I’m a child of an immigrant family. I’ve got a story to tell, a culture to share, and dreams my family brought to Canada. In fact, only about 2.09% of the U.S. population is Indigenous or Native. But, why are people on stolen land shaming others, fostering hate, and displaying simple hypocrisy?

​

Immigration has always been central to the story of North America. Both the United States and Canada are often described as nations built by others, shaped by people who arrived from across the world in search of a new beginning. However, feedback hasn’t always been positive; we have a long and repeating history of anti-immigrant sentiment.

​

In the United States, Irish and German peoples in the 18th and 19th centuries were criticized for their religion, language, and perceived unwillingness to assimilate. Chinese immigrants later faced legal exclusion and discrimination, while Japanese immigrants were forcibly pulled from their homes to be put in Canadian internment camps during World War II. And, obviously, the enslavement and segregation of Black communities all over the world still has lingering effects on Black opportunity.

​

 Most recently, Mexican or Latino groups have been experiencing threats, illegal deportation, and been the butt of much racial hate. Each of these groups was, at different points, labeled as a threat to jobs, national identity, or social stability.

​

What stands out most is not just the existence of anti-immigrant sentiment, but its repetition. The targets change over time, but the arguments don’t. New immigrant groups are often portrayed as taking jobs, using public resources, and failing to integrate into society; even if that’s not always true, or at least not as dramatic. Recently, immigrants from Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia have been in the hot seat. It’s always ‘they’re taking your jobs’ or ‘they’re taking your taxes’, as if the problem lies with immigrants. I call it the boogeyman effect — giving citizens someone to hate on and be afraid of by making up problems.

​

Though, these concerns aren’t entirely without basis. Rapid population growth puts pressure on housing markets, public services, and available jobs. Many citizens, of Canada especially, don’t feel hate towards foreign groups because of who they are — but are frustrated with how the country doesn’t necessarily have the means to support more people than it already does. It’s an important distinction to make. Currently, in Canada, the sentiment isn’t always out of racism but frustration, which is a complex yet valid issue.

​

In the United States, immigration has become overly politicized with the presidency of Donald Trump. Trump’s political messaging has been focused on the idea that immigration can ‘threaten national safety’ or economic stability. Under the cover of ‘protecting American citizens’, the President has been displaying his own racial beliefs by deporting and breaking up families (who are often fully American citizens), creating detention centers, and having Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) use guns however they’d like.

​

Canada has generally taken a different approach, emphasizing immigration as a tool for economic growth and demographic stability. However, as mentioned, public opinion has become more divided recently due to the mass immigration of South Asian peoples especially. As housing affordability worsens and infrastructure struggles to keep up with population increases, some Canadians have begun to question the pace of immigration.

​

Despite the tensions, it’s impossible to ignore the extent to which immigrant groups have shaped and strengthened North America. Building railroads, creating businesses, innovating our sciences, and enriching cultural life. Neither the U.S. nor Canada would be anywhere near the global powerhouses they are today without the valuable contributions of immigrant populations.

​

There’s a clear irony. The same societies that rely on immigrants to build the economy, fill certain job positions, and much more often feel negatively towards new arrivals.

​

It’s a pattern. A cycle, proving history’s tendency to repeat itself again and again. These debates have been and continue to be prevalent in how foreign groups are viewed across North America. The challenge for both the United States and Canada is to balance economic needs, social cohesion, and humanitarian values. Justice for all.