-It was very interesting how even the skilled immigrants faced the same reality in America as the unskilled immigrants when they looked for work. I had naturally assumed that those who were skilled despite any language barrier they may have had would easily find a job. Usually businesses knew that they didn’t have to pay much for the labor of immigrants. During the initial waves of immigration, immigrants were eager for any monetary opportunity they could get because they needed to provide for themselves and their family. However, the reading seemed to suggest that the inability to speak English unfortunately placed all immigrant workers on the same level. In the end, it is just so sad to fathom that there was no alternative but to toil long hours at backbreaking jobs.

-“It was extremely hard to find an Italian in New York who could write his own tongue with accuracy.”

When I read about the low levels of literacy amongst Italian immigrants in their native tongue, I was shocked. When you read immigrant accounts it is common to read that they couldn’t read and write in English. However, at the very least they should be literate in their own language. Thus, this raises the question in my mind as to why such was the case. Did Italian immigrants find it pointless to learn how to read and write in their native language with the understanding that they wouldn’t need to know how once in America?

-“Today’s immigrants, therefore, can be divided roughly into two camps: those who arrive with college degrees and specialized skills, on the one hand, and those with little education and training on the other.”

Reading about and knowing that two spectrums exist in terms of the backgrounds immigrants arrive with should lead people to at the very least understand that not all immigrants who arrive could be grouped into one category. As a result, I don’t understand why the overwhelming majority of immigrants are categorized as trying to get over by draining the public system of funds. I believe that everyone deserves their proper due and this includes recognizing that immigrants not only come for economic assistance but to also help enrich America by contributing to innovation.

Questions:

Why did immigrant workers who paid for needles get fined if they broke the needle? How can you be fined for something you paid for?

-Ashley Haynes