The first reading written by Rudolph J. Vecoli was based around the role immigration played in forming the nation we know today as America. From the founding of the United States of America until today, immigrants have made America. Even in the late 18th century when the United States was still a state and not an established nation, this was a state of immigrants. Still today, this nation is build upon immigrants. There were three waves of immigrants flooding to the Unites States. The third wave started in the 1960’s and is ongoing now.

There have been many times when arguments against a certain group of immigrants included a group’s lack of assimilation or their attachment to their own cultures. It must be taken into consideration that many of those people who are against immigration and call themselves Americans also had ancestors who were immigrants. This whole nation has been created by immigrants. Immigrants who had decided to leave behind their connections to Great Britain. An increased number of people immigrating to the Unites States have many economical benefits for the nation too. The United States has not been growing as fast as some of the other growing nations such as China and India and still it continues to attract many Immigrants. I wonder how long this would continue. Would there ever be a time when Immigration would be fully accepted without any social effects?

The exert we read about “Immigrants in New York City (NYC) in the New Millennium” focuses on various aspects of immigration to New York City. Starting with why immigrants have come to this city and presenting the possible economic factors and political factors in the sending countries that have led to this large group of immigration.At the same time, the immigration policies have become much more lenient that family members can be brought here with much more ease than before. The author also calls New York as a “Special” city for immigration. Firstly, NYC was a historic port for the immigrants coming in during the times of the founding fathers. NYC has been the target place to reach for many immigrants and therefore a large quantity of New Yorkers have a close immigration connection. NYC’s government also provides many services that help incoming immigrants. The various features of the new immigrant groups are also  mentioned. In NYC people from “somewhere else” can retain their original identities to a large extent that keeps the people from becoming homogenized. Immigrants here do not lose their premigration culture completely, instead these previous values, attitudes and customs help shape the group’s adjustment to NYC. Similarly, various aspects of NYC immigrants are also talked about.

While I was reading about the various aspects of NYC immigrants, I realized just how true all this truly was. It talked about the differences in the levels of Education among groups of people I once again realized that was how I had been thinking too. I am not sure whether I should consider this information a stereotype but I truly did feel as though Asians and European groups surrounding me seemed to put in much more effort into getting a proper education  than many people I have met from Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean groups. The information about the occupational niches of various group also seemed to be true however, there are still younger generation members who are leaving these “niches” to reach for possibly jobs that won’t tie them down to these “stereotypical ethnic jobs.” Once again despite my guilty heart I will admit to the continuous prejudice and discrimination and residential segregation between various groups of people. I live in Woodside, Queens which to my knowledge is a quite diverse area. My routes of travel allow me to meet some African Americans, many Latin Americans, South Asians, fair number of Europeans, etc. I have never felt like people in my community were segregated and that is most likely due to the already large diversity in this area. However, I myself am guilty of thoughts that discriminate against various groups. The reason for this is not necessarily my lack of knowledge but possibly my own experience among various groups of people. When I leave my neighborhood, I see areas of much more crime and gloom containing a higher concentration of a certain group of people and that makes me think about the people living there. From personal experiences of people taking my mom’s wallet and me following those people despite my sense that they could be dangerous, I have realized the experience it seems that some thieves have compared to others of different ethnic groups.

The part of the first of the two exerts that I really liked is part regarding cuisine and popular culture. When I go grocery shopping or simply shopping to different areas around my neighborhood, I have had the chance of eating various foods from various parts of the world that I have truly come to almost fall in love with my neighborhood. The parades and festivals that are held around my neighborhood have all seemed so welcoming and curious for me to explore often as well. I must agree with the conclusion that immigrants have truly made their mark on our neighborhoods both good and bad.

The Exert titled ” The next generation Emerges” talks about the population of New York City that is getting older and the jobs that must be filled when they retire. Many of those positions such as managing must be filled by the second generation. There is also the concern regarding the difference between the educational success of black and Latin and Americans, and the Asians and white. There are many issues that arise with finding a way to fill the positions that baby boomers will soon be leaving. At the same time I do believe that the second generation is capable of succeeding in these positions.

This exert was very informative but personally, I feel as though with these special opportunities for either African Americans, Latin Americans, or Native Americans, the Asians and Whites are being left out.