Why did so many immigrants, both free and slave (and the descendents Essay

Why did so many immigrants, both free and slave (and the descendents of slaves), return to their countries of origin after immigrating to the United States And - Essay Example As Swedish immigration reached a new peak during World War I which resulted in the Swedish government setting up a commission to find solutions for the problem. The commission proposed better employment, housing and economic opportunities for Swedish people. The reforms implemented by the government also included political and religious freedom which provided Swedish people more incentives to return to their homeland (Joppke, 1998). Italians migrated in large numbers to the United States. Unlike other immigrant groups they did not settle here and become farmers. Instead they headed for the cities where they took up jobs as construction workers, laborers and domestic servants. An estimated sixty percent of the Italians who migrated to the United States returned to their homeland. They lived as inexpensively as they could. They sent money to Italy to preserve the traditional order. Most of them had a desire to work hard in the United States and save enough money to return to their country for a better life. Chinese were the earliest Asians who arrived in the United States during the nineteenth century. The economic and political turmoil of China forced thousands of Chinese to migrate to other countries. Most Chinese worked in the railway and mining industries. The California Gold Rush also attracted Chinese because of their cheap wages. However xenophobia and racism towards Chinese was rampant which forced the United States government to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Chinese immigrants were thus expelled out of the United States by legislation and public hostility. The Chinese faced economic, political and religious discrimination in China and therefore were reluctant to return to their country. They were willing to work in harsh conditions in the United States and despite severe opposition from the local population (Joppke, 1998). Japanese and Koreans soon replaced Chinese in the railroad and mining industries. Like the Chinese, they also