Assimilation Process That Immigrants And International Students Undergo

There are many ways for people from other countries to adjust to living in the United States. There are also things that immigrants think they have to do to fit in. In this essay I will include the best ways for immigrants to adjust to American culture. I will also include challenges immigrants face to fit in in America. Finally, I will include what immigrants do to adapt to America.

In Milton Gordon’s, “Assimilation in America”, theorizes that there is a “3” stage process of assimilation; acculturation (cultural assimilation), integration (structural assimilation), intermarriage (marital assimilation). However, it is actually 7 stages, but for simplicity will refer to as 3 stages. The overall process seems to follow the theory of Anglo-conformity, in which immigrants “assume the desirability of maintaining English institutions, the English language, and English-oriented cultural patterns as dominant and standard in American life” (265).

The organizations that would take over other beings and cause them to lose their identity to become a slave to the larger organization. However, Assimilation often associated with a negative connotation with the loss of one’s identity or historical culture as part of an integration process with a new, larger cultural identity. This negative connotation therefore raises racial and cultural identity concerns at the mere mention of the term, which results in a loss of the positive connotations of assimilation and loss of the perspective that assimilation does not require the loss of individual identity. The people involved still retain their individual identities, hopes, dreams, interests, loves, and goals, but they also can function more successfully

Assimilation is the manner in which people of a cultural group start to lose their individuality that makes them different from the more dominant culture, as they seek to fit in. America has been a melting pot of different cultures for centuries, whether it was by choice, forced or for a better life. History has proven that assimilation in America was not acceptable but that has changed over time.

Immigration has a great impact on first generation immigrants. Studies show that acculturation and assimilation have wide-ranging effects on the groups involved, but mostly on the immigrants' lives. There are positive and negative attributes. Attributes that are due to the issues associated with integrating cultures, and broadly related to the greater issue of immigration. The issues and discrimination towards first generation immigrants cause them to have limitations throughout their lifetime, in the country that they have moved to. Furthermore, the Hispanic and Latino community have lived through this problem for so long. They are always the group to be affected by it because they lose a sense

An article written by the author, Linda Chavez a commentator, and a radio talk-show host. Chavez said that the government should the encourage assimilation of immigrants in the United States, and to put in place special consideration to immigrants who learn English, and to those who wish to enter the military, I agree with the author that assimilation of immigrants should be encouraged in America to immigrants who are learning English before the green card, and to those who wish to go to the military as this will benefit them economically, culturally and civically. The author analyzed a research conducted by Jacob L. Vigdor, a Professor from the University of Duke which focused on economic, cultural and civic assimilation. Chavez made a comparison to see if

With the social dimension, successful integration would mean living alongside the population without fear of systematic discrimination, intimidation, or exploitation by the authorities or the people of the country (Friedman, November 8th, 2016). The implication of social mobility has long lasting impact on undocumented Americans. Many immigrant youths with undocumented status saw being open with their peers regarding their immigration status as a threat to their standing in social groups at school and within the broader community. In order to make their life seems as normal as possible and avoid situations where they could be excluded, many college-goers keep their undocumented status a secret from friends. Many of the respondents in Lives of Limbo hide their status from their friends because they felt embarrassed and did not want to experience exclusion (Gonzales, 113). The negative discourse about Latino immigrants also take a toll on the routines and activities of undocumented American. The racial constructions of Mexicans as criminals caused immigrant youths to repel this stigma by concealing their undocumented status (Gonzalez, 109). When they were young, they had inclusionary access; however, once they become young adults, they are denied of participation in many institutions of mainstream life. Even if they discover their status at a young age, they would still conceal it due to the fear of deportation. Many state and local government are turning police officers into de facto immigration agents to crack down on undocumented immigrants and those who provide them jobs and housing (Ewing,7). This stigmatized identity leads to social exclusion, which also prevents these undocumented Americans from integrating into the US mainstream. They feel out of place and unwelcoming by their peers if their undocumented status is known by their friends and community. Integration is a

Issues revolving around immigration are dominating the current political debate. In addressing these issues, politicians and other elected officials are forcefully orchestrating the way that immigrants become to know and embrace American culture, thus a crucial part of assimilation. Current practices of assimilation rely on dated research that stresses the importance of jobs, education and language immersion. However, as stated by Mary C Waters, there is a “disconnect between the public debate and findings of scientific research” (11). This disconnect stems from the fact that the practices that once worked for the first generation immigrants are not effective for the new so called second generation. Alejandra Portes and Mihn Zhou in “Should Immigrants Assimilate” and Mary C Waters in “Debating Immigration” address the weaknesses as well as strengths of modern day assimilation in their writings.

Integration requires all immigrants in general to learn the English language and to communicate effectively so that they cannot be thought of as a subculture within a bigger culture. Assimilation of all Muslim immigrants is a noble idea, but it is simply too difficult for some to achieve. The least educated immigrants prefer to live within their subcultures…they shop at their ethnic stores where they can communicate in their native language. For these people, integration is the most feasible approach. On the other hand, assimilation cannot be achieved without receiving a formal American education. To be assimilated, immigrants must learn the social, political, and economical values of the American society. Having said that, assimilation is unattainable for a small percentage of immigrants. Whether an immigrant can integrate or assimilate, he or she must understand and adhere to the main values embodied in the United States Constitution, which has enabled the American pluralistic society to exist in peace and harmony despite some cultural and religious

The purpose of this chapter is to review existing theories about the process of immigrant adaptation to a new society and to recapitulate the empirical findings that have led to an emerging perspective on the topic. This emerging view revolves around the concepts of different modes of structural incorporation and of the immigrant enclave as one of them. These concepts are set in explicit opposition to two previous viewpoints on the adaptation process, generally identified as assimilation theory and the segmented labor markets

Furthermore, the secondary sources illustrate some of the manners in which immigrants attempt to integrate into society, their reasons for coming, and the opposition that they encounter assimilating. First, the source from Social Science Weekly illustrates that most immigrants coming to the United States do in fact want to assimilate by learning the English language, which goes against the misconceptions of the majority. Additionally, another manner in which immigrants attempt to assimilate, highlighted by the article by Stephanie Kotin, Grace Dyrness, and Clara Irazabal, is religion and community activism, which allows immigrants to portray themselves in a positive way to battle the misconceptions of the right majority. The chapter by David

Immigrants (and other ethno-cultural groups) who wish to maintain their heritage culture and identity while integrating in the larger receiving society, are dependent on the acculturation strategy of the latter. When the strategy of the receiving society is pluralistic (multiculturalism), acculturation is experienced by the immigrants as a positive process. They are free to monitor the extent of their integration. However, when the receiving society adopts the strategy of a "melting pot", immigrants are expected to assimilate. Being urged to give up their old customs and language in favor of the new ones, immigrants may experience acculturation as stressful.

The Restriction of Immigration shows what many perceive to be the problems with immigration. The most often repeated issue is the failure for immigrants to assimilate. Fairchild argues against the establishment of

According to Pearson Custom Sociology, the term assimilation means the orderly adaptation of a migrating group to the ways and institutions of an established host group (Feagin, 2013). Assimilation is a process in which persons of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds come to interact, free of these constraints, in the life of the larger community. Wherever representatives of different racial and cultural groups live together, some individuals of subordinate status (whether they constitute a numerical minority) become assimilated. Complete assimilation would mean that no separate social structures based on racial or ethnic concepts remained (Gale, 2008). Mainstream is people, activities, or ideas that are part of the mainstream are regarded

According to the Ito’s (2011) study about the assimilation of immigrants to other country’s society, the experiment