Why Do People Immigrate?

Financial OpportunitiesFinancial Opportunities –– When people cannot earn When people cannot earn enough money or jobs are not available, they often enough money or jobs are not available, they often immigrate to find work.immigrate to find work.

Better LifeBetter Life –– Some people immigrate to allow their Some people immigrate to allow their children or themselves to lead a better life in the future. children or themselves to lead a better life in the future. This often involves educational opportunities and a hope This often involves educational opportunities and a hope for better jobs in the future.for better jobs in the future.

Following FamilyFollowing Family –– Some people immigrate because a Some people immigrate because a family member has already immigrated.family member has already immigrated.

MarriageMarriage –– Some people immigrate because they want Some people immigrate because they want to marry someone who lives in a different country.to marry someone who lives in a different country.

Why Do People Immigrate?

Why Do People Immigrate?Political PersecutionPolitical Persecution –– There are some countries where There are some countries where

the government does not allow people the freedom of the government does not allow people the freedom of disagreeing with the government. Some people disagreeing with the government. Some people immigrate to be allowed this freedom.immigrate to be allowed this freedom.

Religious PersecutionReligious Persecution –– There are some countries There are some countries where people are not allowed the freedom of practicing where people are not allowed the freedom of practicing their religion. Some people immigrate to be allowed this their religion. Some people immigrate to be allowed this freedom.freedom.

WarWar –– Some people immigrate to escape war in their Some people immigrate to escape war in their home country. They often move to another country that home country. They often move to another country that is closer to their home country before coming to the is closer to their home country before coming to the United States.United States.

Why Do People Immigrate?Slavery/Forced ImmigrationSlavery/Forced Immigration –– Slavery was legal in the Slavery was legal in the

United States until 1865, and even after that people were United States until 1865, and even after that people were treated differently jut because of their skin color. Some treated differently jut because of their skin color. Some people were taken from their home country and forced people were taken from their home country and forced into slavery in the United States.into slavery in the United States.

FamineFamine –– A famine is when there is not enough food A famine is when there is not enough food grown to feed the people. This may happen because grown to feed the people. This may happen because there is not enough rain, disease that kills the plants, there is not enough rain, disease that kills the plants, insects that eat the plants, etc. Some people immigrate insects that eat the plants, etc. Some people immigrate to the United States to escape famine.to the United States to escape famine.

One summer my aunt, who already lived in One summer my aunt, who already lived in America, came to Greece for a visit. She jokingly America, came to Greece for a visit. She jokingly said, “Why don’t you come live there, too?” My said, “Why don’t you come live there, too?” My father always looked for a better job and a better father always looked for a better job and a better way of life. So he said to my mother, “Why not way of life. So he said to my mother, “Why not try it?” It took about two years to get all the try it?” It took about two years to get all the paperwork, the visa and passports and tests paperwork, the visa and passports and tests before we could go. I heard my parents talking before we could go. I heard my parents talking about it and I asked my mother. She said, “Yes, about it and I asked my mother. She said, “Yes, we’re going to America.”we’re going to America.”

(From (From New Kids in TownNew Kids in Town by Janet Bode) by Janet Bode)

One summer my aunt, who already lived in One summer my aunt, who already lived in America, came to Greece for a visit. She jokingly America, came to Greece for a visit. She jokingly said, “Why don’t you come live there, too?” My said, “Why don’t you come live there, too?” My father always looked for a better job and a better father always looked for a better job and a better way of life. So he said to my mother, “Why not way of life. So he said to my mother, “Why not try it?” It took about two years to get all the try it?” It took about two years to get all the paperwork, the visa and passports and tests paperwork, the visa and passports and tests before we could go. I heard my parents talking before we could go. I heard my parents talking about it and I asked my mother. She said, “Yes, about it and I asked my mother. She said, “Yes, we’re going to America.”we’re going to America.”

(From (From New Kids in TownNew Kids in Town by Janet Bode) by Janet Bode)

AnnaAnna

FranciaFrancia

Many things were happening in my country. I Many things were happening in my country. I was very little, and couldn’t understand it all. was very little, and couldn’t understand it all. Some people were what they called Some people were what they called “disappeared”. They had been captured and taken “disappeared”. They had been captured and taken away, maybe by a death squad, gangs of men that away, maybe by a death squad, gangs of men that frighten and kill people. Everybody thinks that frighten and kill people. Everybody thinks that maybe the army and the police have done that. maybe the army and the police have done that. But the army says it’s the guerillas that take them But the army says it’s the guerillas that take them to make them fight against the army.to make them fight against the army.

The man next door taught school. One day The man next door taught school. One day some men came to his family house and told him some men came to his family house and told him and his family to stand in the street in front. The and his family to stand in the street in front. The father you (continued on the next slide)father you (continued on the next slide)

Many things were happening in my country. I Many things were happening in my country. I was very little, and couldn’t understand it all. was very little, and couldn’t understand it all. Some people were what they called Some people were what they called “disappeared”. They had been captured and taken “disappeared”. They had been captured and taken away, maybe by a death squad, gangs of men that away, maybe by a death squad, gangs of men that frighten and kill people. Everybody thinks that frighten and kill people. Everybody thinks that maybe the army and the police have done that. maybe the army and the police have done that. But the army says it’s the guerillas that take them But the army says it’s the guerillas that take them to make them fight against the army.to make them fight against the army.

The man next door taught school. One day The man next door taught school. One day some men came to his family house and told him some men came to his family house and told him and his family to stand in the street in front. The and his family to stand in the street in front. The father you (continued on the next slide)father you (continued on the next slide)

FranciaFrancia

could hear him saying, “take anything; just could hear him saying, “take anything; just please don’t hurt us.” The men arrested the please don’t hurt us.” The men arrested the father. The mother and the children watched. father. The mother and the children watched. Then the men took from the house and left. The Then the men took from the house and left. The next day the neighbors were gone.next day the neighbors were gone.

From New Kids in TownFrom New Kids in Town by Jane Bode by Jane Bode

could hear him saying, “take anything; just could hear him saying, “take anything; just please don’t hurt us.” The men arrested the please don’t hurt us.” The men arrested the father. The mother and the children watched. father. The mother and the children watched. Then the men took from the house and left. The Then the men took from the house and left. The next day the neighbors were gone.next day the neighbors were gone.

From New Kids in TownFrom New Kids in Town by Jane Bode by Jane Bode

My father was a political prisoner. He spent nine years in jail in my country. His crime was he didn’t like Castro. Sometimes my father talks about that time. It was very hard to be in Castro’s jails. They treated the prisoners like animals.

She (Jorge’s mother) waited for him all those many, long years. That’s really love. The next thing he did was try to come here, to America. But it wasn’t possible. He couldn’t get a visa. So he went to work cleaning the sewers, the job the government let him have. (continued on next slide)

My father was a political prisoner. He spent nine years in jail in my country. His crime was he didn’t like Castro. Sometimes my father talks about that time. It was very hard to be in Castro’s jails. They treated the prisoners like animals.

She (Jorge’s mother) waited for him all those many, long years. That’s really love. The next thing he did was try to come here, to America. But it wasn’t possible. He couldn’t get a visa. So he went to work cleaning the sewers, the job the government let him have. (continued on next slide)

JorgeJorge

JorgeJorge

My father and mother lived in a small town near Havana, the capital, where they both grew up. And soon, I was born. Eight of us, all relatives, lived together in an old, one-floor house. I shared a bedroom with my grandmother, who I love with all my heart.

In Cuba, the government controls your life. Everything is rationed. Each family has a little booklet called “libreta” with coupons in it. You want to buy a pair of pants? You can’t just run over to K-Mart or Macy’s or some shopping center. (continued on next slide)

My father and mother lived in a small town near Havana, the capital, where they both grew up. And soon, I was born. Eight of us, all relatives, lived together in an old, one-floor house. I shared a bedroom with my grandmother, who I love with all my heart.

In Cuba, the government controls your life. Everything is rationed. Each family has a little booklet called “libreta” with coupons in it. You want to buy a pair of pants? You can’t just run over to K-Mart or Macy’s or some shopping center. (continued on next slide)

JorgeJorge

In Cuba, each family is assigned a special week to shop for clothes, say, May 21 to May 28,

and K-Marts don’t exist. You’re supposed to go those days to get what the coupons say, maybe one skirt or one shirt. You get one pair of shoes for one year. Even underwear is rationed, three

pairs for each for one year. The same thing with toys.

From New Kids in Town by Janet Bode

In Cuba, each family is assigned a special week to shop for clothes, say, May 21 to May 28,

and K-Marts don’t exist. You’re supposed to go those days to get what the coupons say, maybe one skirt or one shirt. You get one pair of shoes for one year. Even underwear is rationed, three

pairs for each for one year. The same thing with toys.

From New Kids in Town by Janet Bode

Hi, I am Kauthar Hassan and I moved from Kenya, by way of Somalia, to the

United States in 2000. A civil war began in Somalia in 1991. To this date, there is still no resolution. Many refugees escaped the war and fled to refugee camps in Kenya. It was exciting to travel from there to here as we didn't travel much before and suddenly we were on a very big trip. We came to the United States because my parents wanted better things for all of our family, so they brought us to this country.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/recent/kauthar.htm

Hi, I am Kauthar Hassan and I moved from Kenya, by way of Somalia, to the

United States in 2000. A civil war began in Somalia in 1991. To this date, there is still no resolution. Many refugees escaped the war and fled to refugee camps in Kenya. It was exciting to travel from there to here as we didn't travel much before and suddenly we were on a very big trip. We came to the United States because my parents wanted better things for all of our family, so they brought us to this country.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/recent/kauthar.htm

KautharKauthar

My father came to the United States in 1912 to search for a better life. There were no jobs in our small village of Goon Do Hung in southern China. My father needed money to take care of his new family and his widowed mother.

When he first arrived in the United States, he did any kind of job he could get. He sent money home several times a year, and once in a while, he came for a short visit. After one of these visits, I was born in 1926.

Father came home once or twice that I could remember. He could never stay long because he had to (continued on next slide)

My father came to the United States in 1912 to search for a better life. There were no jobs in our small village of Goon Do Hung in southern China. My father needed money to take care of his new family and his widowed mother.

When he first arrived in the United States, he did any kind of job he could get. He sent money home several times a year, and once in a while, he came for a short visit. After one of these visits, I was born in 1926.

Father came home once or twice that I could remember. He could never stay long because he had to (continued on next slide)

Li Keng WongLi Keng Wong

go back to the United States to work. He never mentioned that someday that he wanted to take us to the United States, but he was thinking about it. On his last visit home, he was sad at how poor the villagers were. They made a living by planting rice crops. People were so poor that no one had milk to drink or had much meat to eat. Almost no one had ever learned to read or write. So my father decided that his family must immigrate to the United States to have a better life. When we decided to leave, it was 1933. I was only seven years old.

go back to the United States to work. He never mentioned that someday that he wanted to take us to the United States, but he was thinking about it. On his last visit home, he was sad at how poor the villagers were. They made a living by planting rice crops. People were so poor that no one had milk to drink or had much meat to eat. Almost no one had ever learned to read or write. So my father decided that his family must immigrate to the United States to have a better life. When we decided to leave, it was 1933. I was only seven years old.

Li Keng WongLi Keng Wong

On January 14, 1892, Penelope Mehales gave birth to her sixth son in the ancient town of Athens, Greece. Because she had once been to America, and because she believed her sons would find a much brighter future in the United States than in her native country, she gave her newborn child the popular English name of "George," not at all realizing that this name, like her baby, was of Greek origin and meant "farmer." The family was poor, and George's father had died two months before he was born, but the mother was determined that her boys should come to America. She sold what little (continued on next slide)

On January 14, 1892, Penelope Mehales gave birth to her sixth son in the ancient town of Athens, Greece. Because she had once been to America, and because she believed her sons would find a much brighter future in the United States than in her native country, she gave her newborn child the popular English name of "George," not at all realizing that this name, like her baby, was of Greek origin and meant "farmer." The family was poor, and George's father had died two months before he was born, but the mother was determined that her boys should come to America. She sold what little (continued on next slide)

Louis and George MehalesLouis and George Mehales

property she had; borrowed money from her kinfolks, and sent George, when he was but three years old, along with his brother, who was sixteen, to New York.

The two Greek boys were taken in charge by an uncle who had come to America several years before and who operated a small restaurant in Brooklyn. Louis, the older of the two boys, immediately went to work for his uncle. George was sent to school when he was six years old, attending the public school during the morning and the Greek school during the afternoon. In spare moments, he helped his brother and his uncle in the restaurant.http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?ammem/wpa:@field(DOCID+@lit(wpa332030213

property she had; borrowed money from her kinfolks, and sent George, when he was but three years old, along with his brother, who was sixteen, to New York.

The two Greek boys were taken in charge by an uncle who had come to America several years before and who operated a small restaurant in Brooklyn. Louis, the older of the two boys, immediately went to work for his uncle. George was sent to school when he was six years old, attending the public school during the morning and the Greek school during the afternoon. In spare moments, he helped his brother and his uncle in the restaurant.http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?ammem/wpa:@field(DOCID+@lit(wpa332030213

Louis and George MehalesLouis and George Mehales

I came over [from Italy] when I was eighteen years old. I wasn't married then. I came over here to marry Pietro [Bartoletti?]. I grew up with Pietro. I went to school with him. We were always good friends in the old country. He came over here to work in the sheds. Every month I got a letter from him. He told me how good the granite business was. He asked me to marry him, so I wrote back yes. I came over here in August. I liked Barre. It didn't seem strange to me. We were married right away.

(Recorded in 1940http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?ammem/wpa:@field(DOCID+@lit(wpa338052407))

I came over [from Italy] when I was eighteen years old. I wasn't married then. I came over here to marry Pietro [Bartoletti?]. I grew up with Pietro. I went to school with him. We were always good friends in the old country. He came over here to work in the sheds. Every month I got a letter from him. He told me how good the granite business was. He asked me to marry him, so I wrote back yes. I came over here in August. I liked Barre. It didn't seem strange to me. We were married right away.

(Recorded in 1940http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?ammem/wpa:@field(DOCID+@lit(wpa338052407))

Mari TomasiMari Tomasi

Hi, my name is Quynh, and I am 11 years old. When I was younger my parents decided that our family would have a better way of life if we moved to this country. My parents and I moved to the United States from Vietnam with my younger brother and sister in 2001.

My parents were both photographers in Vietnam and I was doing well in school, but they still felt opportunities were here for us that were not in my home country. Life is better here for our family. There are many things we have here that we could have never enjoyed at home. For instance, I think school here is the best. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/recent/quynh.htm

Hi, my name is Quynh, and I am 11 years old. When I was younger my parents decided that our family would have a better way of life if we moved to this country. My parents and I moved to the United States from Vietnam with my younger brother and sister in 2001.

My parents were both photographers in Vietnam and I was doing well in school, but they still felt opportunities were here for us that were not in my home country. Life is better here for our family. There are many things we have here that we could have never enjoyed at home. For instance, I think school here is the best. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/recent/quynh.htm

QuynhQuynh

My name is Virpal, I am 13 years old and from Punjab, India. My mom was granted a visa to move here five years ago, after my father passed away, but my sister and I just recently moved here three months ago. So, it had been five years since my sister and I last saw our mother. Up until three months ago, we were living in India with family. Not a day went by that I wouldn't dream about the reuniting with my mother again. Finally, after five years, the United States granted my sister and me permission to come live with our mother again.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/recent/virpal.htm

My name is Virpal, I am 13 years old and from Punjab, India. My mom was granted a visa to move here five years ago, after my father passed away, but my sister and I just recently moved here three months ago. So, it had been five years since my sister and I last saw our mother. Up until three months ago, we were living in India with family. Not a day went by that I wouldn't dream about the reuniting with my mother again. Finally, after five years, the United States granted my sister and me permission to come live with our mother again.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/recent/virpal.htm

VirpalVirpal