I think that the discussion on Wednesday was especially interesting and even more powerful now given the political climate in recent news. With a new administration in charge of America, perhaps the most extreme actions have been made against immigration and dealing with undocumented immigrants. Living in a city that is historically and widely known as the first stop destination for immigrants has allowed me to witness the drastic change in immigration policy first hand. Even in my friend’s own neighborhood of Jackson Heights, the crackdown on undocumented citizens has been something I have never had to experience or witness until now. It is scary to think that right on the train stop that I get off to visit my friend, there are agents waiting to detain someone they suspect of living in America illegally. There have also been barrage of posts by my friends on social media to spread the word on how to protect loved ones from falling victim to the new administration’s executive order.
So when we discussed the situation about immigration in class today it was eye opening on how drastically immigration has become in America compared to the days of our parents or from our ancestors before. Even from the small clip from the Godfather, the whole process of immigration seemed so streamlined and easy. They even changed names of new immigrants coming in to either shortened versions or more American sounding names all together. This was consistent with my parents when they immigrated to New York decades ago. They were given an option to now pick or make an American name for themselves as they started their new lives.
Immigration has now become such a difficult and restrictive process that some even resort to the extreme of marrying a citizen only for the purpose of gaining citizenship. One can only wonder how much more today’s immigration policy will demand given a new era of American government. It is especially concerning because it seems as if more changes in our immigration policy has happened in the last decade at a more rapid pace than in the last century.
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