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Erika Kusche

Dr. Murdock

English 2089

27 June 2017

The American Dream and Where to Find it

My family has a pickle in the Christmas tree. If you are German, you most likely know

what I am talking about. If not, you’re probably thinking my family is crazy. They might be

slightly crazy, but not as much as you’d think. This Christmas tradition is a favorite in the

Kusche household. Once my brother and I go to sleep, my parents hide a plastic pickle (not a real

one) ornament in the Christmas tree. On Christmas day, the first child to find the pickle gets a

small gift from Santa Clause for being the lucky winner. This tradition is supposed to bring luck

and help the children appreciate all the ornaments, rather than rushing to their gifts. I always

ended up winning the race to the pickle due to my extra foot I had on my younger brother. After

a couple of Christmas’ of winning in a row, I think my parents finally caught on that it was a bit

rigged in my favor.

This tradition and the many others that have survived from my German ancestry are very

important to my family, specifically my father. My paternal grandparents both immigrated to

America in the 1950’s. My Opa traveled here in 1953, followed by my Oma in 1956. My Opa

came before her in order to be certain that he could make a living a provide a life for them in a

new country. Opa made his living by opening and owning a Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant with a

friend. My Aunt Elizabeth was born in 1959 and my Father was born in 1964. My grandfather

passed in 1972. I personally believe that Opa passing when my Dad was so young has to do with

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how much he holds onto our German heritage. After Opa’s passing, Oma raised both my father

and aunt by herself, which was an amazing thing to do as a single mother in the late twentieth

century alone, but as a single mother who was also an immigrant, I find that even more special.

My mother’s side of the family has been in America for generations. I do not know much

about where that side of the family came from except that it is somewhere in Ireland. My family

did not inherit many traditions from my maternal side, but we did inherit a strong work ethic. My

grandmother, Mimi, had her first child at fifteen. My Mimi and Papa ran away together and got

eloped after finding out they were going to have a child soon. This obviously had to be tough on

them, being married and parents at so young, but it also did not help that at the time they were

going through this, it was socially unacceptable to be that young and have a child, or have a child

out of wedlock. My mother, born in 1967, was raised in poverty. Having three siblings and a

cousin whom was adopted into the family living under one roof was a lot. Yet, that did not stop

my Mimi and Papa from working hard to provide for their children.

My paternal grandparents came to America for a reason, and I believe that reason is

because of the rumored “American Dream”. Just so we are all on the same page, Merriam-

Webster defines the American Dream as “a happy way of living that is thought of by many

Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard

and becoming successful”. Now this definition might be different for everyone, but the part that

is common for everyone is the belief that anyone can be successful. Can anyone really be

successful?

To start off this conversation, I feel it is important to understand the history of

immigration to the United States of America, and the view it has had to those people

immigrating. Before European immigrants, the land we now know as the U.S. belonged to many

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different tribes of people. Most of the early European immigrants fled their home countries to

escape religious persecution. At that time there were obviously no laws about immigration

because the U.S. was not yet a founded country. After England got involved and founded the

thirteen colonies, immigration became tracked a bit more. People came to America for a variety

of reasons. Some for economic opportunities, some for freedom of religion, and some were

forced to move to America as slaves. Some of the immigrants seeking economic opportunities

though were tricked out of their money and or time. Most people could not afford to move from

the western hemisphere to the eastern hemisphere so they were often forced into indentured

servitude. Also, just like the African slaves, many European convicts were shipped to America to

become slaves as well. As we all know, the African slaves were forced to come and work in

America against their will, but according to History.com, “Although the exact numbers will

never be known, it is believed that 500,000 to 650,000 Africans were brought to America and

sold into slavery between the 17th and 19th centuries”.

In the mid 1800’s, another wave of immigration occurred. Many of these immigrants

were from Ireland who was facing a famine at the time. This is around the time my mother’s side

of the family immigrated from Ireland to America. Another group of people who immigrated to

America during this time were the Chinese. Lured by the gold rush, many Chinese people left

their homes and settled in the west. During this time, anti-immigration movements started. Many

native born, white males were upset with the new amount of competition for jobs. According to

the Center for Immigration Studies, “the Supreme Court in 1875 declared the regulation of

immigration a federal responsibility”. One federal government’s first decision on immigration

was the Chinese Exclusion Act. Many native born American’s blamed the Chinese for a decline

in wages due to their willingness to work for less, so they pushed for the ban of Chinese

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immigrants. In 1890, Ellis Island was designated to be the first stop for immigrants. The island

got the nickname of being the “Island of Hope”, due to being the first stop in the process of

moving to America. Others called it the “Island of Tears”, due to the amount of people denied

access to America. (NPS)

In the early 20th century, immigration was booming. Urbanization was at a new high and

it attracted many new immigrants to America. During and after World War I though,

Immigration significantly decreased. The Immigration Act of 1924 made it so that only two

percent of each nationality, based off the 1890 census, could enter America. This law obviously

favored Europeans over any other nationality and completely banned Asians from entering the

country for a second time. The Great Depression also had a major impact on immigration. People

could no longer afford to move from one country to the other, and moral in the United States was

low, taking away that idea of the American Dream. After World War II, the United States

government decided to allow refuges from Europe and the Soviet Union to enter. (U.S.

Immigration Before 1965)

In 1965, Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act which allowed families in

the United States to sponsor family members and get them access. It also gave people with

valuable skills and education priority when granting immigration access. This act greatly

increased the amount of Asian and Latin American immigrants welcomed to the United States.

In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act which increased the

enforcement which prevented illegal aliens from entering the U.S. Despite the increase in

enforcement, there was a lack in funding which did not do much to help enforcement officials.

(NPS)

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In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility

Act. This increased the consequences for the people caught attempting to cross the border, and or

people caught staying past their visas. This also began the planning for the border fence which is

located in San Diego, California. Views on immigration greatly changed after 9/11. According to

NPS, “The terrorists had entered the country on tourist or student visas. Four of them, however,

had violated the terms of their visas and become illegal aliens”.

One of the most impactful things done about immigration in recent history was the

program started by President Barack Obama in 2012 called Deferred Action for Childhood

Arrivals or DACA. According to PBS, DACA offeres renewable “two-year deportation deferrals

and work permits to undocumented immigrants who had arrived to the United States as children

and had no criminal records” (Renwick and Lee).

From what I can personally remember, Immigration has been a hot topic in America.

Understandably with the past it has in our country. Last year, with the new presidential election,

I felt like the topic of immigration, specifically illegal immigration has been at a high. According

to a 2016 Gallup poll, “72 percent of Americans considered immigration a “good thing” for the

United States, and as many as 84 percent supported a path to citizenship for undocumented

immigrants” (Renwick and Lee). During the campaign, President Donald Trump made

immigration a central part of his platform. President Trump had a very conservative and

somewhat controversial view on immigration which was seen through his words, actions, and

campaign promises. One of his campaign promises was to build a physical wall on the United

States-Mexican border. One of President Trump’s executive order titled Enhancing Public Safety

in the Interior of the United States, which “ordered increases in enforcement personnel and

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removal facilities, and moved to restrict federal funds from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions”

(Renwick and Lee).

One of President Trump’s most controversial executive orders was that titled Protecting

the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into The United States. This order:

“banned nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the

United States for at least ninety days; blocked nationals from Syria indefinitely; and

suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days” (Renwick and Lee).

Since the attempted application of this executive order, it has been blocked by federal judges a

number of times and has since then been pushed back to be reviewed in October of 2017. One of

the reasons this order was so controversial was because many people claim it to be an attack on

Muslims and or specifically targeting Islamic People. This obviously would go against one of the

ideals that America prides itself in, religious freedom.

Now that I have mentioned the vast and confusing history of immigration in the easiest

way possible, it is important to ask how does this affect people whether they are immigrant or

not? Just like any other idea or issue, there are many different opinions on it, so I think it is

important to look at multiple different perspectives. Attached below is a video dedicated to what

the American Dream is to different people. The second video attached is conducted by CNN (a

more liberal news source) and looks at the protests which were caused by President Trump’s

travel ban. The last video compares the life of an illegal immigrant, and the life of an immigrant

law official.

https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/1194840031120/defining-the-american-dream.html?

src=vidm

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http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/01/29/immigration-ban-protest-airports-orig-

vstan-dlewis.cnn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCgFdCkmREE

Despite being made in 2009, the first video goes to show just how many people still believe

in the idea of the American Dream. I personally do not believe in the American Dream and view

it as a myth. I believe that the American Dream is outdated for modern times, and that it never

really existed in the first place. As the definition of the American Dream states, it is the equal

opportunity for everyone. Obviously throughout American history, there has always been

someone oppressed. Women did not gain the right to vote until 1920, and we still are not treated

equally compared to men. African Americans did not gain equal rights under law until 1964, and

they are still not treated equally in practice as well. I think it is hard to say that the American

Dream exists when people are still not being treated equally because until that moment in time,

not everyone has the same opportunities to reach the American Dream.

I included the second video because I wanted to show how much the travel ban has affected

people emotionally. Many people disagree with it including the federal judges who have blocked

it. Obviously, people disagree with terrorism, but many people disagree with the way President

Trump has gone about attempting to protect Americans. The movement against this ban has been

steadily increasing. Many cities have declared themselves to be sanctuary cities meaning they

will not give up undocumented immigrants.

The last video I included because I think it is important to show how immigration affects

different people and their different views. I think it is also important that when discussing

immigration, we remember that immigrants are people too and the majority of them are not

criminals.

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Immigration and the American Dream is different for everyone. Many people have

family members who have immigrated here and or have done so themselves. It is important when

discussing immigration or debating it with others that we have plenty of background knowledge

on its policies and how it affects others. In a perfect world, everyone would agree on one idea of

how immigration would be but we do not live in a perfect world. In order to successfully and

efficiently move forward with our policies, we need to be open in talking with each other, as well

as listen to people who have gone through the process of immigrating whether it have been

illegally or not.

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Photo Album

My Grandmother arrived in 1956 on the General R E Callan.

My Grandfather arrived in 1953 on the Italia.

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A photo taken during the great depression, depicting victims of the Ohio River flooding in 1937.

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Ellis Island when it was functioning to process immigrants.

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Ellis Island now, used as a museum.

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Works Cited

CNN. "Grad student's illegal immigrant life." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 26 June

2017.

Danielle Renwick and Brianna Lee, Council on Foreign Relations. "Where does the immigration

debate stand under President Trump?" PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 06 Apr. 2017.

Web. 26 June 2017. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/why-the-u-s-immigration-

debate-is-difficult-to-resolve/>.

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"Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States." The White

House. The United States Government, 25 Jan. 2017. Web. 26 June 2017.

<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/presidential-executive-order-

enhancing-public-safety-interior-united>.

"EXECUTIVE ORDER: PROTECTING THE NATION FROM FOREIGN TERRORIST

ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES." The White House. The United States

Government, 23 Feb. 2017. Web. 26 June 2017. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-

office/2017/01/27/executive-order-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-

states>.

Gallup, Inc. "Gallup Review: Americans, Immigration and the Election." Gallup.com. N.p., 27

Oct. 2016. Web. 26 June 2017.

<http://www.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/196733/gallup-review-americans-

immigration-election.aspx?

g_source=IMMIGRATION&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles>.

Harris, Shayla. "Defining the American Dream." The New York Times. The New York Times,

07 May 2009. Web. 26 June 2017.

"Historical Overview of Immigration Policy." Center for Immigration Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 25

June 2017. <http://cis.org/ImmigrationHistoryOverview>.

"History & Culture." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 25 June

2017. <https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/index.htm>.

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History.com Staff. "U.S. Immigration Before 1965." History.com. A&E Television Networks,

2009. Web. 25 June 2017. <http://www.history.com/topics/u-s-immigration-before-

1965>.

"Protesters swarm airports nationwide - CNN Video." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Jan. 2017.

Web. 26 June 2017.

"The American Dream." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 19 June 2017.

<https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20American%20dream>.

"'The American Way': Photos From the Great Ohio River Flood of 1937." Time. Time, n.d. Web.

19 June 2017. <http://time.com/3879426/the-american-way-photos-from-the-great-ohio-

river-flood-of-1937/>.

"Tradition of the German Pickle Ornament." German beer steins, boots, mugs, glasses and other

gifts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2017. <http://www.germansteins.com/tradition-of-the-

german-pickle/>.