immigration in US

      ​Immigration is not new in United States of America, in fact it is a way for people to begin a new life, and live the American dream. Moreover from the 17th to the 18th century (during the colonial period), there were many immigrants coming to America for many reasons: economic opportunity, slave trade and religious freedom.
      In the first half of the 19th century a mass immigration happened from Europe (Ireland, Italia, etc.) to North America because of the Great Famine, industrialization and political instability. However life was very hard for most of the immigrants and way far from their expectation. First, as a stranger they had to integrate into their neighborhood; in fact, the majority preferred to live in area where people had the same origin as them. But they also had to find a job in order to feed themselves and their families. One of the worse things was to live with the anti-immigration movement. For example, racism (anti Catholic or Chinese violence), exclusion, xenophobia.
      The President, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, causing immigrants to come to North America not by the requirement of their race or nationality, but through a visa system.                                                                                                                                                                                     
​       Today, thanks to immigration, the US is a country with many languages, diverse cultures and religions.
Currently, if you want to have a citizenship and you don’t have American parents, you can be sponsored by an employer, married to a US citizen, or be naturalized after 3 or 5 years of residence.
      The integration is still difficult and this is why WEE is trying to help woman and their families who need help to speak English, gain access to education, and meet other women who are dealing with similar challenges. All of this is to help make their lives easier and better to be a part of the American society.

---