Aren't we all immigrants?

I have decided to blog about immigration. I understand that immigration has many opposing views and can polarize groups very quickly. At least here in the United States, this is an important and increasingly difficult issue.

The thought I would like to begin with is that unless we are of Native American stock, we are all immigrants to this country. We are a relatively young country and most of us can trace our roots to other countries. A question I would like to ask is what is your heritage? Where does your family get its roots? Do you have a story? I think each of us has a story. Sometimes we are very aware of that story or our ethnic background and sometimes we are not. For some it is more important than others. Try to trace your roots if you don't know. Ask a family member about how and why your family came to be "American."

You probably don't care but I will share a little about my family and you are invited to share a little about yours as well. Most of us have some pride about who we are and rightly so. We should, in my opinion, be aware and proud of our heritage and I think we have a responsibility to keep the story alive. My father is Estonian, he was born in Estonia and fled the Soviet invasion (WWII) as a young child (5 years old) with his parents and younger sister. He was raised in Sweden and after he attended college in Sweden he came to the United States. His family left Sweden as he was beginning college. They had waited 12 years for visas to the United States. My mothers' family is from England, I honestly don't know when they came to the United States. I know that we have family that was here during the revolutionary war. I ought to learn more about it. What about your family? What do you know about it?

As far as policy goes, I am no expert. I do know that immigration affects families. Immigration also includes emmigration. The coming to a counrty inlcudes leaving a country. There are parts of families left in homelands. Sometimes families are torn apart and or united by immigration.
New languages, employment, cultural differences, are some of many difficulties immigration includes. There are also difficulties for the culture or society that recieves immigrants; school districts, hospitals, governments, and programs that affect families. At the same time, there are also benefits. Obviously, for the family there are benefits or it seems they would not make the decision to come, but the are also benefits for the country accepting the immigration.

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