Alien Invasion in America!
Immigrants Threaten Our Way of Life
In Times of Fear and Uncertainty, False Accusations are Made.
Background Information
Immigration in the United States can be dated back to the 1800's when the number of people seeking religious freedom from their home country, hoping for more opportunities and building a better future for themselves and family, looked towards America. Immigration is still occurring today, and will be an inevitable part of America’s future because “globalization is a reality” (“U.S. Immigration Since 1965” 2). The American Dream is a long journey especially for immigrants because they face discrimination, prejudice and obstacles in a country they hope to call home someday. Not all immigrant are successful at their new life, some unfortunately are undocumented due to the extreme long process of obtaining citizenship or other personal hardships that prevent one from becoming a legal U.S. citizen. As a result of that, Americans believe United States are being invaded with too many illegal immigrants who steal jobs from American workers . However, several studies show that “immigrants, including the unauthorized create jobs through their purchasing power and their entrepreneurship, buying goods and services from U.S. businesses and creating their own businesses, both of which sustain U.S. jobs” (“Value Added” 1). Immigrants are often misunderstood, and many Americans despise and use them as a scapegoat for the failures of personal and national issues, such as the downfall of the economy or the high unemployment rates in some communities (Buchanan & Soylu 1). Often Americans “see foreigners moving into their towns, see signs in Spanish, and fret about changes to the traditional fabric of society” (Kristof 1). As a consequence of that paranoia, immigrants have a hard time adapting into their new environment and they become the unwelcomed group of people. During these times of uncertainty and fear, immigrants are easy targets for Americans to blame and ostracize from society deriving from irrationally reasoning. American citizens disregards the truth and reality in front of them, instead, they let their emotions sprout and take root obscuring their views. They dispute government and experts’ statistics of the positive impacts immigrants have and continue to contribute to the growth and success of American society. “The economic recession that hit the country in the early 1990s was accompanied by a resurgence of anti-immigrant feeling” ("U.S. Immigration Since 1965" 1). As a result of the anti- immigrant feeling spreading throughout the United States, immigrant's life becomes increasingly difficult, finding a job is challenging, and their safety is constantly in jeopardy.
Personal Story of an Immigrant
The Crucible
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the theme of false finger pointing and scapegoating during the times of fear and uncertainty is established throughout the play. In the beginning, when Parris found Betty has fallen ill, Reverend Parris insisted Tituba confess to bewitching her and compacting with the devil. When Tituba confessed under the pressure, Abigail saw that if she confessed as well she would not be blamed for witchcraft either; “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Miller, 1048). Abigail was afraid she would be accused and didn't know what other options to resolve the problem other than for her accuse others. Blaming others such as Bridget Bishop and Goody Osburn indeed immediately solved Abigail’s problem and shifted the spotlight on them and others she accused instead. Then Betty and other girls soon followed in Abigail’s footsteps and accused other innocent people falsely because they all were fearful and uncertain of the situation at hand. Mary Warren confessed to wrongfully accusing people in the village because she was caught up in the hysteria and fear madness that has spread like wildfire in Salem; “it were a pretense, sir” (Miller 1077). She told Danforth when she accused people and showed the spectral evidence in court to back up her claim that they were involved in witchcraft it was all a lie. There was no real evidence, nothing she said was a fact, so she did blame people based on her false evidence because she was afraid. She disregarded the facts and went along with the hysteria because false accusations flourish during times of fear and uncertainty like the one Mary Warren experienced. Again, Abigail made accusations based on false evidences as well. When Mary Warren revealed Abigail’s lie to Danforth, Abigail was scared her secret would be unraveled and she would be punished for it. Abigail had to no time to device a plan to save herself, so she acted quickly and turned on Mary Warren. Abigail pretended Mary Warren was a witch with her spectral evidence; “The wings! Her wings are spreading! Mary, please, don’t, don’t!” (Miller 1093). Spectral evidences are not to be trusted, they are imagery, made up by the person who presented in court; therefore it is not factual. Abigail accused Mary Warren of witchcraft based on false evidence out of fear and she thought Mary Warren was a threat to her.
Accusations flying through courtroom during the Salem Witch Trial. Decisions made based on spectral or false evidences, resulting in innocent people hanged (Stoke).
The Parallels
American Dream
Many immigrants come to United States pursuing the American Dream. This demonstrates immigrants are not a threat to Americans, they only hope to gain what everyone else wants: a better future ("ACLU").
Political Cartoon
Rising Contributions of Immigrants to U.S. Entrepreneurship
Facts based on statistics on the benefits of immigration because immigrants increase the economy and contribute to America's growth ("White House").
Work Cited
"ACLU: Protecting Civil Liberties in Immigration Reform Legislation | ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties." ACLU of San Diego Imperial Counties. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <https://www.aclusandiego.org/aclu-protecting-civil-liberties-in-immigration-reform-legislati/>.
Bendib, Khalil. "Jim Crow Immigration Law."OtherWords. Web. 05 Dec. 2014. <http://otherwords.org/alabama-immigration-law-cartoon/>.
Buchanan, A. Tom & Soylu, Ali. "Discrimination against Immigrants by Alİ Soylu & Tom. A. Buchanan*." TodaysZaman. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.todayszaman.com/op-ed_discrimination-against-immigrants-by-ali-soylu-tom-a-buchanan-_254360.html>.
Kristof, Nicholas. "Immigration Enriches You and Me." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-immigration-enriches-you-and-m.html?_r=1>.
Jones, Alex. "Nightmare Racism and Open Call for Revolution: Alex Jones Reports on Mexican Independence Day in Austin, Texas." InformationLiberation RSS. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=1443>.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible.
"Personal Stories of Struggle, Discrimination Mark Immigration Hea." Ring. Web. 05 Dec. 2014. <http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional/personal-stories-of-struggle-discrimination-mark-i/nLpwp/>.
Stoke, Lori. "Decoding the Salem Witch Trials: Part 2." US History Scene. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/salemwitchtrials2/>.
"U.S. Immigration Since 1965." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965>.
"Value Added: Immigrants Create Jobs and Businesses, Boost Wages of Native-Born Workers." Immigration Policy Center. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
"White House Plays Offense: Says Immigration Reform Will Turbocharge Entrepreneurship." Entrepreneur. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227353>.
NaNa Sheehan
December 9, 2014