What a humane country I have been living in since 2001! So diverse, so peaceful, so much freedom, no discrimination and above all, no issue of being a minority.

The first time I visited the USA was in 1980 while doing my PhD at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. And then I did my postdoctoral research at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. After a long gap in 2001, once again I applied for a university job while working in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I couldn’t believe I was successful in getting a teaching job via a 45-minute phone interview between West Virginia and Dhaka. An evening one month after 9/11, our five-member family landed at the Charleston, West Virginia airport.

There are 192 countries recognized by the United Nations. I am sure there are immigrant people in the USA from all the countries of the world. Approximately there are 46.2 million immigrants in the United States as of 2022. Have a look at the chart-1.

According to Pew research center, the top 5 countries of birth for immigrants living in the USA in 2022 in millions among all immigrants are: Mexico (10.6 million, 23%), India (2.8 million, 6%), China (2.5 million, 5%), Philippines (2 million, 4%) and El Salvador (1.4 million, 3%). Interestingly, they are all scattered in all 50 states of the USA, maybe least in Mississippi.

No doubt, immigrants make the US far better, stronger, richer and beautiful and diverse. Here are a few interesting facts I have come across from the internet. In 1790, residency requirements for naturalization were two years. Now it is 5 years. Whenever a country was in great depression or food crisis, the US government came forward to rescue either by sending food items or offering immigration. Such a famine occurred in Ireland in 1845, and the US allowed almost 500,000 to immigrate over a five year period. In 1860 Poland’s religious and economic condition prompted immigration of an estimated two million Polish by 1914. A similar economic crisis in 1880 led almost four million Italian immigrants.

Sometimes, labor shortages forced the government to invite people from other countries. In 1868, Japanese laborers arrived in Hawaii to work in sugar cane fields. Mexicans have been given immigrating since 1900. With such a long border with Mexico, there are also a large number who find it easier to cross the border illegally.

There is another way the USA used to offer immigration. To stop the communist rule in different countries around the world, the US tried to intervene by helping anti-communist groups, even militarily. However, when it failed, an influx of immigration took place. Vietnam is one of the examples.

Since the independence of USA in 1776, the leaders made the right decisions regarding immigration policy. The diverse people and the creative immigrants made notable contributions to making the USA greater in different fields. There are thousands of notable immigrants who made remarkable contributions.

Out of 50 states, New York is unique compared to the other 49. During my recent visit to New York City, I realized what I felt in the UK Heathrow airport for the first time in the 1980’s.

There was a saying that the sun never sets on the British empire. So, there are people from all around the world in Great Britain. New York is no different. It’s a conglomerate of A-to-Z races. Why?

There is an island called Ellis Island. Since 1892, Ellis Island began receiving arriving immigrants. The US built an immigration station there and many other facilities including health facilities.

From 1892 to 1954, more than 12 million immigrants arrived via Ellis Island, though they are mostly Europeans. The first immigrant was Annie Moore from Ireland who with her two brothers arrived January 2, 1892.

In fact, at that time the people migrated to the USA, and many of them later became famous. To name a few: Albert Einstein from Germany, Cary Grant from England, Joseph Pulitzer from Hungary, Bob Hope from England, Greta Garbo from Sweden, Harry Houdini from Hungary, Charlie Chaplin from England, Alexander Graham Bell from Scotland, Paramahansa Yogananda, an Yoga Guru from India, Isaac Asimov from Russia, Frank Capra from Italy.

Later immigration to the USA continued by road, by air, and by sea. Most notable immigrants are many. Only a few are given below:

Madeleine Albright (Czeck Republic) politician, Yul Brynner (Russia) actor, Andrew Carnegie (Scotland) industrialist, philanthropist, Audrey Hepburn (Belgium) actor, Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan) physician, author, Henry Kissinger (Germany) U.S. Secretary of State, Mario Molina, (Mexico) Nobel laureate, Elon Musk (South Africa) inventor, entrepreneur, Sundar Pichai (India) Google executive, Rihanna (Barbados) singer, Nicola Tesla (Croatia) inventor, Fareed Zakaria (India) journalist, Sanjay Gupta India, neurosurgeon, writer CNN journalist, Sergey Brin — (Russia) Cofounder of Google, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar — Nobel Prize-winning physicist, India, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austria, Carl Djerassi — Father of “the pill” Austria, Amar Bose —India, Engineer and founder of Bose sound box,

Whatever the political party is in power, humanitarian efforts from the USA is always present around the world.

Immigrant people, don’t you feel indebted to the US government? Why not give respect to Americans, in person or in a group.

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. He writes occasional column in the Dispatch. His email address is [email protected]

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. His email address is [email protected].

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