes because of this war and
the laws about the return of escaped slaves)
Why the rising tide of anti-immigrant
settlement?
• A&A think it relates to the increased
movement of immigrants to small towns (like
Siler City) and to suburbs, where they are
much more visible (rather than in what
amount to almost immigrant ghettos in large
cities)
Acculturation
• 80% of immigrant families (first generation)
speak a language other than English at home.
• Still, high levels of English use. E.g., California
census data show that 71% of Latino families
and 89% of Asian families speak English very
well, and immigrant kids achieve college
degrees in about the same proportion as their
native-born peers
Other Positives factors
• Higher marriage rates and lower divorce rates
• Children 50% more likely to be living with both
parents
• Larger households, which can probably be
both a plus and a minus
• Portes and Rimbaut study in San Diego and
Miami: the immigrant children with selective
acculturation have the best adjustment
Immigrant perceptions of life in
America
• Mostly positives: see 242-243
• Notice that many immigrants keep close contact
with friends and relatives in their native country
and send money back. Strong work ethic,
commitment to learning English, important to
become a citizen, to serve in the military, to
volunteer for military service.
• Negatives: 53% believe immigrants as a group are
not treated well by Americans; 68% indicated
that Americans are not nice to each other (what
can this mean?)
Video: “Daddy and Papa”