The movement of human populations has been done in many ways and to varying magnitudes from the beginning of human existence
The complicated nature of the marriage of freedoms and movement allows some to move as they wish, while barring others from a similar freedom by either keeping them from moving or by forcing them to move. As society is currently constructed, the entities with the power to dictate individual and group movement stands in the form of national and international government, and the citizens of the world are bent at the will of the state. As sampled in the testimonials on this site, there are some people who have trouble getting into the United States. Others may already be here, but they cannot leave, or their various other rights are restricted as a result of their immigrant status.
The concepts of negative liberty and positive liberty, as conceptialized by Berlin, are often at war with each other, because each individual cannot get all that they want without restrict someone else’s freedom. Governments use their freedom to dictate what people can do, and when, and how often, and on what terms. Immigrants are at the mercy of the nations whose lines they cross, and there are rules in place in many countries that favor the natives. Navigating a new social world can be difficult when cultural, linguistic, and ethical differences exist.
The primary focus of our project is to explore how immigration affects one’s identity. Using stories of immigrants who travelled across or to the transatlantic region, we reveal the different aspects of each immigrant’s unique immigration story to show how the experiences shaped each identity. We discuss aspects of such as struggles during the immigration trip, changes in roles and freedoms, societal discrimination, and which countries the immigrants call their true homes.
Throughout this project’s analyses of immigration in an american context, the themes of opportunity and the limitations of freedom are prevalent in each of the stories. Examinations of liberty and the relationships of power in the western world as they interact with those from other parts of the world were integral to both the class and this project. The multitude of stories discussed in the project provide a diverse set of perspectives on the meaning of freedom and the limitations of movement in a modern context. By discussing these topics of oppression under a restrictive system and how such oppression can affect someone’s personal freedoms and their individual identity, this project extends the class discussions of liberty and freedom in the americas. The project’s themes closely align with the topics of freedom in the americas and transatlantic movement that were discussed throughout the course.
This project demonstrates how movement and immigration can shape identity, and how it can restrict or magnify freedom. The concepts of negative and positive freedom are at play in immigration, concerning the relationship between the national government and the immigrants. We wanted to show the different ways that moving to a different country changes one’s self perception and one’s role in society.
Identity is influenced to some extent by time and place, and when the flow of an immigrant’s life is disrupted, crises like those present in the testimonials arise. As people, we are adaptable, but it can be difficult to navigate in a new world-- or, in these cases, new countries. Revealing the different trials that immigrants of the world have experienced upon arriving or trying to gain access to the United States allows us to acknowledge the complexity of the immigration and acclimation process as it exists in the current socio political world.
Though there is no one clear way to be “free,” the general consensus is that freedom is the ability to act on one’s own desires without the influence of others. Though there will always be limits on certain freedoms for the safe of protecting others’ freedoms-- restricting one’s freedom to murder to preserve another’s freedom to live, for example-- people today generally prefer only the more dangerous freedoms being restricted while most other freedoms that benefit them remain legal. In America, freedoms are offered to all its citizens, but non-citizens are heavily restricted. Becoming an American citizen is a complicated process that can take anywhere around six months to complete. Depending on where an immigrant comes from, they may be immediately suspected of certain crimes or acts of terrorism that prejudiced border guards believe people of their ethnicity want to commit, even if there is no evidence whatsoever of the immigrant in question planning such crimes. Some are immediately placed into American immigration detention centers, whether they entered the country illegally or not. Though non-Americans are promised freedom and opportunities if they come to America, they are met with mistreatment, restriction, and struggle; these aspects of immigrant treatment partially shape their identity around the pain they experience.