Cambodian Refugee’s and their adjustment to American Society
One of the youngest ethnic groups of Southeast Asians migrated to the United States during the mid 1970s was the Cambodian population. They are considered one of the youngest generations of immigrants in American society along with the rest of the Southeast Asians or Indo-Chinese; Vietnamese, Lao, and Hmong. All of the ethnic groups in the Cold War era were seeking political asylum to the States from their respective homeland caused by a Civil War spreading across Vietnam. Nearly hundreds of thousands of Cambodians refugees fled to Thailand, Europe and other safe haven Asian countries but majority had escaped to the United States. Unlike earlier Asian immigrants like the Chinese and Japanese who faced harsh discrimination or official exclusion, or U.S. colonization like the Filipinos, the Cambodians could not resettled into co-ethnic communities so easily due to their background (Min 206). Specifically the Cambodians characteristics, migration patterns and arrival to the States reflect upon their adjustment to American society from political, economic and social status. When facing under certain United States immigration laws, selective refugees that are so called 1.5 generation born face one of the greatest challenges in society, deportation. It has become enforced by both the American and Cambodian government policies; immigrants who are convicted criminals and lack U.S. citizenship are to be deported back to their country of origin. What are the factors and causes that these Cambodian refugees experience within the United States and how the immigration laws settle with them?
First let’s take a brief summary of why the Cambodian migrated to the States in the first p...
... middle of paper ...
...er”. Furthermore, they must have knowledge of the English language and basic knowledge of U.S. history and government( cite). Although it may not apply to most it helps them the least. Another is being enlisted into the military for at least one year where they can obtain citizenship through naturalization with all the requirements above. In short Cambodian deportees may have the option to be treated as an American equal if they follow these rules and procedures accordingly.
In conclusion the Cambodian Americans face incredible challenges as the 1.5 generation group growing up have troubles assimilating with American society. The causes and effects of these young refugees can be a nightmare because of the limited options and difficulties they must endure. The deportation is a jarring and poorly process that is considered the many banes of America legislation today.
I thought it would be an interesting idea to enlighten and inform people about the Lao Iu Mein and our process of immigrating to the U.S. as well as the challenges we have to overcome. I interviewed my parents, Lao Iu Mein refugees who immigrated to the United States from Thailand. Through this interview, I had a chance to hear for the first time the story of my parents' struggles and experiences as they journeyed to a place where they became "aliens" and how that place is now the place they call "home."
‘The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority’ by Ronald Takaki and ‘Growing up Asian in America’ by Kesaya E. Noda are both essays that depict the state of Asian immigrants in America. The authors are both Asian Americans themselves and their words bear fruit from a lifetime of personal experiences of being a viewed upon as an alien in their own land.
The Asian-Americans settlement patterns were shaped by many decades of economic and social development in the United States. Since the Asian-American group is so large, it is often discussed in different ethnic subgroups. These various ethnic groups have many faced different struggles upon settling in America. Some of these struggles include significant racial discrimination in the workplace, low wages, and harassment, and violence. Despite the differences, most of these immigrants were drawn to America for better career and educational opportunities. Nevertheless, these immigrants have made numerous sacrifices, such as leaving their homeland in order to provide the best support for themselves and their family. The differences in settlement patterns over time can be seen through the ethnic groups: Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Japanese
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much uncertainty as to how it works. The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members ("How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet"). Around the world there are so many immigrants/refugees who are in the hunt for a fitter life. Some come from places where civil war occurs or some suffer economically trying to support their family. Knowing the fact that they are desperate to seek for a better life, the best option is to migrate to the U.S, the land of opportunities. The problem lies in the migration to the U.S. What are the quotas for new immigrants arriving to the U.S? What are the eligibility requirements to becoming a permanent citizen in the U.S? With much inquiry, this topic has become very intriguing. What people must understand is that
The conditions of Australia’s immigration detention policies have also been cause for concern for probable contraventions of Articles 7 and 10 of the ICCPR. Whilst in Sweden, asylum seekers are afforded free housing whilst their applications are being processed, Australia’s methods are much more callous. Under the Pacific Solution, maritime asylum seekers are sent to impoverished tropical islands with no monitoring by human rights organisations allowed (Hyndman and Mountz, 2008). The UNHCR criticised Australia’s offshore processing centres stating that “significant overcrowding, cramped living quarters, unhygienic conditions, little privacy and harsh tropical climate contribute to the poor conditions of… Nauru and Papua New Guinea” (Morales
Several mandates made in California and Washington devastated the lives of Asian immigrants and citizens. These mandates affected their ability to work in several industries. This distressed their source of revenue, making self–sufficiency incapable. Furthermore, legislators made citizenship difficult to obtain. The Naturalization Act is an example. Barring citizenship denies the privilege of voting and bringing family members to the United States. To stop fu...
Within the United States, the attitude towards Asian American immigrants have changed from being seen as a menace to society to becoming praised as the model minority. Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, the United States was looking to accept model immigrants by prioritizing those with higher education and desirable skills for the workforce. This immigration policy caused an influx of middle to upper class Asian immigrants to come to the United States, which is the root for the model minority stereotype that is attached to the Asian American community. Yet, the idea of being the model minority does not extend to all Asian immigrants especially those who came to the United States seeking refuge from various conflicts such as the Vietnam War. Thus, the model minority myth is damaging for the Asian American community because it ignores those who do not fits this stereotype which is reflected in Erika Lee’s book, The Making of Asia America, and the film Children of Invention.
Throughout their history in America, Asian immigrants have struggled in many different ways to encourage this country to accept and respect the diversity of its citizens. Through efforts in labor strikes and military aid such as that in World War II, the American society has gradually moved to accept racial minorities. Asian today have much more freedom than when they first began traveling across the Pacific. However, many still find that they are unjustly viewed by society and treated as “strangers from a different shore” (474).
This book serves as the best source of answers to those interested in questions about the origin of ethnicity and race in America. Impossible subjects is divided into seven chapters, and the first two talk about the action and practices that led to restriction, exclusion and deportation. It majorly traces back experiences of four immigrant groups which included the Filipino, Japanese, Chinese and Mexican. Ngai talks of the exclusion practices which prevented Asian entry into America and full expression of their citizenship in America. Although the American sought means of educating the Asians, they still faced the exclusion policies (Mae Ngai 18). All Asians were viewed as aliens and even those who were citizens of the USA by birth were seen as foreign due to the dominant American culture (Mae Ngai 8). Unlike the Asians, Mexicans were racially eligible to citizenship in the USA because of their language and religion. However, she argues that Mexicans still faced discrimination in the fact that entry requirements such as visa fee, tax and hygiene inspection were made so difficult for them, which prompted many Mexicans to enter into the USA illegally. Tens and thousands of Mexicans later entered into America legally and illegally to seek for employment but were seen as seasonal labor and were never encouraged to pursue American
As a result of heightened Communist hysteria in the 1950’s, Chinese Americans and immigrants found the legitimacy of their legal status disputed. Under no means were government
Few people in Cambodia attended schools in rural areas. Khmer (Cambodian language) was a foreign text to many of these individuals. Without money school was unavailable, specifically if you could not pay for tuition, books, supplies and transportation. These schools were all located within the city. This was all the leading cause to many Cambodian refugees arriving in the U.S. unable to read or write their own language. Once resettles, some have no learned the proper skills in small groups. The professional fields, along with attending formal education in Cambodia and teaching, would sometimes result in getting private English instructions. They received many resources that made other people angry with the group. Being Cambodian gave them more rights than others. They got the lowest cost for housing, and received an abundance of aid. A newly established Office for Refugee Resettlement with branches in every state took responsibility for overseeing refugee resettlement. This occurred after the 1980 Refugee Act was passed. Resettlement officials intended to separate the refugees between Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, in order to minimalize the financial, educational, and social services drains on any single vicinity. Where the refugees would end up was determined by many factors. In the eyes of the Office for Refugee Resettlement, most importantly, was the location of existing voluntary service agencies. These Agencies that the Office for Refugee Resettlement would contract to carry out the work of finding sponsors who were able and willing to house them temporarily, or help them find housing, provide money for food, aid in finding jobs. They would also, sign them up at community service agencies and in state welfare programs. Second, ORR tried to find out whether the refugees had relatives or friends already in the country who could help them adapt to life here. Lastly Office for
Erika, Lee. "U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues." Journal of American Ethnic History. Vol. 20. Issue 2 (2001): n. page. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
Immigration in the United States is a very sensitive topic. Trough out the years the government in the United States have been developing different reforms regarding immigration that unfortunately have not helped to provide a fair solution to illegal immigrants. Looking at the history of immigration it is palpable that over the years immigration laws undergo different ways. For instance in 1950, the Internal Security Act barred admission to any foreigner who was communist because it would be prejudicial to the public interest or would endanger the safety of the United States. Different reforms had contributed to the way that illegal immigrants are treated in the United States.
The Cambodian Genocide took place from 1975 to 1979 in the Southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. The genocide was a brutal massacre that killed 1.4 to 2.2 million people, about 21% of Cambodia’s population. This essay, will discuss the history of the Cambodian genocide, specifically, what happened, the victims and the perpetrators and the world’s response to the genocide.
As the number of immigrants increased in the past year, so has controversy of immigration policies. In the United States, as of 2013, 990, 553 people were granted lawful permanent residence in the United States (CNN, 2015). The countries with the most of origin are Mexico, China, Indian, Philippines, and Dominican Republic. In 2012, The Department of Homeland Securities estimated that there are 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States. The top countries of origin are from Central America and Philippines (CNN, 2015). As we can imply from the statistics, most of the population that migrates to United States are from countries with corrupted government, high poverty or unemployment rates and are overall less developed. Everyone deserves a new beginning and America give immigrants hope to reach their hopes and dream, but in reality it is not always as simple as it