Success in America after immigrating from a different country is based primarily on a combination of the familiarity of the language and culture and readily available financial opportunities of an ethnic enclave. Similar to Portes and Bach, I believe that the success of immigrants is partly due to common history, social networks, and traditions. They clearly explained their theory by using the prominent Cuban immigrant community in Miami. People are comfortable making business arrangements in their common language and shared customs. The diversity and common virtues are seen in religious communities that reflect the history and the impact of shared beliefs. The religious institutions served to help the immigrants have a community where they are reminded of home. The New York temple is an important lifeline for people of Fuqi such that it hold festivities and gatherings such as those on Chinese New Year. During this time “many Fuzhounese working in restaurants across the country return to New York.” But, I don’t agree Portes and Bach that this is the only factor that impacts one’s level of success.
Upward mobility is based also on entrepreneurial skills and the drive to make one’s life better. This is depicted in Chinatown, where the economic enclave is a community of people that are exploited and work for less pay in a controlled market. The one that takes advantage of newly introduced immigrants strives to provide them with a false sense of hope under the pretense that they can achieve upward mobility. This is supported by evidence found by Zhou and Logan in which they analyzed women’s experiences and measured their importance in the community. The women earned less yet they are essential members of the community as mothers and workers. Immigrants are taken advantage of not only in Chinatown but throughout the city. In Queens, auto repair shop workers were at risk of losing their jobs because of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to “fix and beautify” Willets Point. But, this area of Queens is essential to the lives of illegal immigrants that may not be trained to do anything else. Many of the people that work in these shops probably won’t be relocated because, although the workers are willing to work in a new shop, the owners of the land are not willing to sell. The owners of the businesses and government officials are thus taking advantage of the immigrants working in automotive shops by keeping them on a string until they decide what will happen to the businesses, the workers, and their jobs.
