Immigrant Assimilation in the United States

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Language
Income
Education
Healthcare
Legal System
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Assimilation is a complex process requiring individuals to understand and adapt to the way of life provided in the new country they relocate to. However, said process often correlates with difficulties and barriers that create limitations in how a person can employ new guidelines, values, and cultural attributes. From a political perspective, the status of an immigrant also affects the resources accessible for smooth assimilation.

However, the political background of the country impacts factors such as socioeconomic elements that also disrupt one’s integration into a new society. From this perspective, people who relocate from different countries do not have the same opportunities, a phenomenon linked to the political environment, which ultimately shapes the accessibility of resources. In this paper, the difficulties encountered by immigrants willing to assimilate into the USA will be discussed. Namely, evidence shows barriers when it comes to circumstances such as language, income, education, healthcare, and legislation, which show disproportionate statistics if native citizens are compared to non-native ones.

Language

On the one hand, the US political system does not require perfect knowledge of English to pass the citizen test. However, it is inevitable that the country’s native language is an essential tool in assimilation into other customs. The language barrier, while appearing as a minor inconvenience for immigrants, especially those who have families and friends speaking their native tongue, is a significant issue. The report published by the platform Migration Policy highlights that 22% of US residents do not speak English at home, of which 68% speak Spanish (Jeanne and Esterline). While it may be linked to preferences, difficulties communicating in the national language correlate with multiple subsequent barriers. For example, these residents cannot assimilate into non-Spanish speaking workplaces, demographics, and social groups. According to researchers, this is one of the reasons why many Mexican immigrants do not choose to become naturalized, alongside financial barriers and lack of interest (Budiman).

Assimilation is closely linked to knowledge of the language as this factor significantly improves the chances of acquiring a higher-paying job, establishing social relationships with English-speaking residents, and accessing a multitude of resources. Moreover, second-generation immigrants who do not have language barriers are more likely to become easily integrated (Alba and Maggio). Thus, the opposite facilitates challenges that immigrants encounter when enrolling in schools, acquiring jobs, and applying for provisions of social services, which are often much-needed in the immigrant community. In this case, the political perspective illustrates the necessity of creating more accessible programs for assimilation through language or providing a more wide-range of languages in regard to information and resources.

Income

Assimilating in the US is partly accessible through the acquirement of a particular job in which the teams are diverse and not solely consisting of people of one particular demographic. Moreover, job opportunities are closely linked to income, which increases as one’s experiences and potentially allows for multiple options to be available. However, current statistics highlight differences in income between immigrants vs. native residents. Migration Policy has published a report highlighting that the median income of immigrants is slightly lower than that of a native resident ($63,550 and $66,040, respectively) (Jeanne Batalova and Cecilia Esterline).

Thus, it is evident that assimilation challenges persist when it comes to entering the job market and obtaining higher-paying positions. Moreover, income assimilation is a term in itself correlating with the experience of immigrants. For example, more advanced and accelerated adaption to a new country implies that the individuals are either educated or have relocated due to a job opportunity. Thus, these immigrants are more likely to adapt from an economic standpoint, which correlates with more opportunities when it comes to purchasing real estate, acquirement of health insurance, and enrolment of children in high-quality academic institutions.

As a result, it is essential to consider one’s financial potency as a significant factor within all the elements correlating with assimilation, as higher incomes are linked to changes to integrate into the US from all perspectives, including professional, educational, legal, and social. Moreover, the further the gap between natives and non-natives regards income, the more challenging it is to create a society in which the demographic shares similar experiences. The contrast between the wages of immigrants versus the salaries of established residents highlights the difficulties experienced by specific individuals regarding acquiring similar job positions and, hence, similar financial stability.

Education

Education is a factor that illustrates how well an individual has settled in the country to which they immigrated. Moreover, it is a complex element that depends on multiple notions included in the acquirement of an education. On the one hand, education correlates with the financial possibility of the family that is either able to pay for tuition or cannot afford to give their children a high-quality academic experience that would later be helpful in the acquirement of high-paying jobs. On the other hand, education may depend on knowledge when it comes to accessing resources. For example, opting for social help for students who come from families with a lower income may not be accessible when individuals do not know that this option is available. Thirdly, education allows students to be integrated into a group of individuals that represent the country they are assimilating into from a demographic standpoint. As a result, the lack of education may represent the lack of desire to adapt to said demographic, which is why parents chose homeschooling in many cases. According to researchers, a fourth of all US immigrants have less than a high school diploma (American Immigration Council).

A lack of education, as discussed previously, significantly hinders opportunities to assimilate from social and economic perspectives. Immigrants who do not have a university degree are less likely to become financially successful in the country where they have settled. As a result, economic assimilation is hindered, which leads to difficulties in purchasing real estate, giving children opportunities for education, and the possession of funds for health insurance and legal protection.

As mentioned prior, the assimilation factors that highlight the challenges facers by immigrants are interconnected. For example, the fact that immigrants are more likely to have no formal academic education is interconnected with their employment status, hence, finances. Furthermore, employment status is linked to the possession of health insurance. According to current reports, more than 20% of all US immigrants lack health insurance (Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne Batalova).

Thus, the health outcomes are lower compared to those of the outcomes of the general population of the country. Based on the statistics, it is inevitable that education, while one difficulty among various other barriers experienced by migrants, affects multiple additional elements that constitute smooth adaptation to a new way of life. Moreover, the connection between the multiple factors illustrates that the findings acquired through political science research require a complex intervention that can address the multitude of challenges through an integrative approach.

At the same time, it is important to mention that statistics highlight the challenges as being primarily related to first-generation immigrants. Namely, second-generation children born in the US to immigrant parents are more likely to have similar educational opportunities compared to the children of residents born in the US (Abramitzky et al. 125). Thus, the findings highlight that first-generation immigrants face more difficulties than their children. This may be linked to the idea that current immigrants do not have information on how to acquire resources in regard to education. Moreover, the report can illustrate the pattern in which assimilation correlates with more difficulties for certain demographics compared to others. Nonetheless, research in political science is certain concerning the complexity of the immigrant experience in the US concerning the challenges linked to the process of assimilation and adaption to the country.

Healthcare

The healthcare aspect of assimilation is different in the US compared to other countries. Namely, the lack of universal healthcare implies that it can be acquired either through the government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare or through investment in a private program. The private program is either funded by the employer, which is discussed during the hiring and contract signing with the company, or individually purchased. However, as discussed prior, the lack of education past middle school, which is the case for a fourth of all immigrants, is a limitation when it comes to the acquirement of a job with included healthcare.

Moreover, the aforementioned barriers in economic assimilation correlate with the fact that immigrants earn less than residents who were born in the US, suggesting that private insurance coverage is challenging to invest in due to lower earnings. As a result, the healthcare domain is complex to consider from the standpoint of adaptation due to the multiple limitations included in the sector. Said limitations are linked to all the aforementioned challenges, including language, income, and education, as resources are more difficult to access with the challenges in place.

Unsurprisingly, reports highlight inequalities concerning healthcare in the immigrant population. Namely, according to researchers, 30% of immigrants have public healthcare through Medicaid and Medicare, and 20% have no health insurance (Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne Batalova). While the rate of individuals with no health insurance is lower than it was in previous years, inequalities persist. For example, 70% of US-born residents have private health insurance compared to 58% of immigrants. Another statistic from the official report highlight difficulties in assimilation from a health standpoint of the contrast between demographics who have no health insurance.

Namely, as mentioned prior, 20% of immigrants are included in the category, which is a relatively low number. However, only 7% of US-born individuals can be included in the same category. The difference highlights the difficulties and the maximized limitations encountered by immigrants during their assimilation process. The gap between the two groups is a portrayal of how the current system does not facilitate a smooth adaptation but creates inequalities between the two demographics. As a result, it can be highlighted that individuals who have decided to settle in the US meet systemic challenges when it comes to receiving care on the same level as other demographics.

Needless to say, difficulties accessing health services are linked to higher health risks. For example, authors highlight that the lack of resources negatively affects physical outcomes while prejudice and discrimination faced by first-generation immigrants correlate with adverse mental health outcomes (Szaflarski and Bauldry 173). Thus, on the one hand, the element of inaccessibility of health services is pessimistic regarding the health of the general immigrant population. This is especially damaging for people with chronic conditions as well as those working physically demanding jobs who are the sole breadwinners for their families. On the other hand, the difficulties faced by individuals who relocate to the US, such as challenges assimilating into a new environment, a lack of social support, and potential discrimination, lead to adverse outcomes (Esses 503).

The presence of bias against immigrants has been highlighted in multiple pieces of research (Verkuyten et al.) It is especially highlighted towards undocumented immigrants from Mexico (Flores et al. 42). As mental health declines as accessing resources to address it is difficult, a psychological crisis arises and creates more barriers that are difficult to overcome.

Legal System

The legal system, namely, the differences in demographics when it comes to criminal activity and incarceration, is another emblem within the assimilation process that implements barriers for immigrants. It is important to note that the legislation in the US differs from any other jurisdiction, and no further education on the system is provided to individuals willing to relocate to this country. An example is the statistics that more than 70 families have been separated by the US government during the last year, a measure from which illegal immigrants cannot protect themselves as they do not have the ability to manage the legal system effectively (Homeland Security).

Moreover, the aforementioned circumstances, such as the lack of education and high-paying jobs primarily experienced by immigrants, generate an environment in which criminal activity increases. For example, illegal work is a type of criminal activity that immigrants can be more regularly involved in compared to US-born residents. Thus, current statistics highlight that racial and national minorities are more likely to be incarcerated, with 32% of inmates being Hispanic (Carson).

While the statistics do not necessarily illustrate the disproportionate incarceration of immigrants as only racial demographics are being considered, it can be assumed that a large portion of the percentage is first, second, or third-generation immigrants who may have had difficulties assimilating. Poverty, a lack of opportunities, and a desire to adapt from an economic and social standpoint may be the reason for the number of incarceration among non-whites being so high.

Conclusion

Assimilation is a challenging process that immigrants go through to integrate into the US society, become accustomed to its legal system, and become a part of its environment. However, immigrants face multiple challenges when it comes to having a smooth transition to becoming US residents. The language barrier is one of the challenges individuals encounter. This is especially damaging to individuals who are to receive an education or access social services, which require an understanding of the native language. Economic assimilation is another essential aspect highlighting a current challenge. Namely, one of the difficulties is reaching the same income as US-born residents. The lack of job opportunities which ultimately facilitate a lower overall income limits immigrants when it comes to integrating into US life.

Moreover, it is essential to note that one other challenge is accessing education, which is later minimized in second-generation immigrants. Nonetheless, the lack of accessible resources regarding academic education hinders success in integration. Healthcare is also challenging to access from the standpoint of immigration, a circumstance that negatively affects the physical and psychological well-being of individuals relocating to the US. Last but not least, managing the legal system tends to correlate with barriers, as there is a gap between the criminal activity of different demographics.

Works Cited

Abramitzky, Ran, et al. “Do Immigrants Assimilate More Slowly Today than in the Past?” American Economic Review: Insights, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020, pp. 125–141. Web.

Alba, Richard, and Christopher Maggio. “Demographic Change and Assimilation in the Early 21st-Century United States.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, no. 13, 2022. Web.

Budiman, Abby. “Key Findings about U.S. Immigrants.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center. 2020. Web.

Carson, Ann E. “Prisoners in 2020 – Statistical Tables.” US Department of Justice, 2021.

Esses, Victoria M. “Prejudice and Discrimination toward Immigrants.” Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 72, no. 1, 2021, pp. 503–531. Web.

Flores, Ramon T., et al. “U.S. Public Perceptions of Mexican Immigrants: Effects of Immigrant Acculturation Strategy, Documentation Status, and Gender and Participants’ Social Dominance.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 88, 2022, pp. 42–56. Web.

Homeland Security. “Family Unit Actions Report.” DHS, 2022.

American Immigration Council. “Immigrants in the United States.” American Immigration Council. 2021. Web.

Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne Batalova. “Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States.” Migrationpolicy. 2022. Web.

Szaflarski, Magdalena, and Shawn Bauldry. “The Effects of Perceived Discrimination on Immigrant and Refugee Physical and Mental Health.” Immigration and Health, 2019, pp. 173–204. Web.

Verkuyten, Maykel, et al. “To Be Both (and More): Immigration and Identity Multiplicity.” Journal of Social Issues, 2019. Web.

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