A recent comprehensive report on immigration by the Manhattan Institute arrives at two conflicting conclusions. First, that current newcomers assimilate faster than their predecessors who came here a century ago. Second, that the process of adaptation takes longer now than in earlier periods.
In fact, the discrepancy may derive from how we understand the process of assimilation. The report defines it very broadly, considering three different elements: economic (encompassing employment, education, home and business ownership); civic (concerning naturalization and military service); and cultural (involving the ability to speak the language as well as child bearing patterns and marriages with American citizens).
According to the report, people assimilate economically first. Money, better education and career opportunities, and greater chances of buying a house or running a business are major reasons why people come to the United States.
Civic assimilation happens a bit slower. Upon arrival to the United States, people strive to regulate their immigration status, obtain citizenship and enjoy the resulting rights and privileges, like the right to vote.
Cultural assimilation is more gradual, according to statistics used by the Manhattan Institute. The statistics, however, skew the conclusions in this part of the report, given that most foreigners living in the United States come from Latin America, and primarily from Mexico. Because Spanish is the second most widely used language in the United States, and Spanish-speaking immigrants tend to settle together forming huge enclaves, they continue to speak their native language and to cultivate their culture, religion and customs for generations. There appears to be little incentive to reach out and adopt other ways of living.
According to the authors of the report, Polish people who settle in the United States adapt with difficulty. Our assimilation index has been calculated at 36 – 100 denotes full assimilation – along with immigrants from Afghanistan or Belarus, and only a bit better than of those from Iraq and Japan. Although an index of 36 points is low for a European country, it still lies slightly above the average assimilation index of 28 points.
Although the report may prove useful in adding to the discussion on immigration, such reports are of limited value. In particular, this document was prepared by a fairly conservative think tank that clearly stands against the years-long multicultural policy cultivated in the United States. This policy, as it turns out, allows for obtaining an education in a language other than English and to speak other languages at work and during formal occasions, which is a sign of multiculturalism and ethnic eclecticism in the United States. At the same time, immigration policy has prevented newcomers from assimilating into American society, resulting in the marginalization and exclusion of tens of millions of foreigners who came here with the intention of becoming an integral part of society.
