Report Sheds Light on Stereotypes, Assimilation and Immigrant Lives
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine published a new report that addresses assimilation and stereotypes surrounding U.S. dwelling immigrants.
According to the report published September 21, the 41 million immigrants (including an estimated 11.3 million undocumented immigrants) and their 37.1 million U.S.-born children lead lives that are quite different than the clichéd caricatures popularized in mainstream media.
Although the sizable U.S. Latino population is diverse and comes from all walks, their experiences aren't as visible as the dogged stereotypes and the ignorant individuals who perpetuate those lies. In reality, immigrants and their children have integrated into the American fabric, perhaps faster than previous generations.
The study examined the lives of U.S. immigrants, and it found that data doesn't support some key assumptions and assertions about immigrants. The statistics were collected through commissioned papers and expert interviews, and it exposed important information regarding language, crime, health, education and poverty.
The report confirms that, on average, most second-generation immigrants attain as much or more education as third or fourth generation native-born Americans. However, that's not necessarily true for foreign-born Central Americans and Mexicans. Remarkably, immigrants also tend to be healthier than their U.S.-born counterpart. U.S.-born residents are more likely to die from cancer and heart disease, and they have higher incidences of infant mortality and obesity rates. Also, immigrants are far less likely than native-born residents to commit crimes, and 18-19 year old foreign-born men are jailed at just a quarter the rate of native-born residents.
For immigrants, poverty rates tend to drop over generations; between 2008 and 2013, it dropped from 18.4 percent for immigrants to 11.5 percent for third generation citizens. Unfortunately the same isn't true of black immigrants, as they tend to see a rise in poverty for second and future generations.
Additionally, the reported revealed 85 percent of the foreign-born population speaks a language other than English at home, and about 62 percent of those immigrants speak Spanish. Nonetheless, at least half of all immigrants have reported that they speak English "well" or "very well." Only 1-in-10 reported that they didn't speak English at all.
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