A recent groundbreaking study for the National Immigration Forum by Gregory Rodriguez, fellow at the New America Foundation, demonstrates that contemporary immigrants are doing what newcomers to the U.S. have always done: they slowly, often painfully, but quite assuredly, adopt the language, cultural norms, and loyalties of America. The study demonstrates that today's immigrants are embracing American mainstream life, just as immigrants have done for generations.

Further, a January 2000 study of Latinos conducted by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, and Harvard University disproves the perception that Latinos as sidestepping the American mainstream because of their relative proximity to their countries of origin. Rather than constituting a separate society, Latinos who have made homes in this country are "remaking themselves, undergoing a process of assimilation." The poll found that nine in ten Latinos who are new to the United States believe that it is important to change so they can fit into the larger society.

A Gradual Process

Both studies stress that assimilation into life in the U.S. is not an instant transformation in which an immigrant suddenly becomes a "full-fledged American." Nor does it require the obliteration of ethnic identity. Instead, assimilation is a long-term, sometimes multigenerational, process in which newcomers of differing backgrounds adopt basic concepts of American life – equality under the law, due process, and economic opportunity. Put another way, assimilation is not about immigrants rejecting their past, but about people of different racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds coming to believe that they are part of an overarching American family.

As the Latino study found, the assimilation process involves three phases: at the start are many recently arrived immigrants, struggling to learn about everything, including the new language. The second phase involves people who are "bicultural," embracing both English and Spanish, and drawing pieces of their identity from old and new ways. The third stage is of the most assimilated, who were either born here or arrived at a young enough age that many of their attitudes and beliefs mirror those of society. It is a process in which Hispanics become more American, and the shift is unmistakable.

Using facts and figures from U.S. census data, the Rodriguez study looked at four indices of immigrant integration (citizenship, homeownership, English language, and intermarriage):

Citizenship

Every year hundreds of thousands of immigrants take the oath of allegiance to the United States in naturalization ceremonies. In fact, the numbers of immigrants naturalizing has been on the upswing. The number of immigrants naturalizing in 1998 was 463,000 compared to 270,000 in 1990. Many of these newest citizens chose to acquire citizenship to participate at the ballot box and express their rejection of the anti-immigrant sentiment marking much public debate in the 1990s. Their entry into the voting booth in large numbers can be seen as an old-fashioned American response, imbued with democratic values.

Most immigrants have to wait five years to naturalize after they become permanent residents, so the percentage of recent arrivals who are citizens is understandably low. But as their length of residence increases in the U.S., the percentage of immigrants who naturalize grows steadily. In 1998, some 13 percent of immigrants who arrived in the first years of the decade had naturalized, while 25 percent of immigrants who came in the latter half of the 1980s were now citizens. Of immigrants who arrived in the later years of the 1970s, well over half, 55 percent, had become citizens.

Homeownership

While the acquisition of citizenship is a sign of civic integration and participation, the purchase of a home implies strong economic integration on the part of immigrants. Home ownership represents investment in a community and a likelihood that the homeowner will sink roots into and helps stabilize a neighborhood.

High rates of homeownership among immigrants demonstrate their intention to become attached to the U.S. As of 1999, some 31.9 percent of immigrants that arrived in the 1990s were homeowners. Of those who arrived in the 1980s, 51.6 percent owned their home. And of those who arrived prior to 1980, i.e., those with 18 or more years of residence, some 70.5 percent had purchased their own residence.

English Language Acquisition

Within ten years of arrival, more than three-quarters of immigrants speak English with high proficiency. With second and third generations, virtually all children of immigrants speak English. The survey of Latinos found that among the American-born children of Latino immigrants – the second generation – only one in ten relies mainly on Spanish as a medium of communication.

Language acquisition is key to other aspects of acculturation. Learning English opens the door to everything from broader acquaintances across cultures, to more diverse workplaces, to television shows that expose newcomers to different habits, values, and beliefs.

The shift to English is so pervasive that, indeed, if there is a language problem in this country, it is that the native languages of immigrants are completely lost after a few generations. Linguists consider the U.S. to be a language graveyard.

An Evolving Culture

While immigrants adopt American ways, they do not entirely abandon their own culture and identity. As the Latino survey notes, as immigrants adapt, "their own traditions exert a growing influence on American culture, from tastes in food and popular music to the economy and politics." Like their counterparts in past migrations to the U.S., they are leaving an indelible mark on the society that they have adopted.

These recent studies speak volumes about American immigration at its best. A nation of immigrants continues to prove that it can integrate its newcomers because it believes in diversity, unity and tolerance.

Revised by Rob Paral for the National Immigration Forum

Sources: Rogriguez, Gregory, From Newcomers to New Americans: The Successful Integration of Immigrants into American Society, (Washington, DC: National Immigration Forum, July 1999). Goldstein, Amy and Suro, Roberto, "A Journey in Stages, Assimilation's Pull is Still Strong, but Its Pace Varies," The Washington Post, January 16, 2000.