What were your ancestors that migrated here? All doctors? Mine were poor day workers who didn’t know the language. But their grandchildren went to college and became very successful. Their children are all very successful as well. Not every immigrant needs to be highly educated to contribute.
A portion of my family were French Huguenot. Some escaped the wars of religion and fled to Switzerland Holland, and England. From there, many Huguenots tried to find a place where they could live. Some ended up in Ireland, Some attempted to go to Brazil, (and that is a really funny story about them and the Portuguese), and many got to the US eventually. My branch is the Manikintowne Huguenots, near Richmond. They nearly starved their first year, but the locals helped feed them. Two boats with 200 immigrants. The king of England had agreed to let them live in the colony of Virginia. So they got an abandoned Indian village across the James River from Richmond.
Many of the Huguenots were merchants and tradesmen in France. They were not nobles, they were the lacemakers, farmers, blacksmiths, etc.
For one generation, they lived near the water in Holland, waiting for a country to allow them in. From Holland they went to England, and that's how a lot of them came here.
Peter Minuit was not Dutch. He and all of his crew were French Huguenots. They went to NY. William of Orange was an Huguenot.
I think most of the rest of my family that got here came as indentured servants from Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
There are a lot of interesting stories. A lot of Southerners come from this group of people. The law of primogeniture prevented younger sons from inheriting in England, so the only thing for them to do was to immigrate to the colonies.
Contrary to popular belief that many were wealthy, they weren't, but if someone could pay someone else's passage, they got 50 acres for each person they transported. That's how King Carter got his land. There are others, but I mention him, because he learned how to work the system, and that land in the colonies was what was going to make him rich.
A good many others in my ancestry immigrated for religious reasons. The Calverts went to MD. MD was a Catholic colony. Many of my ancestors from England ran away because of Cromwell.
My lowland Scots were transplanted to Northern Ireland for free rent. When that got changed, they got on a boat for the colonies.
Contrary to popular belief, the Irish didn't show up in the US just because of the potato famine, there was a huge immigration as a result of the "plantations" in Northern Ireland, and those were not from Ireland originally, they were from Scotland. That was a good 50 years before the famine.
So, until you research the whole thing, you don't know *s*. Look around and see all of the white bums and derelicts that are technically WASPS. Their families immigrated with everyone else's families, and some made something of their lives and others did not. I've got some relatives that are total TPT, and contribute nothing to this country at all. And, I've got governors of the states of AL and GA, plenty of lawyers and doctors, etc. And, OMG, I have met two of my cousins here in Tallahassee. One is a super human, and I won't even mention the other.
But, that is this country. If you want to know what immigration has done in other countries, you can research it or ask.
Anyway, after my little history lesson here, sorry guys. (I truly wish I was still working for AOL in the genealogy forum), we are all a product of our past experiences. Our ancestors came here for a better life. The vast majority of new immigrants are doing the same thing.
My cleaning lady from Peru came with her family because of the government. She and her eldest daughter were teachers. They cleaned houses to survive and make a life here. They became citizens and paid taxes.
People are people, some will work hard, others will not, and I don't care what century it is, people don't come here to rob us, they come here for an opportunity. Does anyone seriously think that they risk climbing a wall and crossing a river with their children to steal from you? If you think that, you need serious therapy.