Melanie Mendez

Professor Dustin Atkinson

English 101

27, September 2023

Summary/Analysis 2: “Jobs, Crime, and Culture: The Threats That Aren’t”

Suketa Mehta argues in his essay, “Jobs, Crime, and Culture: The Threats That Aren’t,”

that immigrants who come to the United States do not “steal” jobs from native-born Americans

like they claim. There are many claims that are made by the general public to demonize

immigrants, but Mehta quickly shuts them down by providing evidence proving their claims

wrong, and ultimately making native born Americans who are against the idea of immigrants

coming to the U.S. look bad. He continues to state that immigrants do not come here to steal jobs

and houses from people who are native here, they come to become Americans as well.

I believe Suketa Mehta’s targeted audience is people who generalize all immigrants as

these evil people who want to take jobs and houses that they did not want in the first place, but

now that someone wants them they do not like it. It is like a kid who has so many toys that they

do not seem to care about, but once they see someone else playing with them they want them

back because it is not theirs to take. Why did Mehta make this piece? I believe he made this

piece because it is frustrating to see someone speak so lowly and make false claims about groups

of people that you consider yourself connected with. An example of a claim would be

immigrants will “bring more crime,” which Mehta proved to be false. What point is there in

being so racist when these individuals are not harming you, but in fact have the same goal as

you, which is having a better life. Mehta explains that immigrant’s main goal is to live a better

life with bigger and better opportunities for themselves and their families. As someone who
comes from a family of immigrants, I find it really insensitive when it is assumed that my family

came to take jobs from native born Americans, and worse that crime rates have “skyrocketed”

since they arrived. It is all misinformation that causes more harm than one thinks. Mehta

explained in the passage that immigrants do more labor work, such as the crop fields, they are

the main reason America gets their fresh produce. Not much credit is given because they do not

have the title of being a “U.S Citizen”, yet even if they did they are still treated as less because

they are not white and from here. There is and has always been a preference of white people over

colored people. As people have evolved and times have changed, this is still a big problem that

ceases to exist in America.