So many people in the United States of America came here as immigrants. Illegal immigrants tend to come to our country looking for a better life for themselves and their families as do legal immigrants seeking citizenship. From the beginning, when our country was founded it started immigration to the "New World." Irish immigrants came to the United States and many worked as slaves or servants just to survive as did many others from various parts of the world. Slavery wasn't reserved strictly to any particular race but anyone who needed work and a place to stay.
Immigration was nothing new to America. Except for Native Americans, all United States citizens can claim some immigrant experience, whether during prosperity or despair, brought by force or by choice. However, immigration to the United States reached its peak from 1880-1920. The so-called "old immigration" brought thousands of Irish and German people to the New World. (http://www.ushistory.org/us/38c.asp)
Not all Americans welcomed immigrants then nor do they now. Immigrants of the early days were forced to work as slaves and many were bought and sold like property. Immigrants served as cheap labor and their owners knew they would work hard to avoid punishment and be able to keep working and living with a roof over their heads. Some were treated harshly for their misgivings and were whipped or had food withheld.
In the case of Mauricio Garcia’s story, his
family sent him, his brother and cousin to the United States to keep them
alive. It was mentioned that boys around
age 16 to 17 did not live long in El Salvador, many were killed. Mauricio and his family members struggled to
survive when they arrived in Florida on their way to New Jersey. Not knowing how to speak English was a huge
challenge for all three boys especially Mauricio. Mauricio stated, “Teachers who teach English
are saints.” He also said, “Learning
another language messes with your confidence.”
The one phrase mentioned that stood out was, “Just because you are
comfortable doesn’t mean you are happy.”
It made me laugh when Mauricio said, “The two best things about the
United States are: Bacon and Milky Way.”
It spoke volumes when he talked about his first job and how happy he was
to get a promotion to “shoveling crap.” Most
Americans would not be happy doing a job that requires them to shovel animal
waste but he was. So when you think your
life is rough, think about those people who fought to get here to gain a better
quality of life and weren’t lucky enough to be born here.
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