Topic > 20th Century to Present Immigration to California

California is known for its thriving and booming agricultural sector, captivating landscapes, diverse populations, and hospitality to many immigrants. California quickly became the destination for immigrants from all over the world due to California's promising economy. However, fierce discrimination lurked beneath California's glittering surface, and many immigrants found it difficult to adapt to their new homes and compete with Caucasians who were often favored by both the economy and society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Immigration to California really began to grow in the early 20th century with the emergence of the Braceros program. After the first program of 1917-1921 proved a failure due to discrimination and unfair wages, the Braceros program reemerged from 1942 to 1964. This session saw more than four million Mexicans enter the United States in search of work and were mainly assigned to agriculture. jobs. Furthermore, the process called “drying out the wetbacks” allowed the US government to locate illegal immigrants who were working (mostly on farms) and bring them back to the Mexican-American border where the immigrants were legalized and sent back to their place of work. This helped thousands of Mexicans gain legalization, but the process stopped shortly after the number of wetbacks exceeded the number of legal braceros. While the Braceros program helped Mexican workers find jobs, it shed light on a largely ignored issue: racial discrimination and prejudice. Mexican immigrants-turned-workers were often given jobs that American workers didn't want or found too difficult, and when they did these jobs, Mexican immigrants usually received lower pay than their American counterparts. Immigration was not based solely on Mexicans, immigrants from all over Asia populated California. Once they got the go signal from America, immigrants from Asia flocked there. However, prejudice still existed (more than ever) and came in the form of wage disparity (compared to whites) and, most famously, Japanese internment camps. The government rounded up Japanese citizens and immigrants after the attack on Pearl Harbor and forced them into camps, regardless of whether the families had committed crimes or not. Once released, these families often found their homes and belongings missing. With Japanese internment camps based on hysteria and racism, Asian Americans faced racism and prejudice alongside Mexicans. Moving from immigrants to migrants, the situation does not improve. African Americans and Native Americans faced brutal oppression and degradation. Most African Americans found themselves excluded from higher paying jobs and positions and also segregated in terms of school, housing, public areas and places. Treated as inferior to the majority white population, African Americans could not obtain the same benefits that the majority could obtain in this promising nation and state. Meanwhile, Native Americans had been subject to oppression for hundreds of years now. Forced to leave their homes almost instantly after the discovery of America, Native Americans were placed on reservations and many received no form of government support or success through work and education. Their only triumph came when the Court?