Background The United States has always been a land of immigrants.

During the 1600s and 1700s, fewer than one million

people immigrated to the new country. Today, almost one million people immigrate to the United States each year, and those
immigrants tend to be younger than the general population. They generally settle in areas where there are people with similar
bacgrounds. !This has always been true of immigrants to the United States." #ost immigrants today settle in one of se$en
states% &alifornia, 'ew (or, )lorida, Te*as, +ennsyl$ania, 'ew ,ersey, and -llinois.
.hat to /ring
0ssay by 'aisha ,acson
1s you read, pay attention to the items that the
immigrants were allowed to bring with them to the
United States.
Traveling Light
1 hundred years ago, most immigrants to the United
States arri$ed by ship and were allowed only one
suitcase for the long $oyage. They left almost all of
their belongings behind. 2ecent immigrants ha$e a
much faster 3ourney, but many of them still bring
$ery few items with them.
Some modern immigrants mo$e to the United
States to 4nd a better future, owning $ery little in
their countries of origin. 5ne immigrant from
&entral 1frica arri$ed at 6ennedy 1irport in 7007
with twenty cents 8 he wored in a car wash as he
earned his college degree in 4nance. 1 man who
emigrated from 9onduras brought a ceramic :orro
pencil sharpener, which is now a treasured family
possession.
5ther immigrants are refugees, escaping
oppression in their homelands. #any refugees are
liely to ha$e $ery few possessions, and are often
unable to lea$e their countries with those
belongings they do ha$e. 1 man who was
imprisoned for nine years in a So$iet political labor
camp immigrated to the United States with the help
of the -nternational 5rgani;ation for #igration. 9e
arri$ed with only a small <ight bag. 5ne of the few
items he had with him was a toothbrush he had ept
in the labor camp, car$ed down so it could be
hidden in his pocet from the guards. The thousands
of children who left &uba in 1=60 were allowed to
lea$e with only 4$e dollars and a small suitcase.
5ne child>s suitcase held his bilingual edition of
Shaespeare>s Hamlet.
Precious Possessions
1re there any principles that guide what
belongings an immigrant brings? There are
re@uirements 8 legal documents such as passports
and birth certi4cates 8 and there are items of
choice. Some items you might e*pect, while others
might come as a surprise to you.
+erhaps the two most common inds of
immigrants> belongings are religious items and
photographs. -mmigrants may ha$e photographs of
friends and relati$es they are lea$ing and places
they used to li$e. 'ew arri$als ha$e arri$ed with the
following religious items in their luggage%
a prayer boo
a /ible
a 6oran
1
a statue of /uddha
7
religious medals
candlestics for Sabbath candles
-mmigrants often also bring things that will
remind them of their homelands. 1 &hinese
family brought ashes from the woodAburning
sto$e they used to coo their last meal at homeB
a Cree woman brought a nightAblooming
3asmine plant. Cifts from friends also occupy
space in their bags% a refugee family from
$iolence in Chana brought beaded neclaces
they had been gi$en. 1long with a few
documents, some photographs, and an *Aray
1
Koran% the sacred boo of -slam that contains the
re$elations of Cod to #ohammad.
7
Buddha% !D6E? 8 FGE? /.&.", the founder of the religion
of /uddhism.
pro$iding that the father had been screened for
tuberculosis, these were their only possessions.
Some people bring useful ob3ects. 1 man who
had wored casting metal escaped past armed
-ron &urtain guards in 9ungary with a small tool
of his trade in his pocet. 9e started his own
foundry in the United States, and still uses the
tool 8 and he won>t let anyone else use itH The
husband of the woman with the nightAblooming
3asmine brought his barber>s scissors with him,
and stated his shop at the local railway station.
#any immigrant families bring cooing utensils 8
wos, rolling pins, stainlessAsteel bowls 8 and
fa$orite ni$es.
-mmigrants do not always now a lot about
United States lifeB a Urainian family of refugees
had four large duIel bags with them, paced
tightly with bedding, which they had heard was
e*pensi$e and inferior in 1merica.
Sentimental Journeys
2emembrances of old li$es tae up immigrant
suitcase space, too. Things that ha$e been in the
family for a long time help new arri$als feel more
at home, or at least less alone. +arents> and
grandparents> wedding rings are seldom
neglected. 5ther items may not seem so
$aluable. 1 man who was a doctor in #yanmar
brought his diploma, e$en though he cannot
practice medicine in the United States. 1 girl
from &hina brought her bright yellow
metronome, simply because it was special 8
none of her friends had one 8 and she now 4nds
that, unlie when she was in &hina, she en3oys
practicing the piano.
1nd of course, young children !and some not
so young" can be counted on to bring a fa$orite
teddy bear.