Advanced Immigration 2025

By Valerie Madriz 
The label of the United States of America as a land of opportunity has romanticized it as a sanctuary for immigrants, particularly people with low incomes, and this idealization diverts attention from the racialized hierarchies that privilege certain groups over others. The American Dream functions as a sociopolitical myth—one that claims egalitarian opportunity while systematically excluding immigrants, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds. Despite America’s rhetoric of inclusion, they sustain a racialized meritocracy that frames immigrant struggles on individual failure rather than systemic barriers. This hierarchy is reinforced through the “model minority trope,” marginalizing Hispanic immigrants while burdening Asian immigrants to conform to unrealistic expectations.

“A week’s worth of money in the States could take 1-2 months of work in my home country. Sure, I have two physically and mentally exhausting jobs, but at least I earn more here than I would back home.” During my interview with W—a Hispanic immigrant from Costa Rica with low socioeconomic status—I could not help but notice her complete unawareness of the exploitation America subjects her to. While the U.S. offers countless opportunities regardless of age, sex, or race, it also undeniably exploits underprivileged immigrants and vulnerable individuals. Unfortunately, many immigrants—particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and marginalized communities like Hispanics—hold a highly romanticized view of America. W earns more bartending in America than she ever could in Costa Rica, but what does this “more” truly entail? Is trading her well-being for wages deemed low in the U.S., even if “high” by her home country’s standards, a fair exchange? The American Dream promises prosperity through meritocracy, yet this same system preys on the vulnerability of poor immigrants. Undocumented individuals, those without a Social Security Number, and people stifled by language barriers are pushed into grueling, underpaid jobs that privileged white Americans refuse to take. The American Dream insists that “hard work equals success” but ignores how the ladder to upward mobility is rigged. W’s story reflects exploitation disguised as opportunity—a recurring theme in countless immigrant stories.  

A, a Hispanic immigrant with a low socioeconomic status I interviewed, shared a similar perspective as W but expanded on the intersection of race and privilege in America. Though initially reserved, she observed that “there is privilege…some people do not have to fight as hard as others do.” Her comment underscores how racialized hierarchies in the U.S. disproportionately burden non-white immigrants, particularly those like her whose outward appearance aligns with stereotypical markers of  Hispanic identity. This systemic privileging of whiteness engraved into America’s society dictates who moves up the “social ladder,” regardless of individual effort, and affects many non-white immigrants navigating a society steeped in white supremacy. At the same time, the U.S. reinforces racialized tropes that may pit marginalized groups against one another, as seen through the “model minority” stereotype imposed on Asian immigrants. J, the daughter of wealthy Asian immigrants, articulated how the label—though superficially flattering—creates a “very unfair pressure on Asian immigrants to continue to live up to those externally defined standards.” While this trope weaponizes Asian success to undermine other immigrants’ struggles, it also forces Asian American immigrants into a dehumanizing cycle where they are constantly proving their worth. These stereotypes sustain the myth of egalitarian opportunity where Hispanic immigrants are marginalized as “outsiders,” constantly taken advantage of, while Asian immigrants are used as instruments to legitimize the illusion of meritocracy. 

The American Dream cynically insists that prosperity is attainable for anyone who “plays their cards right” while ignoring the systemic exploitation embedded in this nation. Immigrants, particularly those from Hispanic, Asian, and other marginalized backgrounds, are pushed into an environment where they endure unfair treatment like substandard wages and unsafe working conditions and where the model minority trope masks how America profits from immigrant labor while denying them true equity. The American Dream’s greatest lie is in its insistence that hard work alone guarantees success because, in truth, prosperity in the States is not earned; it is inherited. Privilege dictates who climbs the ladder, not perseverance. True meritocracy cannot exist in a system designed to privilege some and discard others. Until America confronts how its structures harm the vulnerable, the American Dream will remain a Myth.