Migrating to the Unites States of America from Cartagena, Colombia, all I had in my mind of this foreign land was a world filled with Mickey Mouse ears and not just about anything else than what it actually is. My mother entered this country only mastering the word ‘Hello” while holding my hand and pushing my younger one-year old sister in the stroller. She did this for the same reason other people migrate to this land of opportunity which is to seek better opportunities. America consists of different people from different parts of the world. A country in which you can hear English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Mandarin, Creole and so on. Immigration has been controversial in the United States for many years. Benjamin Franklin was concerned that many of the German immigrants would swamp America’s British culture. Today, president Donald trump also has a controversial view towards immigrants as he refers to them as ‘rapists’ and ‘criminals’. I believe that we are a nation of immigrants, without immigrants there would be no America therefore immigrants are what shape America.
Besides hearing what seemed to be a complex and difficult language every day, one of the very first thing I noticed when I first moved to this country was the vastly different culture. Having a first-hand experience, I have noticed that one of the ways immigration has shaped America is by enriching the American culture. Immigrants from distinct parts of the world have and still introduce a new idea in technology, architecture, food, art and just about everything. Many of our day-to-day items were brought to be by immigrants. For example, our patriotic song “God Bless America,’’ was written by Irving Berlin who was a Jewish immigrant from Belarus; the white house was also designed by an Irish immigrant; the idea of Santa Clause was brought to be in America by the Dutch. Not to mention Americans favorite past time, eating! Many immigrants across south Florida have introduced to their locals’ traditional foods from their country, such as over 100 Latin cuisines in Miami alone, it serves as an economic boom for many communities. The American culture has vastly been shaped by immigrants. In music, many of the most popular American-favorite musicians are immigrants. The pop sensation Rihanna, moved to the United States in 2004 from Barbados, and the seven Grammy award winner Gloria Estefan migrated to Miami with her family escaping the Cuban revolution. This is truly impressive to me since in Colombia it’s just one culture, one language, not even close to compare how vastly different and enriching the American culture has become.
Moving to the United States, I have seen my mother face many hardships all alone. Being single, with two kids, in a country where you don’t know the language or have any friends to help you is not all. Having majored in a business administration degree back in Colombia, she was hired as a maid in a popular Miami hotel. Many people such as President Donald Trump, often have the misconception that immigrants ‘steal’ or ‘take away’ many jobs however I believe that most immigrants take the jobs that most Americans would not like to do. Logically, if more people are coming to the States, creating a whole new population, it is required for them to work and spend money in food, clothes, and housing in order to survive. One cannot simply “steal” a job from another person. Taking into consideration slavery for example, it was that basis of the American economy. Slavery was what produced the trading goods essential to world trade such as tobacco, sugar, and cotton during the eighteenth century. Without slavery, there would be no America. Without immigration, there would be no America. The Small Business Administration stated, “immigrants are 30% more likely to start a business in the United States than nonimmigrants, and 18% of small business owners in the United States are immigrants.” These statistics are proven correct especially in South Florida where Hispanics and Latinos of any race, many running family businesses, make up about 23% of the state’s population. Not only taking small local business into play, immigrants also have a large role in building large companies. The National Venture Capital Association stated that ‘immigrants have started 25% of public U.S companies that were backed by venture capital investors,” this include Google and Intel. The goal is not to “steal jobs” rather grow as a nation together. It has been proven that immigration increasing has boosted the earnings of Americans. According to the University of California, “between 1990 and 2004, increased immigration was correlated with increasing earnings of Americans by 0.7% and is expected to contribute to an increase of 1.8% over the long-term.” Today my mother owns a small yet crazy busy Colombian bakery by herself, not “stealing” from anyone rather working hard to achieve this goal of hers.
After seeing this vastly diverse culture I had never been exposed to, I come to the conclusion that it is what shapes America. Being able to learn new culture, and try new foods without having to get in a plane is pretty incredible. It this country’s hardships that other third-world countries admire. My family in Colombia admire my mom and the fact that she owns a small corner business next to a noisy highway in the United States, introducing her greasy mouthwatering arepas for others to enjoy.
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