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Cultural Injustice, Immigration and Treatment- H. Sandwisch(Week 8)

The United States is seen as the Land of the Free and full of opportunities for those seeking a new life and safety from what may have faced them in their former country. However, many times immigrants have not been welcomed with open arms, instead they have been forced to Americanize leaving behind their values and cultures while also being depicted in the media as less than someone born in the United States. These people come to our country for a better life and often times they face struggles such as being put into specific sectors where there are other ethnicities like themselves, being less likely to receive jobs, and one of the biggest issues is the fear of violence or being deported back to what they escaped. This can be seen most recently and nation-wide during WWII where Japanese Americans were rounded up and put into “internment camps” all due to the way they looked and the fear from Americans that these people who were their neighbors and friends could somehow cause harm.

One of the articles I chose to look more into as I thought it correlated was about Japanese internment camps during WWII. These camps were made on US soil after Pearl Harbor and all Americans who were Japanese (even if they were US born and had been for many generations) were forced to leave their homes, businesses, schools, and lives to go to these camps as they were being alienated against due to their ethnicity.

Many articles regarding immigration laws and internment camps illustrate some of the possible horrors and alienation that immigrants face especially those who are undocumented. Not only this but the idea that what happens between arrest and deportation is a grey area where not many people outside of the government know what happens. In The Leavers by Lisa Ko this is seen firsthand through the eyes of Polly, who is taken from her job and family, forced into mistreatment, and then deported back to China without being able to see her son or explain to anyone what had happened to her. The question I want you all to think about is whether or not there needs to be more leniency towards undocumented immigrants or immigrants in general, for example should they be able to see their families before they are deported? Along with this how can we as Americans change our ways to make immigrants feel more welcome and allow them to keep their cultures? Lastly, what is your opinion on the idea of “internment camps” such as the ones Japanese Americans endured, and do you think the US needs to change their immigration policies?

 

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works