Traveling at night and in secret, the small group walked for hours in the bitter cold. A smuggler had promised he would get them into the U.S. safely. But the travelers grew tired and weak. The smuggler, who had taken their money, abandoned them. Two weeks ago, their bodies were found in a wilderness area not far from San Diego. The three Mexicans had lost their lives in a centuries-old struggle to achieve the American Dream.
Every day people brave hardships to enter the U.S., legally or illegally. They come by car, plane, boat and on foot. An immigrant arrives in the U.S. every 42 seconds. The U.S. offers the promise of wealth and freedom--but the journey is hard. Sometimes the reality of life here is harder still.
Last summer a government report revealed that nearly 1 in 11 Americans were born in a foreign land--the highest proportion since 1940. Many Americans were alarmed by this news. The increase in immigration was the result, in part, of a law passed in 1990. This law made it easier for people with more education and skills to enter the U.S.
But along with legal immigration, there has been an increase in illegal entry. Some 300,000 illegal aliens slip into the U.S. every year. They place a burden on the country's resources by collecting welfare benefits and attending public schools. Many Americans complain that illegals rob Americans of jobs and often do not pay taxes.
Laws are getting tougher. A new welfare law makes it more difficult for immigrants to receive benefits. On October 3, President Bill Clinton signed a bill that makes it harder to enter the U.S. legally and harder still for illegals to gain legal status. Congress has given the nation's immigration agency a record $3.1 billion budget. Some of the money will be used to police U.S. borders and keep illegal immigrants out.
New Targets, Old Prejudices
Although the President has signed stricter laws, in his Inaugural Address he warned this nation of immigrants: "Each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt...have nearly destroyed us in the past. They plague us still."
Manuel Barreto, 39, who arrived from Ecuador 10 years ago, is concerned about the tough new laws and attitudes. After years of struggling, Barreto has found a job and a house near New York City. He has brought his wife and 14-year-old son into the U.S., but they are here illegally. He worries every day that someone at his son's school will report the boy as an illegal immigrant. He fears that new laws will make it harder than ever to become an American. "I feel afraid of the people who are against immigrants," he says.
Generations of newcomers have shared this fear. Until 1820, the government did not keep track of immigration. The first immigration office was created in 1864 to encourage immigration. In the 1880s laws were passed with the purpose of controlling immigration and keeping out undesirable aliens.
Between 1815 and 1914 more than 30 million Europeans settled in the U.S. The percentage of foreign-born Americans in 1910 was 14.7%, the highest ever. Many newcomers were met with hatred. Irish people looking for work were often greeted by the sign NO IRISH NEED APPLY. Hostility kept the Chinese from many jobs. They couldn't become citizens. A 1790 law stated that citizenship was for whites only.
Finding The Dream
Now immigrants are being met with renewed hostility. In California anti-immigrant feelings are especially strong. Two years ago, Californians voted for a law intended to deny illegal immigrants health-care services and public education. "California," says immigration lawyer Elaine Morley, "is sending a message that certain foreign people are not welcome here."
Joy Chang (not her real name) is fortunate. It looks as if she will be permitted to remain in the U.S. Chang was born in China and arrived in the U.S. last year. She has applied for "political asylum." Asylum, or shelter, is given to refugees who face persecution in their native land. China does not allow families to have more than one child. Chang had a daughter and was pregnant again. She faced a tough choice: stay in China and be punished or leave.
The Xiquin (Chee-keen) family also sought asylum in the U.S. Carmelita, 35, and Mariano, 39, are Mayan Indians from a small city in Guatemala. They fled their country because they feared government persecution of Mayans. Carmelita and Mariano were forced to leave behind their four children (Julio, 15; Maria, 13; Juana, 12; and Angela, 11). This year, after many struggles, the family was reunited.
The Xiquins have found the American Dream. They just moved into a three-bedroom house in a working-class neighborhood in Houston. Their four-month-old baby Edy is an American. Maria and Juana are honor students. "Life has been hard, but our dream is to have a normal home and not be scared," says Carmelita. Mariano agrees, "I have my dream now that we are together."
America's Newcomers
30,000 B.C.
WHO: Paleo-Indians
WHY: While searching for shaggy bison (for food), America's first settlers walk across the land bridge that connects Asia to North America.
A.D. 1565
WHO: Spaniards
WHY: Adventurers and explorers seek the New World's treasures and build the first permanent European settlement in St. Augustine,Florida.
1607
WHO: Britons
WHY: The British also want the New World's riches. They build their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia.
600S
WHO: Africans
WHY: They are kidnapped and forced to work in the British colonies.
The slave trade continues until 1808.
1750
WHO: Welsh, Germans, French, Swedes and Finns
WHY: These immigrants want religious freedom. They settle in
Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and Delaware.
1830-1870S
WHO: Germans, Irish, Britons, Canadians and Chinese
WHY: Looking for a better life and freedom, newcomers settle along the Eastern seaboard and in the Midwest. Large numbers of Irish flee the misery and starvation caused by a famine in
Ireland. Chinese newcomers seek their fortune on the West Coast.
1880-1920
WHO: Italians and Eastern Europeans
WHY: The new arrivals seek wealth and freedom. In 1891 the first
federal immigration agency is started. The bureau opens 24 inspection stations, including Ellis Island in 1892.
1921
WHO: Canadians, Mexicans, Germans and Italians
WHY: Congress passes a law limiting the number of immigrants
allowed to enter the U.S. from specific countries. These limits, based on the existing U.S. population, are called quotas. They give special treatment to the ethnic groups that already have
a large population in the U.S.
1952
A new law called the McCarran-Walter Act is passed. The total number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. is set at 154,657 a year. Some nationalities are more welcome than others.
1965 TO THE PRESENT
WHO: Mexicans, Cubans, Asians (Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Koreans), citizens of the former U.S.S.R.
WHY: Quotas by country are ended by the Immigration Act of 1965. The doors open for a new wave of immigrants searching for greater opportunity and freedom.