Italian Immigration Narrative

When I first left Italy with my parents I would have never believed anyone if they told me that I would be sitting in a maximum security facility for the next thirty to fifty years of my life. I have been convicted on extortion and prostitution charges along with bootlegging, myself and eight other men have been given the same sentence to be carried out at the same prison. America was supposed to be the gateway out of the life that I once knew, it was supposed to be endless freedom and an eternity of happiness for my family and I. I remember it like it was yesterday, we had everything you could ever dream of. Money, power, respect from everyone around us. Sadly, that all came to an end. I will be sitting in a ten by twelve-foot box for who …show more content…
My father was preparing all of the necessary items to get us through trip to our new home. We had little to nothing to bring with us but the items we brought included limited clothing, small amounts of cheese and sausage, and the very scarce amount of money we had to our family name. When we made it to the departing port we were met by thousands of other Italian families just like ourselves that were trying to live a better life in a new place. The trip was absolute hell; it was a never ending forty-day sail. On board living conditions were poor, the food was inadequate, and the sickness was rampant. We had to rely on the cheese that my father stuffed in his shoes for the last few days of the trip. This is when my younger sister started feeling ill. As the days came to an end she became sicker and sicker until the port was finally reached. Ellis Island, and our new home awaited us. The process took longer than expected, thousand upon thousands of others were in line waiting to be processed by immigration services. We were split into separate lines dividing us by gender. The process was simple, they would ask you for your name, papers, and the jobs that you were trying to pursue in America. After twenty-five hours of being processed through immigration it was finally over. I was able find my mother and father on the other side but this is when I realized that behind those gates was the …show more content…
Safety and financial security, at little to no cost. It is now 1920, the beginning of prohibition in the US. At this time there are many different mafia families spread throughout new York city. All of which go about making their money in different ways, drugs, guns,or booze. Either way, the Italian mafia had a massive impact on the socioeconomic state in their area, in which most Italian immigrants benefited from in some way. Whether it be safety or another service provided by one of the families. The next few years would be consistent with one another; the Italian mafia was the largest network of bootleggers in the country. This presented a massive opportunity for everyone involved. There was an abundant need for alcohol and people were willing to pay high prices. We were able to charge insane amounts of money for the product with the highest demand. This continued for some time until prohibition ended in 1933. At this time there is a mixture of four to seven million northern and southern Italians living in the United States. With that large of presence, it was undeniable that work was going to have to be found. Jobs started to fill with workers that were now able to support themselves. As for myself and the rest of the Italian mafia, we didn’t see the ending that most others did. After the prohibition Era the federal