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Omar Ismail
Dr. Rashida Harrison
Honors 1000
22 October, 2015
Is Immigration worth it?
When I was younger, my family had a famous quote from Confucius on
our front door that said Choose a job that you love and you will never have
to work a day in your life. My father had put it there because he hoped that
someday my siblings and I would not have to be forced into a job that we did
not care for, as he was. I have known people from all over the world that
have risked their lives, fortunes, and livelihood to move to a better place.
They did this in order to provide a better life for themselves and their loved
ones. They knew that it would be hard for them to integrate into that society;
however, they did it because they believed that it would be permanent
(Fisher). That is exactly what I was thinking when I decided to make the
critical decision, that is, to immigrate to the United States of America.
Although it was not as smooth as I anticipated, it was necessary for my
family and I to immigrate and leave my dreaded homeland. Throughout
history, immigrants have always been mistreated and disrespected no
matter the time period. My name is Po Ming and I am a Chinese immigrant
who came from Hong Kong, China and the following is my story.
I can picture it in my head as if it was yesterday. The bright yellow sun
shining on my glistening skin as I take a sip of my first American Pepsi. It was

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my very first day in San Francisco. I did not know what kind of work I was
going to do, but I knew that whatever it was, it would be the beginning of a
long and painful journey. In 1863, I started working for the San Jose Railroad
Company for $24 per month (Stanford University). The working conditions
were abysmal, but it was the only job I could get at the time. It was
extremely difficult to concentrate on working and saving money because the
only thing on my mind was my family. I have two kids and a beautiful wife
named Li Ming. I can recall the first time I laid my eyes on her, she was
working on the same rice farm as me and she dropped her conical hat. As I
was bending down to grab it for her, I caught a glimpse of her beautiful
brown eyes; I instantly fell in love. As much as I love my family, I could not
bring them with me on my journey. I could not bare to watch them struggle
with me as I tried to climb the social and economical ladder(Fisher).
Nevertheless, I continued to work hard and create new friendships for
several years. Little did I know that my luck was about to change.
On June 25, 1867 my co-workers decided to go on strike because there
were some rumors that white workers were receiving more pay (Kite).
Personally, I did not care for the strike and I was quite content with the way I
was living at the time. The money I was receiving was not enough to sustain
a regular 35-year-old man; however, I knew that everyone needs to start
somewhere. Charles Crocker, the owner of the railroad company, did not
respond as my co-workers believed he would. Instead of raising our pay, he
denied us food for eight straight days. That is precisely when my luck

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changed. James Strobridge, the superintendent, started to take a liking to
me. He was an older man, mid-late 50s, with a long-bushy beard and a stare
that would scare the bravest man in the East. His methods were strange and
he did not know how to show emotion; however, he would bring me food and
water during those eight days of restriction. When the railroad was
completed in 1880, he promoted me to manager of the tunnels. I was
thrilled. I immediately wrote a letter to my family and I told them that I will
finally be able to bring them to the United States. President Chester A. Arthur
had other plans.
In May 1882, President Arthur signed an act that provided an absolute
10-year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration (Harvard University). This
meant that not only can I not bring my family to the United States to work
and live with me, it also meant Chinese immigrants in the United States were
secluded and surrounded by other influential races. When I was first
informed about the act, I was furious and livid. How could one man decide
who can come in and out of an entire country?
My time in San Francisco was dwindling, after that project was
completed, I was relocated to work on a railroad in Detroit. I can recall
driving on the golden gate bridge on my last day in that beautiful city. I was
making my way to the San Francisco Public Library in order to learn more
about my new home, Detroit. We arrived at three oclock. Detroit is a small
town of two or three hundred souls, which was founded in the middle of the
woods by the Jesuits in 1710, and which still contains a very great number of

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French families (Tocqueville). That quote stood out to me because I was
fearful that I would be the only Chinese man in that city. However, when I
actually go there, I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like one third of the
population was foreign (Martelle). Nevertheless, only one thing was on my
mind; will I ever see my family again?
In 1908, I had heard about a ship that was going to smuggle in workers
into the United States. I made the brave decision to pay the owner of the
ship to deliver my family to me. The owner looked like and honest man who
was trying to help the less fortunate. Unfortunately, my family was caught
and they were imprisoned in pacific mail detention ship (Detroit Free Press). I
have had to ask for a few favors and I will probably owe my next two
paychecks (University of California). I do not know how they will escape from
that ship but I can not wait to hear the stories from my wife, kids, and
grandchildren.
Today is the day that I will finally see my family. It has been 45 years
since I last saw my family. I wonder if my family will recognize me; I do not
look that much different, just a couple scars on my face and some smaller
pants. I hope that everything bringing them at this time will be the right
decision. I know that it will be hard for them to adjust but I cannot wait to see
what the future holds for them. I can hear a car coming down my road, I
think it is finally time.

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Works Cited
Gale Virtual Reference Library: "Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)."
Open Collections Program: Immigration to the US,. Harvard
University, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Scholarly Source: Chinese Railroad Workers in North America
Project. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Fisher, Phillip. Democratic social Space. Still the New World:
American Literature in a Culture of Creative Destruction.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 33-55.
Kite, Lorien. The Chinese. New York: Crabtree Pub., 2000. Print.
Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, IL: Chicago
Review, 2012. Print.

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Scholarly Source: Pacific Historical Review: Inside and Outside

Chinatown: Chinese Elites in Exclusion Era California. 80 Vol.
University of California Press, 08/01/2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Primary Source: Special to The, Free P. "CHINESE ESCAPE
FROM SHIP JAIL." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 1. Nov 30
1908. ProQuest. Web. 19 Oct. 2015 .
Tocqueville, Alexis. Fortnight in the Wilderness. Tocqueville in
America. Ed. George W. Pierson. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1938. 229-259.