America is and always has been a country of immigrants. Every single resident of the United States, besides the Native Americans, is either an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants. This fact makes it hard to understand why new groups of immigrants are typically greeted with anxiety, suspicion, discrimination, and even hate.

The first major wave of immigration came mainly from Europe from approximately 1880 to 1920. This group included many Irish, Polish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants among many other groups. The established white American population reacted very harshly to this new group of immigrants; they called these immigrants hateful names and prohibited them from working and living in certain areas. This is the climate into which my two Irish great-grandparents arrived in the late 1800s.

My grandmother was the youngest of nine children (all of whom were raised in New York among many other immigrant children), she herself was victim to several instances of discrimination by the WASP population. When she first moved to Elmhurst in 1935 or so, the neighborhood was overwhelmingly white and full of the aforementioned immigrant groups. Within her lifetime, the group of immigrants that her parents came to the U.S. with became more or less incorporated into mainstream society.

She lived in Elmhurst as the second wave of immigrants began to come into the U.S.: Chinese, Hispanics (from many different countries), Indians, Middle Easterners, etc. As the people she grew up with left and passed away and as white Elmhurst began its shift into becoming one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world, my grandmother experienced anxiety over change. As she grew older, she grew bitter, and as a young child I could not understand what the fuss was about.

This is still a question that I deal with years after my grandmother’s passing. How could a child of immigrants be so scared of other immigrants? She herself was even discriminated against for similar reasons. One answer that I have considered is that it’s an ongoing process of new Americans trying to claim a piece of their own here in the U.S. When the first wave of immigrants came in, the established white population was scared that they’d lose their power, their jobs, or their values. Now we see the ostracized doing the ostracizing.

People naturally fear change and the unknown. Until we stop being so terrified of our fellow Americans, we cannot fully embrace the skills and vitality that they can deliver once they are accepted and incorporated. Those who understand this can tap into the energy and potential of these immigrant groups in ways that can better the society as a whole. For those who do not, it may already be too late for them to see.

The Political Incorporation of Immigrants, Then and Now by Gary Gerstle and John Mollenkopf mainly discusses about two major waves of “new immigrants”. They discuss significant similarities and differences of these two waves of immigrants. The first wave of 27.6 millions of “new immigrants” was mainly composed of eastern, central, and southern Europeans. They arrived during the recovery time of the Civil War when the economy of the United States had started to develop and stabilize through steam, rail, electricity, and numerous other industries.

After World Ward II and Great Depression, the new “new immigrants” arrived. Unlike the previous wave, this group of people was mainly composed of Asians, Latin Americans, and the Caribbean (fewer Europeans). Since 1965, 20 million immigrants have arrived in the United States and a huge portion of them settled gateway cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and etc. This new generation of immigrants also arrived at the time of economic prosperity and development. Also numerous immigrants with professional skills were present since the standard for the jobs has been raised.

The crucial difference between the old and new “new immigrants” are the problems they face.  The newer immigrants face the wall of education. The requirements for jobs have been getting stricter and stricter. Although the immigrants at the beginning of the 20^th century were fairly uneducated, the society did not require for them to have high degree of education. Finally, the later immigrants enter “a more culturally relaxed, multicultural, and perhaps less prejudiced society”. Although there have been anti-immigrant acts, the immigrants weren’t greatly affected by it and eventually, the practice of holding dual-citizenship became popular.

What’s really distinct about the second wave of “new immigrants” is the diversity of race. The older immigrants were able to assimilate to the American society eventually. After a certain point, they were considered “white”. The newer wave will have harder time assimilating into the mainstream society because of the color of their skin.

Gerstle and Mollenkopf discuss the two great waves of immigration to the United States; namely the great European immigration of the late 19^th to early 20^th century, and the more recent influx of immigrants from Latin America and Asia from the mid 20^th century through the present. They discuss the fact that there is currently a great disparity between studies of the first wave and the second. They propose that to truly understand these movements, lessons from both eras must be applied.

In terms of similarities, in both cases certain “gateway” cities became hubs for immigrants. New groups formed by ethnic similarities appeared in within the older system of division of labor. Immigrants from both eras faced discrimination, from groups that feared their presence but paradoxically exploited them for political and economic reasons.

There were also stark differences, mostly in their respective historical contexts. The first wave of immigration was sustained by the final fruits of the industrial revolution. New technologies developed heavy industry and manufacturing as a major part of the economy. The resulting economic growth created plenty of opportunity for advancement. The second wave on the other hand arrived in a period of economic flux and uncertainty. The lack of education, relative to natives, amongst many of these immigrants makes it difficult for advancement similar to that of the previous wave.

In The Political Incorporation of Immigrant, Then and Now, Gary Gerstle and John Mollenkopf talk about the development of immigrant participation in politics and the two waves of immigrants that came to the United States of America.  The first wave, which lasted from the 1880s to the 1930s, consisted of mainly Europeans.  Most immigrants came from countries of Eastern Europe, like Italy, Germany, and Ireland.  The second wave consisted of Latinos, Asians and Caribbeans during the 1900s to present day.  With the new wave of immigrants coming to the United States came the inevitable rise in immigrants in blue collar jobs.  With the lack of skill and knowledge of how the job market worked in America, immigrants were a great source of cheap labor for manufacturers and other low-skilled jobs.  Both waves of immigrants also settled in city areas with other immigrants, like New York City.  Since immigrants seemed to gravitate towards other cultures similar to theirs, the authors point out how the first wave of European immigrants became more assimilated into American culture, or “white” culture.  As time passed by, Europeans became accepted as part of the American culture.   Because the earlier wave of immigrants related more to “white”culture, it makes sense that immigrant participation in politics has declined.  The newer wave of immigrants do not feel as assimilated as the earlier wave, so they are not as inclined to participate in political activities.  Of course, there are the few immigrants who are interested in politics and making themselves heard.  The issues of immigrants are being made more and more known, even though participation is lower than it should be.

The Political Incorporation of Immigrants, Then and Now by Gary Gerstle and John Mollenkopf discuss two different time periods in U.S. history that immigration was especially prevalent. The first of which dates from 1880-1930. This first wave was made up of Europeans (England, Ireland, German, etc.) who migrated to the United States. Upon arriving these immigrants immediately took to blue collared jobs and created their lives around these jobs. The second wave was made up of Latin Americans and other “non whites” (Latino, Asians, Caribbean). Few of these new immigrants started in blue collared jobs. We still see second wave immigration to this day with a large number of Asian and Latino immigrants.

The authors point out some of the differences between the first wave and the second wave of immigrants. One of these differences is the first wave had a greater opportunity to slowly assimilate with the other whites around them. For the second wave, it is increasingly more difficult to assimilate into “white” culture because with such a high concentration of diversity, it is clear that immigrants tend to stick with people of similar backgrounds.

As time has passed, immigrants are taking less and less of a role in politics. The first wave of immigrants seemed to take a more active approach to politics in voicing their opinions and willing to fight. The second wave of immigrants typically takes a backseat in politics. I know from experience that my parents, who are both immigrants, often question whether there is any point in voting. They constantly speak about how “this is a white man’s world” and despite arguing with them, they have already made up their minds. To them, the country will run with or without them so they believe there is no real need for them to voice their opinions because they believe that as a minority immigrant, there opinions will not be heard.