Immigration 2009 In Their Own Words

In Their Own Words: Immigrants Interviewed For This Study Talk About Their Beliefs, Observations And Experiences

We held focus groups around the nation (click here for more on the methodology for this study) and talked to both legal and illegal immigrants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Of the men and women who answered our researchers' questions, 56 percent were legal immigrants.

Here are some quotes, organized according to topic, excerpted from the many things immigrants told us as part of the research for this report. It is our hope that these voices will provide a useful dimension to the current debate over immigration policy.

Overall immigrants are quite satisfied with life in the United States - for themselves and their children.

"People all over the world are looking - this is human nature - you want to find a better lifestyle for you and your children and your family."

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

"Some people say 'Why don't you go to Canada?' I said, 'No, we want to come to the United States.'"

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"We get by fine, more or less. It is better than over there... In practically in every sense, we're better here financially. My husband has a stable job and we get on pretty good."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"I love America because... it's less dangerous... [In my native country] It's bad if you have money and bad if you don't have money. Because if you have money, you could have a wonderful life, but... they can kill you for your money. If you don't have money, it's bad, because you don't have a comfortable life."

- Guatamalan immigrant, Boston

Seventy percent of the immigrants we interviewed said it is likely the U.S. will be their permanent home; just 17 percent thought that someday they'll again live in the country where they were born.

"There's no work in Mexico. Any way you look at it, no matter how bad it is here... you can get things like clothing and shoes and stuff. In Mexico, you can't do that, and so if you buy shoes, you can't eat, so there's more access to material things."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"For an average person, it's more difficult in Korea than it is here. You don't have as much opportunity. You get stuck in a class or even a name. Certain names in Korea if you have that family name, good luck."

- South Korean immigrant, San Francisco

"It's all pretty good for me... I wish that they would raise the wages, and there'd be more work, and lower the rent a little bit, because it's so difficult. Aside from that, everything is fine."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"I am from Mexico City... You never use the gold necklaces. You lock the car. Roll the windows up. Protection, security, because anything that you leave there, you blink and it's gone. If you come here - we come here to have a better life, better jobs."

- Mexican immigrant, Atlanta

"You have opportunities here to work and earn money, so you send back to the less fortunate relatives who can't work, or whatever, to support them."

- Filipino immigrant, San Francisco

Over three-quarters say the United States is a unique country that stands for something.

"I think [the choice to come to America has] proven itself because I really believe things are merit-based here."

- Israeli immigrant, New York City

"If our young people worked in our country as hard as they [are] working here, they would be much better off over there than here. I've seen students who were doing job[s] where back home they would never, never in a million years do it, because pride and ego is very, very strong back home. I've seen them doing work and I say, 'Where is your mother to see what you're doing?' They would like look at me and say, 'Mrs. H____, this is America. Hey, we can do whatever we want to do.' It's a land of opportunity, a land of equality, everybody is treated the same. Everybody has a chance here to make what they want out of themselves.

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

"If you're determined to be a brain surgeon, you can. You get that opportunity here. In other countries, you do not."

- South Korean immigrant, San Francisco

"In many countries, you cannot get citizenship... We live [in the United States] mostly like Americans. I don't feel like I'm different. While in Europe, they are more racist toward foreigners."

- Lebanese immigrant, New York City

"The motto of this country is 'Out of many, one.' This country is made up from every section of the world, and we all come together and we make one country. This is really heaven on earth, because where else on earth can all these people come together and become as one?"

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

"That's what made this country so great: that we all, each individual that came to this country, contributed of themselves, of their heritage, of their knowledge to make this country what it is today."

- Iraqi immigrant, Detroit

"If you work hard, and you have a dream, you can always achieve that dream in America. You want something, anyone from any class... like Barack Obama. He was with nothing. He went to the best schools in the whole world and he achieved something. Had he been in any other country, none of this would have happened."

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

Strong majorities (88 percent) say that the United States does a better job than their home country when it comes to having more opportunity to earn a good living.

"When I think of America, there are opportunities and there are resources that you have access to that you don't have back in your country."

- Jordanian immigrant, Detroit

"Here in the United States you can, out of obscurity, you can make something of yourself if you work hard. I've seen it. I've seen it happen a thousand times over. I've seen it with immigrants, boat people. I have neighbors who were boat people came over, and they were drifted for about a month, month and a half before they got picked up and sent to Philippines. They lived in Australia and ended up here in the United States, and they're doing quite well. Where else can you hear that?"

- South Korean immigrant, San Francisco

"You learn occupations that I never would have tried in Mexico... You would have part-time jobs or other work over there, but over here you would learn things which would help you find another job or a better job."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"Absolutely there are a lot more opportunities that are offered here. Living standard is much higher. Whatever job you do, you got to earn much more money in absolute value-wise, compared with what you're making at home."

- Chinese immigrant, Boston

"You're just in a better place to pick up from—and, especially, if you're somewhat well off. You can just come here and get rich instead of just being okay. I know a few people who've come to New York and become (inaudible), meaning real estate brokers, without having any qualifications whatsoever."

- Israeli immigrant, New York City

"After the situation started in Lebanon, I think we might've helped most of our family members come here.,, Every single one of them lived with me, one year, two years, some of them even five years, until they were able to stand on their feet. I'm very proud to say most of them had educations. We've got attorneys. We've got doctors. We've got CPAs. We've even got a judge in our family."

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

Sixty-two percent of the immigrants we surveyed said the U.S. does a better job than their home country when it comes to our education system.

"The American degree works anywhere all over the world. It gets you up there somewhere."

- African immigrant, Boston

"Here you can go for like any master degrees, anything you want, you can do. You have like many choices here, so that's the main reason I came here."

- Burmese immigrant, San Francisco

"Once I started school, like second grade, I picked up English like in an instant."

- Ukranian immigrant, New York City

"In Mexico... they would leave the work on the teacher. Over here, they have meetings with the parents and teachers... Everyone gets involved and they help the teachers a lot here. They're more involved with the children. I like it better here because of the way the schools are here."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

They say, We say: Immigrants on life in America, and how they are viewed.

"American people see our country as camel jockeys and people living in the desert. Just recently, they're starting to see like Dubai, and Qatar, and all these countries that are evolving. Now they're starting to see the reality of it."

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

"I think that things are not so good for the immigrants, because you think about how are things going to be? It's going to be like living in the dark."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"That's the word, legal. I think the Mexicans have a right to come to this country like any other immigrant, but do it legally."

- Lebanese immigrant, Detroit

"Most of my friends are Asian, but I have Korean friends. I have Filipino friends. I have Chinese friends, and, of course, Caucasian friends. When we're like hanging out, we don't talk about our culture much. Just have a drink, watch the game, whatever."

- Filipino immigrant, San Francisco

"Life is very rushed here. The neighbors don't have the time, and sometimes we're either coming and going, and so we don't see each other as often like we do in Mexico."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"Over here, you have to be working to pay the rent. Over in Mexico, you don't have to do that so much. The days were longer for me in Mexico, and over here, they're shorter."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"If you come over here, it's to improve. That improvement has to involve certain things that you have to do."

- Mexican immigrant, Los Angeles

"You can get a lot of things from the United States... but you have to work hard."

- Guatemalan immigrant, Boston