Immigration Stereotypes

How Political Cartoons Influence Immigrant Stereotypes

While researching the stereotypes that immigrants deal with on a daily basis, I learned that many of these stereotypes stem from political cartoons from the 19th and 20th centuries. These political cartoons from the past were used as a form of entertainment and most often portrayed immigrants from other countries in a very negative light. According to The Atlantic, the Irish were often portrayed as apes, Italians as street filth, and Chinese as parasitic locusts. At this time, these different races, cultures, and identities were not welcome to become a part of the United States' melting pot and/or mosaic.

These political cartoons were originally published in humor magazines, with their sole purpose being to entertain the reader or viewer. They were originally intended to be political satire and commentary on the events at the time, but when viewed now, they seem very much like racist propaganda. Political cartoons about race, immigration, and culture do not seem lighthearted but instead seem to express that immigrants destroy the "American culture" and are a burden to native-born citizens. These cartoons could easily influence the opinions of impressionable audiences in the time period, and in turn, make the U.S. appear to be a nation unwilling to accept diversity in a non-conventional way.

In today's age, 68% of Americans state that "America's openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation". This shows that most Americans want to accept immigrants and refugees, but there are still many facts and statistics that show that immigrants are still severely suffering from the stereotypes that are brought upon them. Many American citizens believe that all immigrants are rapists, violent criminals, terrorists, and murderers that steal our jobs. This is actually not accurate at all because evidence shows that immigrants are actually less likely to commit crime than non-immigrants. Regarding immigrants "stealing jobs" the majority of jobs that are worked by non-natives are jobs that most Americans would not even consider. These jobs are physically demanding labor (often in unsafe conditions) with pay that is most of the time below minimum wage. 

When told that white Americans will no longer be the majority of the U.S. population, they are reluctant to accept this somewhat- newlyfound diversity. Brookings states that immigration actually helps the economy and that "If the current administration wants to create jobs and "Make America Great Again", it should consider enlisting more migrants". The truth is that immigrants are here to stay, and that their future is our future. If we want to attempt to keep peace in our nation we must be kind and accepting to those with different cultures, identities, and nationalities from us if we want our nation to have a prosperous future ahead of us.

This image shows just a few examples of immigrant stereotypes.

This political cartoon from the 20th century shows how
 immigrants were viewed by others.

This political cartoon from 1979 shows how immigrants
were treated at the time.

Sources

What are the Predominant Stereotypes About Immigrants Today?

.How Americans See Illegal Immigration: The Border Wall and Political Compromise

.Most Americans View Openness to Foreigners as Essential to Who We Are As a Nation

Do Immigrants Steal Jobs from American Workers?

Analyzing Anti-Immigrant Attitudes in Political Cartoons

Racist Anti-Immigrant Cartoons from the Turn of the 20th Century