Jews, Gypsies, North Africans, and Mexicans
For some reason, the immediate reaction that people (at least in America) have when conversation about immigration is brought up is that immigrants come illegally and cause problems. People immediately assume that most immigrants don’t belong and that they are taking over; taking our jobs, our living space, and overflowing our public areas. Whether it’s Gypsies in Italy or Mexicans in America, people have their share of complaints about immigrants. This is exactly what I was expecting the speaker about Italian immigration to discuss. It is as if there is some general mindset about the word “immigrant”, like it only applies to those that move illegally to a different country. I was pleasantly surprised last week when the speaker began to focus on legal immigration. It forced me to realize how legal immigration takes place in higher amounts than illegal immigration and that it is important to view immigration in a new light.
Coming from America, a country built on immigration, it can be a little hard to understand why people have such a negative view about immigrants. After all, the country was founded by people who emigrated from various parts of the world in search of a new life. At that time, immigration was the ideal solution for many people. They were trying to find a better life by getting a fresh start in a land where freedom was guaranteed. And because of this influx of many different people and cultures, America has become the country that it is today.
It was very interesting to discover from Monsieur that Italy additionally encounters a lot of immigration—more than I had ever realized. It is also a very diverse place with people coming from Romania, Albania, and Morocco. The statistics were quite fascinating. However, I was really surprised that only one small section of his presentation was dedicated to illegal immigrants. Monsieur pointed out that legal immigrants come in much higher numbers than illegal immigrants, making it appear that illegal immigration is not as big of a problem than most people stereotypically think.
In fact, immigration is a wonderful thing for a country. A transfer of ideas, goods, products, and traditions occurs whenever people from different cultures interact. Additionally, it improves the economy by having more consumers, producers, and even workers. Immigrants in both Italy and America are increasing in numbers annually. I believe that people as a whole need to focus more on the benefits that immigration has brought and that it is often a good thing. Without it America would not exist.
In the overall picture, my biggest question/challenge is how can we, as a people, change this negative mindset about immigration? First, I think that people need to understand what exactly is going on with immigration. So much effort and attention is put on the influx of illegal immigrants that it is twisting our perspective. By understanding that the majority of immigrants come legally in an effort to create a better life, we can begin to re-paint our picture of what immigration is all about. In reality, the stereotypical illegal immigrants give all immigrants a bad name. For America it’s the Mexicans coming to steal all the jobs, while for Italy it’s the dirty gypsies that are begging and pick-pocketing in the streets. However, if we are able to overcome these stereotypes and learn to embrace the diversity that this life brings, we will all enjoy what can be learned from one another.
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