Artifact Five: Language Assimilation for Immigrants

Everyone can agree that one of the hardest things to do is learn a new language. It requires hard work and dedication, plus the majority of one's free time. For many immigrants, however, it's something that they simply must do. For some immigrants it's easier than others, and a new report published by an economist at Germany's Ruhr University Bochum finds out why. 

According to the study, the distance between one's native tongue and that of the one they're trying to learn plays a huge role in how long it takes them to learn the new language. Experts determine the distance between languages by finding how many cognates (or words that mean the same thing) the languages have in common. They also take words that mean the same thing and determine how many sounds it would take to make them the same word. 

After calculating the distance between certain languages, the researcher(s) examined data and literacy scores in a couple of countries. They found that immigrants coming from countries with the most dissimilar languages had the lowest literacy scores. Over time, the immigrants obviously get better, but it can take quite a while. 

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As you can see in the chart above, the Germanic languages (like Dutch and Norwegian) are the closet to English. The annoying thing about this is that the United States and other English-speaking countries aren't exactly flocked with Germanic immigrants. Instead, the majority of our immigrants come from either Central America and Asia, where the languages aren't as similar to English. The article in which I found the study concludes by saying that if we want all our immigrants to do well in America, we should make sure to offer special support to those who come from countries with languages far different than English. 

I found this study to be quite interesting. Rather than coming up with solutions to get rid of immigrants, the researcher(s) found a solution to the language barrier many immigrants face, including Reyna Grande from The Distance Between Us (a book that has been featured many times on this blog). In her book, Reyna moves from Mexico to the United States speaking only Spanish. She is put in a special group at school for ESL learners, something she resents. When the school hosts a special story contest, Reyna is desperate to win, however she doesn't speak English. While her teacher tells her that it will be a nonissue, Reyna's story written in Spanish (as well as all the ESL students' ones) is only given a cursory glance before being discarded. Reyna eventually learns English, but she forever remembers the incident. 

Personally, I think that the idea of offering extra support to those whose language is far different from English is a brilliant idea. I've never had any personal experience with the matter, but I really felt for Reyna during that scene in the book. It would be horrible to have a piece of my work discarded on the sole basis of what language it was written in. As a country it's our job to make sure that we support everyone who lives in it, whether that means by offering them extra language classes to improve their English or translating their work for school. 

To conclude this five-post blog series, I believe that helping immigrants become the best they can be is the key to this country's success. Teach them our language, support their dreams, and keep families united- it's something we need and should do. After all, we are a country founded by immigrants; the least we can do is help them. 

Artifact Four: "Shattered Families"

In The Distance Between Us Reyna Grande, the author of the novel, was abandoned in Mexico while her parents went to El Otro Lado (the United States) in search of work. She spent several years living with her crazy grandmother and two siblings in the poorest part of Mexico, before her father eventually came to collect her. The article Deportation's Forgotten Children describes a similar situation, with one major caveat: instead of the children being left in a foreign country by themselves, it's their parents that are shipped off to live who-knows-where. 

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A recent study found that 5,000 children of deported immigrants are in the foster care system. If the current trend continues that number will triple to 15,000 in the coming years. Sadly, many of these children's parents weren't even allowed to make decisions regarding their children's caretakers before being shipped of to who-knows-where. If the statistic that it costs around 25,000 USD to keep a child in the foster care system for a year is true, that means we could be unnecessarily spending over one-hundred and twenty-five million USD a year keeping these children in the foster care system.  

Last year, a new act introduced in Congress tried to change all that. The Help Separated Families Act seeks to make it harder to terminate the parental rights of illegal immigrants who've been deported and also seeks to place children with the best guardian for them, no matter what that person's immigration status it. Personally, I fully agree with this act. It seem silly to me that we're wasting so much money putting children in the foster system when there's a good home out there for them. Also, I would like point out that many children in the foster care system end up troubled adults, something I doubt most people want this country to be full of. 

In the end, separating families is always a bad idea. Children need a constant figure of love and guidance in their lives, or else they're never able to get rid of the feeling of abandonment. Take my own grandfather for example. Since his mother and father were working full time running a successful business they had to hire a nanny to take care of him. However, the nannies always quit early on, or, if they stayed, never showed any love or affection to my granddad. Throughout his entire life he was never over to get over the feeling of being abandoned, which let to alcohol abuse later in life. Because he drank so much, all of his children grew up hating him. Today he spends all his time alone and sick in an empty house, with nobody to love him.

I wouldn't wish my grandfather's fate upon anyone; and I hope you wouldn't either. For the sake of our country, let's try keep families united and children out of the system. It's good for everyone. 

If you're interested, here is the article I read: LA Time Deportation Article

Artifact Three: The Dream is Now

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The Dream is Now tells the story of four young adults, all of which are recent immigrants to the United States. Alejandro desperately wants to join the marines, yet lacks the necessary documents to join; Ola is researching cancer treatments at the University of Michigan, but could soon be deported; Jose has a degree in mechanical engineering but is unable to use it due to his immigration status; and Erika is a proud leader of the DREAM movement although she fears her mother might be deported. 

Throughout the film we see the struggles each of these four extraordinary individuals go through and how the DREAM Act would benefit them. The DREAM Act, first introduced in 2001 is a piece of legislature that would allow undocumented youth of "good moral character" who arrived in the States at a young age and have lived here for at least five years a chance to gain legal status. By joining the military of getting a degree from a four-year U.S. university, they would be given a six-year temporary resident card. During the six years they may apply for a permanent resident card, and, eventually, gain citizenship. 

When I first heard about the DREAM Act I didn't fully understand what it was. I thought it was basically a free pass into the country for all undocumented minors; something I didn't really support. Yes, I believe we should make the immigration process easier, but people should have to prove themselves to get in. However, once I fully understood what it was, I was completely in support of it. If someone has the skills and the drive to do something extraordinary and improve our economy, why not let them? Take Jose for example. When he got his degree in mechanical engineering from Arizona there was a shortage of mechanical engineers in the state. However, Jose wasn't allowed to apply for any of the jobs due to his undocumented status and is now a construction worker. What a waste of talent! Jose has a needed skill and by letting it go to waste we're not only hurting him, but our economy too. 

In The Distance Between Us Reyna is put in a similar situation to most of the DREAMers. Hard working and talented, Reyna has all the qualities necessary for success, yet she is undocumented. This ends up being a nonissue for her in the end because her stepmother's legal status allows Reyna and her family to get Green Cards. Had Reyna not been fortunate enough to be granted legal status, it would've been a lot harder for her to go to university and eventually become a teacher. 

I am also in a similar boat to Reyna in that I could've benefited from the DREAM Act, but was fortunate enough to be granted citizenship as a minor. My parents are British and Australian, and I was born in Hong Kong, so my family and I (well, mainly my dad) have a fair amount of experience with the U.S. Office of Immigration. Luckily, my parents were both born in countries that gave them plenty of opportunities; opportunities that later helped them get our visas. Had my parents been born average citizens in Mexico, Albania, or even Russia, I would be stressing about what to put on the citizenship portion of college applications just like the kids in The Dream is Now. 

I've always believed in helping the less fortunate (again with the 'because that could be me' thing), but I feel that reading The Distance Between Us and watching The Dream is Now further helped me understand and sympathize with the plight many of the immigrants in this country have to go through. 

If you would like to watch The Dream is Now click here. 

Artifact Two: A Refugee Crisis?

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While the photos may tell a different story, Honduras is not a tropical tourist destination for Americans to spend their vacation time on; instead, it is a land where drug cartels are king and violence runs amok. Christian Omar Reyes, a young Honduran boy, knows this very well; two months ago his father was brutally murdered by members of a local gang. His mother quickly fled Honduras on life insurance money, promising to send for him soon. But in Reyes own words, he has to get out now, "no matter what". 

Central America wasn't always this bad. However, in recent years it has gotten much worse, causing the number of children immigrating to the United States to skyrocket. Part of this is due to the efforts of the United States and Colombia to stop the drug traffic flowing through the Carribbean islands. In order to get their drugs to the States now, the cartels have been forced to reroute the drugs through Honduras and other Central American countries. Currently, the amount of drug money flowing through Honduras is currently larger than the country's GDP. 

Upon interviewing children who had fled parts of Central America, the UN found that 58% of them had left due to violence, not economic hardship, like most of us think. This survey caused the UN to recommend that these children be allowed to enter the United States on refugee status. So far, the United States appears to be ignoring this recommendation (EDIT: upon reading more into it, the US is now apparently seriously considering giving Honduras refugee status). 

I agreed with the author up until the point where she stated that she believed those fleeing economic hardship should not be allowed into this country. From my perspective, economic hardship can be almost just as bad as physical hardship. I feel that it is unfair for only those facing a certain type of issue should be allowed into the Land of Opportunity where they can make their lives better while others are forced to suffer. Yes, life is not always fair, but as a wealthy country with plentiful resources, we should try our best to give everyone the chance to succeed. 

In The Distance Between Us, Grande, the author of the novel, was never raped or forced to sell drugs, but nevertheless, she still desperately needed to get out of Mexico. In Mexico, she would never be properly educated, never get the chance to go to college and better herself, never live the life she dreamed; however, all that was possible in the States. She worked hard and it got her places; this the dream of so many children in so many countries, and we just simply ignore them. 

I very well could've been one those children; had I not been born to the right parents. Instead, I was born into a life of privilege and security, a life where whatever I can dream is possible. This is life I want for everyone. This is the dream that should go on, for all children, not just refugees. 

For those interesting in reading the article, here it is: A Refugee Crisis, Not an Immigration Crisis

Artifact One: Income Inequality in Immigration

The Distance Between Us tells the story of a young Hispanic girl (Reyna) who is separated from her parents when they decide to immigrate to the United States. She spends several hard, lonely years in Mexico until her father comes to collect her. And while her story may be common, it is no less heartbreaking than the rest of them. With that said Reyna's story is not the only kind of immigration tale to be told; there are many others, and not all of them may be what you think. 

Enter Mauricio. He brought his family to Texas last year after a scare with one of Mexico's drug cartels. However, it wasn't a hard journey across the border for Mauricio, his wife, and three children. Instead, Mauricio is one of the many wealthy Mexicans fleeing dangerous Mexico (by first class, of course) on EB-5 visas. An EB-5 visa requires the holder to either create ten jobs and invest a million USD into the economy (discounts apply in areas with high unemployment). 

As someone whose parents came on a similar type of visa (the EB-1 and EB-2, which are more talent based, rather than wealth based), I always found the system grossly unfair. It confused me as to why someone who had loads of opportunity to become wealthy/successful could easily (in relative terms) come to the United States, while those with less opportunities (like Reyna) have to sit on a waiting list for ten-thousand years or sneak in. Sure, wealthy/talented people bring more into the country, but poor people generally have a more desperate need to get in. Look at Reyna's conditions when she lived in Mexico: unsafe drinking water, lack of security, and a dirt floor to sleep on. Compare those to the conditions of the average EB visa immigrant, and it's obvious who needs to be in the States more. 

Overall, my opinion on the topic has stayed the same, but I feel by reading the Distance Between Us and the Times article (linked below), I've gained a deeper understanding of poverty, and it's relationship with distance. Poverty causes distance to become greater, while wealth clothes the gap. However, it is possible to overcome these boundaries, you just have to get a little creative...

Credit, the distance between the rich and poor shown above

You can read the full article here.