The same complaints from residents as a hundred years ago. We all think once we are in, we should shut the door behind us. DP
By LEAH RAE AND MARCELA ROJAS, THE JOURNAL NEWS
THE JOURNAL NEWS : New immigrants aren't learning English, union officials and activists told a congressional panel. They send all their earnings home and refuse to become Americans.
"They depreciate property and drive other people out," said Frank Hawley, a union president. "They do not become citizens; they do not become interested except as to the amount of money they earn."
The year was 1909. The new arrivals were coming by steamship from Italy, Russia, Greece, Austria-Hungary and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. At the time, there were no caps on immigration from Europe, and the numbers of people coming through Ellis Island had reached their peak. The main restriction was a ban on Chinese laborers. The Chinese, it was thought, could never assimilate.
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