South Bend, [Middle of May), 1975
Immigration Statistics
Since 1820 the United States has been keeping records on immigration. According to these records, nearly 45 million people have immigrated in the past 150 years. The immigration of political refugees since the end of the Second World War could run up to two million, of whom more than a million have come from the Communist East Bloc countries in Europe and about 600,000 from Cuba. The present flood of immigrants from South East Asia has already reached on estimate 130,000. Although those who asked for political asylum make up only a quarter of the total immigration during the past two decades, their number elucidates that the United States is the main place of refuge for those who are persecuted for political reasons. While other countries were only temporary stations of transit, refugees have been accepted here for good. Here they felt protected, found work, and were given citizenship. In short, they found a new homeland. In moments of most serious afflictions, America has always opened its doors for those fleeing from persecution.
The refugees from Saigon were flown across the Pacific to California, where they were temporarily housed in military camps. There the lengthy processing and examining of each individual by the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) has begun. Whoever has a sponsor - a relative or a church community - is immediately released. But the majority of the refugees have to cope with long waiting periods in the camps until a solution will be found. Some will adapt quickly to the American way of life. Others, however, will seek refuge in a ghetto, as it has been the case many times in the history of American immigration. Such a closed district of ethnic Vietnamese is presently being formed in Los Angeles. Despite all the human misery and trials, only a handful of the refugees have opted to be repatriated. Most of them are ready to bear all the exertion and uncertainties in order to live in freedom in America and in the hope of one day being able to participate in the American dream.
[Maldwyn Allen Jones, American Immigration (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960) offers a comprehensive survey of American immigration history.]