Immigration is a hot topic in America today and has been since its beginnings. While almost every single American is somehow related to an immigrant there are still those that have forgotten this and view those wanting to move to America as outsiders and not welcome. According to a Pew research article the United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. More than 40 million people in America were born in another country. Among those 40 million immigrants almost every country in the world is represented. Unfortunately only 77% of those immigrants are here legally. (Budiman, 2020) The largest group of immigrants to the United States come from Mexico with the second largest group coming from the Republic of India. In this paper I would like to compare these two groups and the reasons why they are leaving their home countries to come to America. I will go over the methods they choose to immigrate, their arrival and settlement in a foreign country, the prejudice and stereotyping they receive once they get here, a few success stories, and what the future holds for immigration in America.
Reasons for Immigration
Mexico
Mexicans have been coming to America for centuries. Before America was completely occupied and established as a new nation, Mexicans lived within its borders in the South. Once the United States of America was established Mexicans continued to move here and still do so in large numbers today. Mass immigration from Mexico started in the early 1900s because of the Mexican revolution and America’s strong economy. Many found jobs in the mines or in the fields as they were looking for a more stable life. Mexicans were exempt from the quota system installed in 1924 because they were believed to be docile, taciturn, physically strong, and able to put up with unhealthy and demanding working conditions. They were perceived as temporary migrants, who were far more likely to return to Mexico than to settle permanently in the United States. (LOC, 2015) Many Mexicans today immigrate to America to escape the overwhelming crime rates and large amounts of drugs in their country. Homicide rates in Mexico today are twice as high as those in the United States. (Schaefer, 171) Many believe they will be able to live a better life in the United States. A lot have family members already living here and want to immigrate to reunite with them as well. Mexicans see America as their best option if they want to leave Mexico and because of that 97% of all Mexicans leaving Mexico immigrate here instead of to other countries. Many decide to live close to the South border in California or Texas as they can then continue their way of life more normally without too much of a difference from what they are used to. (Batalova, 2023)
Republic of India
People from India have been immigrating to America since the early 19th century settling mainly along the West coast. Back then they would find agricultural jobs, or work in the lumber and railroad industries. America started to ban foreigners from immigrating to America in 1921 with the National Origin System, many countries were banned from coming to America and others had only a certain amount that could immigrate each year. India was one of the countries that had a quote attached to its immigration policies and only 100 immigrants were allowed each year. Fortunately the Immigrant and Nationality Act of 1965 removed those quotas and immigration was possible for many people who had been waiting a long time. This did not completely change the system as there is still a limit to how many immigrants can come to America each year. Because of laws in the past there is a severe backlog of people that have been waiting for many years from India and other places. In the last 40 years immigration from India has skyrocketed making them the second largest immigration group in America. Many highly skilled individuals want to come to America as they can work in management positions and earn more than they can back home. The poverty rate in India is very high and so the opportunity to change their lives drastically by coming to America is very attractive to many who live there. (Batalova, 2022)
Comparing the two
The quest for a better life seems to be the same for those immigrating from Mexico and The Republic of India. Those from Mexico want to escape crime and those from India mainly want to escape poverty. Here in the United States they both seem to be able to find ways to improve their lives by bringing their many skills with them. Many immigrants from Mexico are farm laborers and find work in places like California and Texas while those from India are more educated and skilled and find work in California and Texas but also in places like New Jersey, Illinois, and Georgia. Immigrants from both countries seem to want what most people who immigrate do, a better life for themselves and their families.
Because of the extreme backlog for immigration from both countries, married kids from Mexico currently have a backlog of about 21 years before they can legally join their American citizen parents. Out of the 1.8 million Indian citizens wanting to immigrate to America, 1.1 million of them have been waiting for a long time and are part of the enormous backlog that country has. This is because America is currently only handing out 400,000 employee based green cards each year to India which could potentially translate into a 134 year long wait. (Moodie, 2023)
Arriving and Settling In
Mexico
Retaining their culture is extremely important to many Mexican-Americans. Throughout the years as many Mexican families have immigrated to America the one thing that has remained the same for many has been their use of the Spanish language. This has created a bilingual society as more people speak Spanish at home and with people from their culture. Many schools and businesses have started to integrate the Spanish language into their everyday dealings as well as they try to accommodate the large influx of Spanish speakers. Making sure the language is retained so they can communicate with the older generations is what is keeping many Mexican-Americans from switching to only English all together. This becomes a slight problem when those who wish to become American citizens as they need to take an English proficiency test among other things. Because of this many immigrants from Mexico opt out of becoming full citizens and renew their green card every 10 years instead.
Another thing many Mexican-Americans have brought with them when they immigrated was their knowledge and ability to create traditional Mexican dishes. Food has always been an integral part of Mexican culture as they have large gatherings with food for traditional Quinceanerais, family get togethers, and many other fiestas. While many Mexican-Americans are able to seamlessly blend in with the culture that is present in America, they also make sure to not lose the culture of their ancestors by keeping them and their traditions close.
The income for many Mexican-Americans is also lower than the average of other immigrants as many send money back to Mexico to help family members still living there in extreme poverty. Because of their lower income many forego insurance and have a lot lower health care rates than immigrants from other countries. Mexican immigrants are hard workers as they are part of the labor force at a much higher rate than any other immigrant population.
Republic of India
About 4.4 million immigrants from India live in the United States today. With the tech boom in the United States came a large influx of immigrants from India to fill a lot of those jobs. Indian immigrants hold about 80% of the specialty occupation work visas. These visas are good for 3 years and bring a lot of highly specialized workers to America. The average household income of Indian immigrants is way above the income level of any other immigrant population. Between 1995 and 2005 alone, Indian immigrants have founded more technology and engineering companies than immigrants from the UK, China, Taiwan, and Japan combined. (Wikimedia, 2023)
Comparing the two
While both of these immigrant populations face many of the same problems to get here, once here their lives are vastly different from each other. The types of employment and education are almost polar opposites as both groups try to assimilate to life in a very different world from the one they came from. While Mexican-Americans hold on tight to their culture from back home, Indian-Americans seem to blend in faster with American culture when they arrive as they now belong to a workforce that celebrates federal holidays and English is a top priority to make it in their chosen professions. Many Indian-Americans identify as Christian once they come to America while about 80% of the population back in India practices Hindu beliefs. Younger generations of Indian-Americans are also leaving customs behind their families practiced for generations such as marrying young and attaining the highest degrees of education in a science or technology field. They are allowing their children more freedom as they are being raised in America.
The one thing both immigrant groups agree on is that family is important and so they both focus on making sure they retain family bonds. Keeping in touch with family far away or making time to get together with family in America will always be a priority for both groups.
Prejudice & Stereotyping
Mexico
According to a Pew research study four-in-ten Latinos say they have experienced discrimination in the past year, such as being criticized for speaking Spanish or being told to go back to their home country. (Rosenberg, 2018) One of the many harmful stereotypes those from Mexico face is that they are here to steal jobs. Because of this mindset many act hostile to those who immigrated from Mexico making them feel more excluded and marginalized. The idea that many of them don’t want to learn English is also a big problem in this country. English is one of the harder languages to learn and so many new immigrants may have trouble with the language. Earlier we learned that Mexican immigrants value their culture and want to make sure to keep their native language alive and so they communicate mainly in Spanish with their family members, this makes it harder to learn a new language as it is not prioritized. If you think about native born American citizens, only 20% have learned a second language well enough to have a conversation and so in reality they should know it is not easy to switch to a new language just because they are expected to.
Republic of India
Indian-Americans are also no strangers when it comes to discrimination. Back in the 1980s, Dotbuster gangs would target Indian immigrants. They were named this because they would go after the population that would have a religious colored dot on their forehead traditionally worn by Hindu women. Today immigrants from India can be discriminated against because of the very racist beliefs that they are taking away American jobs. This is not a new phenomenon as the same thing happened to the Chinese workers who came to America in the early 19th century to work on the railroads and immigration from Asia was stopped for a time because of this. Discrimination today against those from India is called Indophobia as many racists are upset about the rise in outsourcing jobs to India. Many Indian-American were also mistaken for Muslims after the September 11 attack on America because of the color of their skin and the traditional turban headdress some would wear. Hollywood only adds to this by stereotyping Indian immigrants as those who run convenience stores such as 7-eleven. These acts of discrimination have not slowed down even though Kamala Harris, who is half Indian-American, is now the first female vice-president. Hollywood is cranking out more movies with Indian-American actors, Google’s CEO is Indian-American as well as the US Surgeon General. (Wikimedia, 2023)
Comparing the two
Many immigrants who have come to America have been discriminated against at one point and those from Mexico and India are no different. Both immigrant groups are discriminated against because of the belief that they have come to take jobs away from native citizens. Both groups also get discriminated against because of the color of their skin. While those from India get mistaken as terrorists, those from Mexico are thought to be in gangs more often than someone who is white. While those from India tend to learn English at a better and faster pace than those from Mexico, they are still made fun of because of their accent when they speak and they are stereotyped in Hollywood because of this as well.
Success Stories
Mexico
In 2007 Jordi Munoz was waiting for his green card after he immigrated from Tijuana so that he could legally work in his new country. He was only 20 years old and had a lot of free time on his hands and so he started looking at the controller for his Nintendo Wii. He was able to successfully hack the controller and created new code for it so he could make the first autopilot drone. He started talking to Chris Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired magazine, and two years later they successfully started their company named 3D Robotics. Their company became the largest drone manufacturer in America and the second largest in the world. In 2023 their annual revenue so far has been $33 million dollars. Jordi has since left the company to pursue other avenues but still is a large shareholder. (Morris, 2017)
Maria Contreras-Sweet immigrated to America with her family when she was only 5 years old. Her mother worked in a chicken packaging plant to support her family. Maria was able to go to college and got a Bachelor's degree from California State University. She has made quite a name for herself during her life so far by serving as the 24th Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2014 to 2017 under Barack Obama. She was also the executive chairwoman and co-founder of ProAmérica Bank, a bank that specializes in business with the latin community. She also started her own company called the Contreras-Sweet Company that specializes in marketing and consulting for the latin community as well. She attracted many large companies such as Coca-Cola, Walt Disney Company, Sempra Energy, and many more to work with. (Wikimedia, 2023a)
There are many more success stories of immigrants from Mexico who came here for a better life and were able to do just that. These two extreme examples show that the stereotyping of Mexican-Americans as agricultural laborers is false as many of them receive an education and work in other sectors as well. While Maria’s mom worked in a factory she made sure that Maria’s future was a lot brighter by making sure she was able to go to college to have more possible futures open up to her.
Republic of India
The hospitality industry has been a place for Indian immigrants for a long time. Chan Patel immigrated here from India at age 20. He came with $600 in his pocket and a desire to get a degree from Stanford University. After graduation he did not return home but instead took a job with Braniff airlines. He had a cousin in the hotel business in California and so he took a gamble and bought his first hotel in Dallas Texas. Within 6 years he was the proud owner of 13 hotels. He would work 12 hour days trying to manage the day to day operations of all of his hotels and suffered a heart attack at age 38 because of this. He decided to delegate the managing of his hotels to others and stepped back to recover. Because of his business savvy and multiple successful hotels his credit rating was excellent and he decided to venture into the banking world. Many of his extended family and friends were unable to get car loans or know much about finances and so he saw a niche for himself where he could help out his family and others while starting a new business venture. He opened a bank that would cater to character based lending instead of credit scores and credit history. While his intent was only to come to America for an education, many years later he is living a full and rich life helping other immigrants navigate their life in a foreign country. (Leaders, 2017)
Satya Narayana Nadella is currently the CEO of Microsoft and he is also an immigrant from India. He came to America in 1988 to study computer science. He has worked his way up to CEO by working in multiple different jobs at Microsoft since 1992. Education was always an important part of his upbringing and so he had already attained a degree in electrical engineering before coming to America. He fits the stereotype many make for those from India that they are smart, well educated, and work in the computer industry making lots of money. (Wikimedia, 2023b)
Comparing the two
Immigrants from both Mexico and India will continue to thrive in this country as it is a place where you can get a great education, start your own business, or integrate into an established business with your talents and skills. Many immigrants are entrepreneurs as they see America as a country of opportunity. They come here for a better life and they make sure they work hard to achieve their goals and pursue their dreams.
Conclusion
Many studies have been done on immigration in the United States over the years. If we want to be able to fill all available open jobs in the coming years, we will need to make sure to keep taking immigrants into our country. In order for America to stay competitive with the rest of the world, we will need a large workforce that will continue to pay into social security and take over the jobs of those that will retire so that those that are ready to retire will be able to do so without the fear of not being taken care of. (IFI, 2023) We also need more immigrants because they are twice as likely to start a new business than native-born Americans. Less native-born Americans are dabbling in entrepreneurialism but it is rising among immigrants. While many of the baby-boom generation believe that immigrants are a threat to Americans customs and values, younger generations welcome the diversity that immigrants bring to the country. Florida has its first gen-z politician in Maxwell Alejandro Frost who is a 25 year old Afro-Latino ready to make some changes. He is a part of the new generation that will be taking over for those that are ready to retire. We need more people who see everyone as equal and able to have a great life in America no matter where they came from. As more and more immigrants make their way to America we need to be open to the ideas and innovations they will bring with them. As an immigrant myself who came to this country 30 years ago I believe that everyone is able to achieve the American dream, whatever they perceive it to be.
References
Batalova, Jeanne and Hanna, Mary. (2022, December 7). Indian immigrants in the United States. migrationpolicy.org. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/indian-immigrants-united-states-2019
Batalova, Jeanne and Rosenbloom, Raquel. (2023, July 17). Mexican immigrants in the United States. migrationpolicy.org. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states
Budiman, A. (2020, August 20). Key findings about U.S. immigrants. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/
Increasing future immigration grows U.S. competitive advantage. Fwd.us. (2023, March 21). https://www.fwd.us/news/future-immigration/#:~:text=Source%3A%20George%20Mason%20University%20projections,were%20kept%20at%20recent%20levels.
Leaders & Legends. (2017) From Bombay to Banking. (n.d.). https://udallas.edu/cob/cob-news/from-bombay-to-banking.php
Moodie, A. (2023, September 7). Indian workers face up to 134-year wait for a green card. Boundless. https://www.boundless.com/blog/indians-face-134-year-wait-employment-based-green-card/#:~:text=An%20overwhelming%20majority%20of%20the,hail%20from%20China%20(14%25).
Morris, Chris special to CNBC. com. (2017, June 12). 5 self-made Hispanic immigrant millionaires. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/12/5-self-made-hispanic-us-immigrant-millionaires.html
Rosenberg, S. (2018, October 25). 2. Latinos and discrimination. Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project. https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2018/10/25/latinos-and-discrimination/
Schaefer, R. T. (2020). Sociology in modules. McGraw-Hill Education.
The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. (2015, March 12). Mexican immigration to the United States: A brief history. Time. https://time.com/3742067/history-mexican-immigration/
Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, September 28). Indian Americans. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Americans
Wikimedia Foundation. (2023a, May 22). Maria Contreras-Sweet. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Contreras-Sweet
Wikimedia Foundation. (2023b, September 21). Satya Nadella. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya_Nadella
[Paper written for SOC 263G class UVU Fall 2023]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
