Meyer,1

Walker Meyer

HC 101H

Professor Monique R. Balbuena

December 10, 2020

Archive Presentation

While creating this archive, my primary goal was to tell a narrative of individual

immigrants in an attempt to humanize immigration rhetoric. Often when I hear debates or

discussions on immigration, the individual perspective is lost. Immigration policy is frequently

described without consideration for how it applies to those who are affected.

For example, a common argument I hear from everyday people and politicians alike is

that immigrants need to wait in line for their turn to enter the US. This type of logic shows a lack

of understanding for the situation of immigrants as well as the systems for immigration

regulation. I hope this archive will encourage its viewers to think more critically about the lives

of immigrants and how US policy affects them.

In order to do this, I designed my archive to chronologically follow the lives and stories

of immigrants in my family. When accompanied by the essay “A Story of Immigrants and

Americans”, this archive outlines the lives of immigrants and their pursuit of the “American

Dream”. Coming to the United States out of necessity and working towards the success of future

generations is a story that we in the United States are proud of. I tried to highlight this story as an

American story while also showing the hypocrisy of a xenophobic mindest.

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Throughout the Expanding Archive class we have explored many historical stories and

archives that were able to give a greater understanding but also a more meaningful appreciation

to history. Learning and discussing broad and “objective” perspectives misses historical

importance. It not only avoids details but also leads to narrow minded conclusions. This mindset

combined with my family's perspective on immigration lead my thinking in creating this archive.

The amount of relevant details that can be found with a little digging is astonishing.

Although I had heard the stories told in this archive many times, so many crucial details were

completely new to me and analyzing true primary sources of my family history led me to

conclusions that I didn’t understand before this project. The way in which this project and class

as a whole as taught me think is a valuable skill that will serve me well in all disciplines of my

future education.