Assimilation Isn’t Effective for Immigrants in US

What Is Assimilation?

Assimilation is the process of a minority group adapting to the majority, this often applies to an immigrant or ethnic groups. In America, specifically, there has been a big debate on whether this is beneficial or not. Some arguments suggest that it’s helpful to immigrants who want to integrate into the country more easily. Whereas others argue this makes immigrants lose their culture and motivation in society. While Americans believe assimilating is helpful, there are just as many signs showing it is also harmful. When coming to the U.S, immigrants would consider their assimilation to look like learning English, claiming to be a citizen and having regular jobs. Although that is attainable to some that won’t be the case for most. But also when asking Americans for their definition of assimilation their answers varied. This leads you to think “Do they really know what their asking for?”

When asked what aspects of assimilation would benefit an immigrant, the three most common things brought up would be learning the language, adopting a protestant work ethic, and claiming an American identity. While this is all possible, most Americans expect more than just those three things out of an immigrant. This often makes citizens loose sight as to what would be realistic for someone who would be new to America.

Immigrants Encouraged to Speak English

When it comes to the argument of acknowledging English as a main language, it is thought this would be helpful to immigrants. It would make communication easier and open some access to things like jobs or friends. While this maintains true it also pushes one closer to their culture. When people of another language take on a second one and make it their main use of communication, it creates a sense of losing their culture. In result of this, they later push to make their first language more relevant in their lives. So while they try to make English their primary language of communication it actually pushes them from the use of it. Instead of pushing for all English all of the time, it would be better to accept the use of all languages. This would encourage more immigrants to be active in using English while still maintaining this connection to their native culture.

Immigrants and Work Ethic

When describing work ethic, most people describe it as protestant. This includes the characteristics of being self reliant, hardworking and morally upright. These values are believed to get immigrants ahead in America. Despite this, immigrants that show these values aren’t all benefitting. Immigrants of Asian descent show the most benefit in these values, while other groups like those of Mexican descent do not. Asian Americans are able to close their wealth gap within 10-15 years of arriving in the U.S., whereas the Mexican Americans’ wealth gap persists, as studies have shown. There is no reliable evidence showing the reason why other than discrimination. So while it is shown these values do open opportunities, this does not apply to all groups and cannot be considered their fault. Regardless, if all groups don’t benefit how could it be truly beneficial?

Immigrants and Their Identity

Lastly, claiming an American identity has been hard for immigrants. Not because they refuse to identify, but because of resident Americans’ views on them. An example of this is America’s habit of assigning labels. When immigrants of Hispanic descent come to America they don’t identify themselves as Hispanics. This was a label put on them by Americans. By doing this, Americans are not pushing the idea of assimilation, and are actually causing more separation. When immigrants come here they are still fighting. An example is the civil rights movement. Back then an ethnic group had to fight for their rights, whereas assimilation would just invite you in. This has happened with groups other than African Americans, including the Japanese, Hispanics and more. So, when Americans say they support assimilation their later actions show different.

Is Assimilation Effective?

Overall, benefits to assimilation are present, just not as big as made to seem. A select few groups of immigrants have shown the progress they have made in assimilating like those of Asian or European descent. But assimilation clearly hasn’t benefitted all groups as shown by those of Hispanic or African descent. If Americans truly want assimilation, everybody has to be equally welcome and have equal opportunity to do so. It is not fair to pick and choose who is deserving of access and then say Americans encourage the process of assimilation. If all immigrants felt welcome they would be more open to the process and might even encourage it themselves. Overall, assimilation could truly put immigrants in a better position, it has the potential. But to point back to the original question, Americans, is that what you’re asking for?

Written by Cynthia Thomas

Sources:

Brookings: Do We Really Want Immigrants to Assimilate?

Collins: Definition of ‘assimilation’

Migration Policy Institute: Assimilation Models, Old and New: Explaining a Long-Term Process

Press Books: Assimilation as Concept and as Process

Featured and top image courtesy of liz west‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Inset image courtesy of Susan Ruggles‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License