Connor Stevenson
Mod 7/ English 11H
Mr. Rice
January 6, 2015
Benefits of Immigration Over 41 million immigrants live in the United States (Migration Policy Institute). These people come from all over the world. Mexico, China, and Philippines are countries where the most immigrants come from (Who’s Coming to America). Immigration nowadays is often looked down upon as many people believe that immigration hurts the United States. In contrast, immigration can be a very positive influence to the United States. These new people bring many different types of food, new innovations and also help the economy. These new ideas that immigrants bring with them have benefited the United States in many different ways.
First of all, food is a very important item that immigrants bring to United States that Americans truly enjoy. These immigrants bring over their favorite meals from their homeland which are introduced and enjoyed by millions of people. These immigrants who love to share their cultural dishes open restaurants to have their dishes enjoyed by the general public. There are many different examples of restaurants serving dishes from all over the world. Foods served such as pizza and pasta originate from Europe and are a main part of Americans’ diets. Pasta was brought to the United States by a Frenchman who opened America’s first pasta factory in the United States in Brooklyn in 1848 (Pasta Comes to America). The average American eats 20 pounds of pasta each year and all of America consumes six billion pounds of pasta each year. Pizza came to America by Italian immigrants who learned to make it in Italy. The first place to sell pizza in the United States was at a grocery market opened by an Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi in New York City in 1905 (A History of Pizza in America). These are just two of many different types of food brought over to the United States by immigrants. These foods that these immigrants bring over create this diverse food culture that Americans enjoy every day. Without immigrants we would not be eating pasta and pizza and so many other kinds of foreign foods. In addition, the United States has relied on immigrants to bring new innovations that helped improve the lives of Americans. One invention that was introduced to the United States by an immigrant was jeans. These were invented by Levi Strauss who came from Germany. Jeans are a very important part of American clothing. Americans in present time spend about 15 million dollars a year on jeans (America Needs Immigrant Innovators). And are worn millions of times a day by both genders. Another invention that impacted United States society was the telephone. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell of Scotland in 1847(America Needs Immigrant Innovators). Telephones are an immense part of American society. This is the main way people talk to each other and a much more efficient way than sending a letter. Lastly, the very important invention of the wireless remote control was brought into this world by Robert Adler from Austria in 1956(America Needs Immigrant Innovators.) This invention made it possible to switch the channel on the television or raise and lower the volume from the very spot the person was sitting! This was a very important invention to the people of the United States because it lets us be able to sit in one spot for however long we want while being able to watch what we want. In 24 years after it was invented over nine million television sets were sold with the wireless remote (America Needs Immigrant Innovators). Over nine million people saved a countless amount of energy. These inventions are examples of just a few innovations created by immigrants that make our lives easier and better to this day.
Finally, immigrants that migrate over from other countries help the United States’ economy in several different ways. Immigrants come to the United States and many of them start businesses. Immigrants are thirty percent
