Читать книгу Immigration Stories from Upstate New York High Schools - Группа авторов - Страница 14

New York State, according to US Census data, has always been a hub of immigration activity, due in large part to Ellis Island, which was the most heavily used entry point to the US a century ago. Consequently, Rochester and Buffalo have welcomed many different immigrant groups over the years.

After the Revolutionary War and the title to lands in Western New York was obtained from the Iroquois in 1786, New Englanders flocked to all parts of the state. In the two decades after the war, 500,000 new settlers came into New York, and the state tripled in population. Cities along the migration route such as Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo prospered.⁵ Large numbers of Irish and Germans came to New York cities in the mid-1800s. New York was the destination for millions of southern and eastern Europeans, especially Italians and Russian Jews, from about 1890 to 1910. The Irish tended to settle in New York City and other large cities, such as Albany, and along the Erie Canal. Large numbers of Germans settled in New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester.⁶

In 1870, when Rochester’s population ranked twenty-second among US cities, thirty-four percent of the city’s residents were foreign-born.⁷ Rochester remained one of the top twenty-five US cities through 1940, when more than 60,000 of its 324,975 residents—or nearly nineteen percent—were born in another country.⁸ The turning point for Rochester’s population came at the midpoint of the twentieth century. As the number of people living in the city steadily declined, so did immigrants as a share of the population. By 2010, Rochester’s population had fallen to 211,977—and the number of foreign-born residents had dropped to 17,281, approximately eight percent of the total population.⁹

Following this period, there was a new trend. From 2009 to 2017, the U.S. born population in the city declined by roughly 700, but the foreign-born segment grew by more than 2,000, a fourteen percent increase.¹⁰ This means that as the US-born population was leaving the city, immigrants were moving in. Why was this the case? A 2008 policy brief from the University at Buffalo’s Regional Institute suggests that “in many aging cities, recent working-class immigrants have helped to reactivate and revitalize gateway neighborhoods, filling housing that might otherwise sit vacant and spurring investment—and making investments themselves—in long-neglected properties.”¹¹ The brief’s authors added: “As the region's native population and workforce ages, this young immigrant population will play an important role in filling key employment gaps in, for example, the health care, service and high-tech sectors.”¹² As the Upstate New York native population and workforce ages, immigrants at all skill levels will likely play a significant role in the region’s economy. In some parts of the upstate region, agencies and private firms have taken steps to attract refugees to stem population decline.¹³

Buffalo, similarly, was a manufacturing center and once the largest grain transshipment port in the world. This was very attractive to immigrants looking for jobs with easy access up the Erie Canal. Laid out by the Holland Land Company in 1800, it was first settled mostly by northeastern Americans of English descent. Next came the Germans, the Irish, then Poles, Swedes, Italians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, and Armenians. More recent resettlers include Puerto Ricans, Burmese, Thai, Ethiopians, Sudanese, and Pakistanis.¹⁴ In addition, in 1942 the Bracero Program brought Mexican workers to the States to address the agricultural labor shortage during WWI; this government program brought many Mexicans to New York state.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded and subsequently became a possession of the United States. The Foraker Act of 1900 established a civil government, ending rule by American generals and the Department of War. A United States Supreme Court ruling, involving the Foraker Act and referring to the island as “the acquired country,” soon affirmed that the Constitution of the United States applied within the territory and that any domestic Puerto Rican laws which did not conflict with the United State Constitution could remain in force.¹⁵ The Jones Act of 1917, which made Puerto Ricans US citizens, paved the way for the drafting of Puerto Rico's Constitution and its approval by Congress and Puerto Rican voters in 1952. However, the political status of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth controlled by the United States, remains an anomaly. In 1948, following the collapse of the once-strong sugarcane industry, Operation Bootstrap allowed Puerto Ricans into the United States to pursue migrant jobs. This government program brought many Puerto Ricans into New York State.

As stated, while Puerto Ricans are US citizens by birth and colonial migrants; they are not immigrants. Understanding this difference is important in order to have a better understanding of Puerto Ricans’ challenges. Their connection to Rochester and Buffalo has much to do with the colonial subordination of Puerto Rico to the United States and the devastating impact of austerity measures imposed by the US government on physical infrastructure and schools. Additionally, the recent refusal of the US government to provide timely and adequate assistance to Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria made matters worse.

In most recent years, between 2002 to 2015 to be precise, we are seeing significant refugee resettlement into Upstate New York. For example, recent numbers provide the following growth: Burmese: 12,379; Bhutanese: 6,720; Somali: 4,740; and Iraqi: 3,493. According to the A Guide to Community-Based Organizations for Immigrants, which provides a list of organizations throughout the State of New York, many organizations offer a variety of services such as advocacy, health care, insurance, housing, labor and employment, legal services and lawful status, public assistance, safety, and education. One of those organizations is the International Institute of Buffalo, which was formed back in 1910 “to care for the needs of newly arrived immigrant women and girls, and help them assimilate” and continues to be active in the community.¹⁶ Presently, they welcome, connect and empower the foreign born, and encourage the region’s support for different cultures.¹⁷ Similarly, the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBEWL) is committed to supporting Multilingual Learners/English Language Learners (MLLs/ELLs) and their families across the state. Parents of MLLs/ELLs and former MLLs/ELLs are encouraged to contact these organizations when they need assistance. When families’ needs are supported, children have a base to build upon in order to achieve academic success and become college and career ready.¹⁸