Effect of designation aliens ineligible for citizenship on Asian Research Paper

Effect of designation aliens ineligible for citizenship on Asian Americans before 1952 - Research Paper Example Immigrants to the United States were not always welcome, as they were subjected to a selective practice. America was considered a â€Å"melting pot’ for those who wanted to be assimilated in the American culture. This criteria later on created divisiveness, like those who entered through the Ellis Island were â€Å"whites† and those who passed Angel Island were Asians. Angel Island is a detention camp set up in San Francisco, California, wherein Chinese immigrants were detained for a distressful period of two years. Walter, Yvonne estimated that about 50,000 Chinese passed this island until 1940 for interrogation before they were allowed entry to US. In the Southwest, barbed wires were constructed to control the Mexican and South American immigrants. The composition of these immigrants defined what is called an American today. This composition is an indication of the process of immigration, and naturalization that led to a diverse population of the United States today, Suh-Yun Ahn argued in his work that Americanization is an arbitrary process that chooses only those they wanted to come to their shores. Suh-Yun Ahn recalled that both groups of immigrants had diverse treatments, but their trials were different. Although both groups suffered initial hardship, one group was perpetually called foreigners and identified as ineligible for citizenship. ... The conscious effort to exclude Asians is due to the US’ desire to create white identity, and therefore, considered it as a basic requirement for citizenship. Today, despite diversity of population, we could observe the white supremacy in the society whether through the political arena or in the density of population. But we should not forget the aggregate measures and the constructs that led to this white supremacy. All throughout, the legislations passed by Congress defined who belong, and who did not in an effort to create white identity. The first immigration law in the United States showed an impression of being racist. During the colonization and industrial revolution period, the United States encouraged settlers to America by offering land, work and citizenship. Black slaves and workers from China, Japan, Philippines, and India were brought to the Eastern shores to make up for the shortage of workers in the plantations and to hasten the colonization and industrial revol ution. The discovery of gold in California attracted many Chinese to try their luck. The Chinese were also forced to leave China because of poverty. Although their pay was lower than the whites, they were able to survive, and after being sojourns, later on considered immigration. Thus, in 1790, America had a diverse and ethnic background of people. This prompted the Congress to control immigration and had to pass a legislation that called for â€Å"A uniform standard for naturalization that allowed only white men to become citizens† (Walter, Yvonne,2007). This legislation automatically excluded the Asians and other colored immigrants from becoming citizens of America. By excluding other colored nationals, the law seems to