My Family'S Immigration Pattern And Immigration Views

The migration of family from one country to another greatly affects how people view policy concerning immigration. Analyzing my ancestral history aids in illuminating my personal opinions and attitudes toward immigration. Furthermore, discussing my attitudes in the context of perspectives such as those presented by Samuel Huntington, Dick Lamb, David Montejano, and Carlos Fuentes further defines my political outlook concerning immigration.

Information concerning genealogical history on my father's side was relayed to me via my grandmother (father's mother). Her parents arrived separately from Zagreb, Croatia in or around the year 1903 and were processed through Ellis Island. Vincent Miholic and Agatha Penic apparently met at Ellis Island and fell in love, married the following year, and went on to bear thirteen children of which my grandma was the last. She met my grandpa in Waukegan, Illinois and they were married in 1948 but divorced later. My grandpa's ancestors came from Naples, Italy and entered the United States around 1900. The exact date of entry apparently cannot be procured since our last name, Loquidis, was changed drastically upon entering the country.

My mother's ancestors emigrated from Norway, specifically from the Northern region, Trondheim. Through the oral information provided by my grandpa (mother's father) his grandparents, Hans and Christina Johnson immigrated to the United States as a family and settled in Minnesota. My grandpa was unsure of the exact date of entry and if his grandparents were processed through Ellis Island; however, he predicted that his ancestors probably entered slightly before 1900. My grandma's relatives were also from Norway although she was unable to provide any specific details and a search of her maiden name, Wikiser, yielded no information.

From my understanding, my family did not encounter any immediate barriers associated with their migration and consequential settlement. Economic opportunities in the United States played a part in my father's ancestor's decision to immigrate to the United States. Economic factors probably influenced most of my other ancestors to relocate to the United States as well.

My family's immigration patterns have had a minimal impact on my personal activities and in shaping my views about immigration. I was born a naturalized citizen and I have never experienced restrictions against my activities or opportunities within the United States. My activities while growing up could be summarized as overall typical of any Caucasian, American child. For the most part, I would say that my family is fully assimilated into the mainstream, except we do not share the typical religious element that the majority of Americans ascribe to.

With respect to my views concerning immigration, I do not feel that my family's history has influenced my opinion greatly. The majority of my family immigrated to the United States over a hundred years ago, so I have never experienced any real ties to the process of immigration. Considering the fact that my ancestors were once immigrants, I feel empathy for immigrants in a modern context. However, I believe that I would still feel empathy for immigrants regardless of my family's history. My views concerning immigration are still shaping and I am striving to learn more about the topic before making firm statements about the subject. However, I can safely say that I personally do not feel threatened by immigration in America. I do not feel that immigrants are stealing potential job opportunities from me or preventing me from getting an education and access to health care. Also, I am not personally threatened by outside cultures or the use of foreign languages. In fact, I think that bilingualism is a huge benefit in a growing global climate and I see no disadvantages from knowing two languages.

I can understand that people interpret immigration as a threat; however, the immigrants themselves are less at fault then the policy of the United States. For example, the increasing influx of undocumented persons into the United States would obviously decrease if businesses that hired them were imposed with strict fines or some method of punishment. I do feel that immigration policy needs to be reformed or gain some degree of comprehension and I hope that the representatives that frame such reforms are able to make informed decisions concerning immigration.

Critiques pertaining to the current climate of immigration in America today are presented in the viewpoints described by Dick Lamb and Samuel Huntington. Huntington and Lamb (2004) specifically see the Hispanic immigration into America as a major threat. America is gradually becoming a bifurcated society with two peoples and two cultures (Huntinton & Lamb 2004). If Hispanic immigration is to continue at such a huge rate, the arrival of Hispanic people will eventually destroy America (Huntington & Lamb 2004). Hispanics represent a threat for six unique reasons including: contiguity, scale, illegality, regional concentration, persistence, historical presence, and the use of Spanish (Huntington, 2004). These six factors are preventing the Hispanic immigrants from assimilating into mainstream society of America.

With respect to my ancestors' experiences, a comparison can be drawn to the viewpoints expressed by Lamb and Huntington. Obviously, my family's patterns of immigration cannot specifically speak to the Hispanic element that Huntington and Lamb openly find threatening, since my family has no Hispanic lineage. However, my family has gone through the assimilation process that Huntington speaks of and has adopted elements of the American creed. My family does not speak any native languages and has lost other cultural elements such as dress, food, clothing, customs, religion etc. Our family traditions are typical of many other American families. Additionally, I would describe myself as an American and not of a Croatian, Italian, Norwegian identification. I feel no true affinity to Croatia, Italy or Norway besides the knowledge that my ancestors originated in these countries.

Furthermore, the critiques presented by Huntington and Lamb are not viewpoints that I personally ascribe to. Huntington's

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