In the writing, Judith Ortiz Cofer tell her story of being a young Puerto Rican girl who’s family has just moved to the United States during the mid 1960s. She talks about how difficult things were for her as she struggled with American animosity towards immigrants. She cites an instance where a man says “you PR kids put your dirty hands on stuff. You always look dirty…” (Ortiz Cofer). Unfortunately, instances such as this would have been all to common in 1960s America. The 60s were a time of change in the United States. As millions of African Americans battled for civil rights, there was also a strong push for immigration reform. With pressure from the civil rights movement as well as some politicians, the Immigration Act of 1965 was passed. “the bill marked a dramatic break with past immigration policy… In place of the national-origins quota system, the act provided for preferences to be made according to categories, such as relatives of U.S. citizens or permanent residents”(History.com). The act changed the lives of not just immigrants around the world but also many Americans. People believed “in debating an overhaul of immigration policy in the 1960s, many in Congress had argued that little would change” (Ludden). However, those who believed they would see very little change were very wrong. The act allowed millions of South American and Latino immigrants access to the U.S. This influx of citizens created a more competitive job market which in turn lead to a growing animosity towards immigrants of Latin American decent. Ortiz Cofer experienced first hand what this animosity looked like.
After 60 years some immigrants still have to deal with American prejudices and opposition on a daily basis. However, today’s views of immigrants may not be as straight forward as they may of been in the 60s. For example, the U.S. border with Mexico has been a hot bed for political debate as Americans try to deal with illegal immigration. Most of these views towards immigrants come from racial biases stemming from the 1960s. In todays America, “50.7 percent of immigrant heads of household owned their own homes, compared with 65.2 percent of U.S.-born heads of household” (Nicholson). This highlights how those who are determined to better their lives will ultimately succeed in achieving their American Dream. Unfortunately, the freedoms many immigrants enjoy today were at the expense of previous generations such as Judith Ortiz Cofer and her family. Overall, understanding the social and political movements that coincide with the story allow for a much more comprehensive view.
Works Cited
the CAP Immigration Team and Michael D. Nicholson. “The Facts on Immigration Today: 2017 Edition.” Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2017/04/20/430736/facts-immigration-today-2017-edition/.
History.com Editors. “U.S. Immigration Since 1965.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 Mar. 2010, www.history.com/topics/immigration/us-immigration-since-1965
Ludden, Jennifer. “1965 Immigration Law Changed Face of America.” NPR, NPR, 9 May 2006, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5391395.
Ortiz Cofer, Judith. “The Story of My Body.” True Women and Real Men.
This is great work, Spencer and how it is incredible how far we have reached as a community or all different races and able to work together as a community compared to back the past. I have taken a sociology class talking about this and how it is a difficult challenge to fully follow the movement. Like stated in the passage, “after 60 years some immigrants still have to deal with American prejudice and opposition on a daily basis “. This could be from the past when there was not such a mix of different races and it was separated but through the great migration, it broke that barrier of separation and was able to lead to a movement to where we are today as a society working towards a creating a better society and eradicating prejudice and opposition.
Hi Spencer Marshall,
I appreciated your work! I appreciate your presentation. In my opinion, the issue of American immigration is related to the issue of race. For example, no American would discriminate against white immigrants from Europe because they belong to the same race and they are all Caucasian. But if you see that you are an Asian or Latin immigrant, some Americans will ignore or even discriminate against you. Furthermore, illegal immigration is also the reason why some Americans hate immigrants. I think legal immigrants should not be hated, which is the same as the race issue. Although these problems have improved in today’s society, it is difficult to completely resolve the public’s perception of immigration.
Great response Spencer!
Your response was very factual and your examples/opinions support your argument. Many Americans hold a prejudice towards immigrants because, as Spencer said, we are all competing for that “American Dream”. As I have learned previously in my Rural Sociology class, the desire for the American Dream is universal amongst all individuals. However, the dream is more attainable for some, than it is for others. Overall, I believe that America truly is “the land of opportunity”. As we know, many immigrants, such as my grandparents, fled their home countries, due to oppression, poverty, and crime, and moved to America in hope to attain a better life. As the demographics of our country continue to change, all ethnicities are now competing for that American Dream. Many individuals who attain the American Dream are motivated by their own success and drive to live a better life, regardless of their past life.
Spencer- I loved your post and how you noticed that this was a piece referencing times that were a few decades ago. I think your grasp on understanding the reading is very strong because you were paying attention to detail. I also think that there is a difference in today’s climate compared to the environment of the piece and brought in today’s point of view. Great work!
Hi Spencer, I really enjoyed your post. I was unaware that there was so much discrimination against Puerto Ricans in the 1960’s, so I am glad you shed light on the severity of it. I think it is very important when understanding American culture to also understand the faults our country has allowed for, especially when it comes to racial and gender discrimination. Without understanding the extent to which these immigrants and subjects of discrimination suffered, there will never be fundamental changes in society. I would be interested in learning about other specific people, like Judith Ortiz Cofer, who also took a stand against their unfair treatment.
Hey Spencer! I really enjoyed reading your post! I learned a lot from both parts of your post. I was unaware of the amount of discrimination against Puerto Ricans in the 1960s. I think it is important to understand and recognize the history of discrimination in our country, in order to better our society and learn from our ancestor’s mistakes. Our society would be in a horrible condition if we ignored the history of discrimination in our past and moved forward from it.
Spencer, I thought the way you tied in today’s debates in immigration with the 1960’s was well done. I think it is pretty easy to look at the news and see the topic of immigration come up, and simply assume that everything going on has to do with current politics and policies. It is good that you brought up how some people’s views of immigration are still rooted in the racial climate of the 1960’s. Most problems the US has with immigration and racism today are systemic. Sadly many people do not like change, but I think that if we as a society were to be more open to it, we could benefit greatly from it. Additionally I find it ironic that many people show animosity towards Latin American immigrants, or any immigrant for that matter. This country was built on immigration, yet people are quick to forget that.
Hey, Spencer! This post stood out to me because of its pertinence to my family. Although my grandfather is not from Puerto Rico, he left Mexico as a teenager for the United States during the 1960s. He is a great proponent of the American Dream and is very proud of his accomplishments. Growing up in Los Angeles (a city with a large Latino/Hispanic population), I was exposed to many stories, movies, and other sources that highlighted the terrible attitude towards Latin immigrants throughout Californian history. Your post supports my prior knowledge by incorporating an introduction to Ortiz Cofer. The Civil Rights Movement, in its own right, defined the decade and paved the way for many other groups who demanded equality. This is evidenced by rise of the Chicano Movement in cities like LA during the decade. Similar to the Civil Rights Movement, the Chicano Movement sought to fight injustices and prejudices that plagued the communities of the American southwest. Events like the East LA Walkouts proved to exemplify the frustrations (even among youth) with unfair systems like the LA Unified School District.
Spencer, your research was phenomenal, and flowed right in with the class material. I think that immigration is something that will constantly be considered an “issue” in America, although it is sad. I know that when I got adopted, people were very hesitant to be my friend or even approach me, because I was different. But different does not mean bad. I understand that there is a right and wrong way to come to America, but in reality people are trying to be able to move forward and have a future, but it is sad how our own government is so set on debating immigration. People do say history repeats it self, and I feel like today versus the 60s; immigration has been considered a bother for too many people.
Hi Spencer! I was really interested in learning more about the history behind the reading of Judith Ortiz Cofer and really appreciate your Context Presentation from this week. I was really intrigued by this reading and I really liked how you hit on the topic about what was happening during the 1960s. I didn’t realize all those social and political movements were happening in the United States in the 60s and it was really interesting to read about Judith’s story during the discrimination period against Latin Americans. Just like how you mentioned, I think it is important to point out that these prejudice thoughts, feelings, and actions still exist today, and more work still needs to be done moving forward.
Great post Spencer! It is so sad that immigrants, at such a young age, had to experience things like this. I can’t imagine being told that just because I was an immigrant, I was “dirty”. The Immigration Act of 1965 is a very important act in our country. That act took our country one step closer to equality and unity. It is crucial that as Americans, we look at what the Immigration Act did for our country and try to help even more immigrants who are just looking to start a better life in the United States.
Hi Spencer! I think you did a great job on this context presentation. I learned a lot from your post about immigration in America. I did not realize that immigration is a big issue until your introduction about immigrants suffering from discrimination. And it’s a hard process to deal with the prejudices despite the advantages bring by the immigrants. But one thing makes me confused is that why people would have bias against immigrants despite the fact that the country is built on immigrants.
Very informative post Spencer! Unfortunately, I agree with a lot of the replies that state that America today still has issues with immigration. I think that a lot of Americans see immigration as a negative thing, while it should actually be looked at as a positive thing. Shouldn’t us Americans be proud that so many people from other countries want to come here? At least that’s how I think of it.
I also really liked a reply that stated it is a race issue. The replier said that immigration is seen as negative when it’s somebody who is not white trying to immigrate to the United States. He uses an example saying that a European immigrant is not looked at in the same way as a Hispanic immigrant. I agree.
Nice job Spencer! You described immigrations problems in 1960s with a little Puerto girl story as a hook. Immigration has always been a problem in the United States. Immigrants have brought a lot of labor and wealth to the United States, but at the same time, it also keeps the United States conflicted. Today, because the immigration problem has not been fully solved. But on the whole, the treatment of immigrants has been much better than decades ago. Just as you mentioned in your article, the freedom of immigrants now is brought by the efforts of their ancestors for several generations.
Hey Spencer! I really liked how you explained the effects that the Immigration Act of 1965 had on the racial bias towards Latin American Immigrants. The introduction of competition in the workforce is a beneficial thing for the country in general, but many did see it as a threat and this was a huge factor in the racial dissent people developed towards this group. This is often how you see a negative bias appear towards a group of people or, in this case, race. People fear competition in general, which causes a great deal of mistrust towards immigrants, even with the enormous amount of opportunity that immigration provides.
Hi Spencer! I enjoyed reading your context presentation on Latin American immigration in the 1960s. I had previously thought that the stereotypes associated with Latin American immigration had developed more recently. I feel like recent events have brought up negative stereotypes with immigration, giving it national headlines. These stereotypes are often misleading and lead to the mistreatment of many immigrants. Hopefully views and thoughts on immigrants will continue to improve and the negative stereotypes will no longer exist.
Hi Spencer!
I really enjoyed reading your Context Presentation. I thought you did a great job explaining how immigration and views have changed since the 60s in America. It is crazy to me that still there are views on immigrants that stem from views in the 60s. It is so great to see so many immigrants making their American dream a reality. The quote you used in the begining of your post was very impactful. I think it truly shows just how nasty and mean people were in the past and still can be today! Even after 60 years, we still have people who view immigrants the same way there were viewed in the 60s. I hope one day, these views change.
Thank you so much, Spencer!
This is really helpful for me to understand what happened in the US from a historical and statistical perspective. I don’t know much about US history and this can be very inspiring for me to understand how does the US become what it is today. As an international student, I believe it helps me understand immigration a lot better.