Summary Of This Land Is Our Land

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Could the founding fathers imagine their nation built on immigration to be so critical of new immigrants? In his novel This Land is Our Land, Alex Stepick invites us to experience “becoming American” through the eyes of immigrants who are often discriminated against. Robert Park and Ernest Burgess both believed that assimilation was a two-step process: acculturation and social assimilation (Stepick, 17). Acculturation is when immigrants leave their native tongue and perception of the world for a more English and American mindset (Stepick, 17). Social Assimilation is when immigrants are invited into resident American lives and can refer to them as friends and eventually marry one (Stepick, 17). Miami immigrants transformed the city of retirees…show more content…
The Miami experience challenges the dominate theory of immigrant and ethnic assimilation because the Miami Cubans, for example, were able to accomplish much more than expected without fully assimilating into mainstream America (Stepick, 10). This is not unusual since Latinos are the majority demographically speaking, but they also hold political and economic power (Stepick, 19). The first generation of Miami Cubans is different then immigrant groups before them, since many arrived from Cuba with extensive skills and education, which ultimately made them successful in Cuba (Stepick, 25). In part the Latinos assisted in creating the Miami Free Trade Zone, which is the first, and largest privately owned trade zone in the world; also Miami International Airport offers more non-stop flights between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean than most of the major airports combined (Stepick, 21). From this “unearned” success many whites and Blacks began the English only Movement (Stepick, 10). Seeming to echo the not so recent Black’s only counters, except adapting it to language and ethnicity rather than color. Many African-Americans are frustrated with Miami Cubans, feeling that the Cubans have enjoyed “acceptance” that the African-Americans fought for…show more content…
On November 25, 1999, Elian Gonzales was found floating in an inner tube of the Miami shores, his mother had passed away during the voyage from Cuba to America (Stepick, 1). Typically, the procedure in this circumstance is to abide by the surviving parents wishes, which was Elian’s father who was in Cuba who wanted he son to be in Cuba as well (Stepick, 1). The six-year-old Cuban boy’s story and plight raised the age-old question “What does it mean to be an American?” both immigrants and American residence took sides then hostility erupted (Stepick, 2). Janet Reno was the United States Attorney General at the time, a South Florida native, was at the center of the scandal since she was responsible for taking Elian out of family members custody and back into his father’s custody in Cuba (Stepick, 2). Her tactical choices upset many in the Miami Cuban Exile community; even then Mayor Alex Penelas stated that no local law enforcement officer would help Reno with returning Elian to his father (Stepick, 2). Yes, Reno used force, but she did what she needed to do to uphold the laws in this country; I’m disappointed in the actions and opinions of many Cuban Americans (Stepick, 3). Simply because someone did the correct thing they caused a stink, that is highly unacceptable; they wish to be these high members of society, yet
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