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Immigrant Families

What does the media tell us about immigrants?

Media Depictions of Immigrants

� Criminal

� Violent

� Lazy

� Uneducated

� Don’t pay taxes

� Don’t want to learn English

� Take jobs away

� Drive down wages

� Children in schools are scolded for speaking Spanish among friends.

Fox News on Immigration

� http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39LbFBEzE70

Immigrant Population

� In 2006, immigrant and children of immigrant population: 60 million or close to one-fifth of total population.

� Over two-thirds of immigrants in the U.S. are hear legally.

� Of estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants, two- thirds have been here 10 years or less while 40% have been here 5 years or less.

Research on Immigration

� Public Perception

� There are too many immigrants in this country

� Most immigrants in U.S. are here illegally

� Level of immigration should be reduced

Herman Cain

� http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO-q5lI7618

Research on Immigration

� Negative perception of immigrants fueled by increased movement of immigrants to small towns and suburbs where they do not blend in easily with general population.

Statistics

� Proportion of immigrants in U.S. has been about the same for 150 years.

� 2007: 37.9 million immigrants in U.S. (12.4% of population)

� 1850: 9.7% of population

� 1910: 14.7% of population

� Over two-thirds of immigrants have proper legal documentation to work and live in US

Public Perception

� Immigrants are detrimental to nation in areas of:

� Health

� Mental Health

� Civic Life

� Work

� Economy

� Education

� Language Use

� Crime

Health

� Immigrant lifespan is 3.4 years longer than native born.

� Immigrants:

� Lower mortality rates

� Better health statuses and behavioral outcomes

� Immigrant children: less likely to experiment w/ illicit substances, engage in other risky behaviors, and be obese.

Health

� Immigrant health insurance is NOT a burden to the taxpayer.

� Immigrant children cost $270/yr in healthcare; Native-born children cost $1,059/yr.

� In 1998, immigrants made up 10% of population, accounted for 7.9% of health care costs.

� Immigrants w/o Social Security numbers contribute $8.5 billion a year in taxes toward Medicare and Social Security: not eligible to redeem

Mental Health

� No consensus regarding mental health in comparison to natives.

� Poverty must be taken into account (poverty is best predictor of mental health problems)

� Foreign born youth are more psychologically sound than native peers (higher levels of parental supervision, lower levels of parent-child conflicts, support offered by social network, engagement in religious practices.

Civic Life

� Perception: Immigrants are bad for America.

� Whatever contribution they make to America pales in comparison to damage they cause.

Civic Life

� Over 45K immigrants serving in military

� Over 26K recruits have been naturalized as citizens since 9/11/2001

� Immigrant citizens vote. Nearly 50% of all Hispanic registered voters are foreign born.

� Hispanic vote has grown 400% in last 20 years

Civic Life

� Immigrants participate in civic demonstrations

� When “Sensenbrenner Bill” passed in 2005 branding undocumented immigrants as criminals, huge demonstrations and mobilizations emerged.

� Immigrants less likely than natives to volunteer in religious, school, or community organization.

WHY?

� Immigrants may be less likely to volunteer in religious, school, and community organizations because:

� Poverty

� Demands of physical labor

� Cultural barriers

� Linguistic barriers

� Documentation barriers

Work & the Economy

� Bimodal migration wave to US

� Immigrants have either low levels of education and work-related skills or are highly skilled and educated.

� Combined, both groups contribute 50 billion per year in human capital to US economy

Work & the Economy

� Immigrants earn less than natives.

� Nearly 2 million immigrants earn less than minimum wage.

� In 2007, 40.1% of all immigrant families and 28% of all native families were in poverty.

� Why? Immigrants have difficulty applying skills developed in their countries of origin to working conditions in U.S.

Work & the Economy

� Immigrant families not easily lifted out of poverty by having dual-earner income.

� Wages rather than employment levels account for income disparity b/w immigrant families and native families.

� Education levels also explain wage discrepancies.

� Immigrants: Attend disadvantaged schools and live in poor and minimally educated households.

Work & the Economy

� No difference in wages b/w documented and undocumented immigrants

� Immigrant entrepreneurs: Fastest growing segment of small business owners today.

� In LA: the number of Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 700% in last 20years

Do immigrants have adverse effects on the labor markets for native job seekers?

� This question is based on the assumption that there is only a fixed number of jobs. The fact is that increases in population create more demand for products and workers to make them.

� Unemployment rates have fluctuated independently of immigration rates.

� Working immigrants make the market more competitive increasing native-born wages.

Education & Language Use

� High levels of English language use w/i immigrant families

� 71% of Latino families and 89% of Asian families speak English well or exclusively at home.

� Children of immigrant parents receive grades equal to or higher than non-immigrant peers.

Education & Language Use

� 27.2% of immigrants have college degrees compared to 27.3% of native-born peers.

� Immigrants behind in terms of high school graduates in workforce (64.5% to 92%)

� Immigrants: lower drop out rates

� Immigrant children: Lower scores on verbal and reading standardized tests. Due to English language proficiency and quality of schools they attend.

Education & Language Use

� Schools also often do not value the cultures of immigrant children and assume their ethnic heritages and language skills interfere with leaning.

� Difference does not equal deficit.

Crime

� For every ethnic group, incarceration rates for young men are lowest for immigrants, even those least educated.

� An influx of immigrants over the last 30 years may have contributed to lower crime rates.

The Immigration Process

� Immigrants must negotiate differences b/w their native and host environments.

� Children tend to adapt more quickly to their new environment than parents.

� Immigrant parents often respond by rigidly holding on to ways consistent with their cultures of origin.

� Causes discord and stress for family members

The Immigration Process

� Youth often embrace the new while rejecting the old.

� Grandparents often become “defenders of traditional values and preservers of the family’s ethnic identity.” à Often clash with acculturating grandchildren.

The Immigration Process

� Discrepancy b/w immigrant’s new & old cultures rests on oversimplified representation of what counts as normal life in this country.

� “Normal” American family is white, middle class, heterosexual, headed by breadwinning dad & a mother who cares for children; Is democratic, open, flexible, and forgiving.

� Problems arise when children internalize American ideal and society isolates different families (difference, not deficit).

The Immigration Process

� Immigrants experience distress over loss of social network.

� However:

� Typical immigrant family offers supportive environment for its members.

� Immigrants: higher marriage rates & lower divorce rates than native-born households.

� Children of Immigrants: 50% more likely to be living w/ both parents – greater marital harmony

The Immigration Process

� Immigrant families w/ children have larger households.

� Expanded family household: Grandparents, older siblings, other relatives living in same home.

� Positive: Social support, adult supervision of children, intimate bonds.

� Negative: Overcrowding

Acculturation

� Should we encourage immigrants to let go of their native identities and adopt a more generic set of American cultural beliefs, values, and practices?

Acculturation

� Should we encourage immigrants to let go of their native identities and adopt a more generic set of American cultural beliefs, values, and practices?

� NO! This is unhealthy for families.

Segmented Assimilation

� 3 profiles can exist w/i contemporary immigrant families.

� 1) Consonant Acculturation: Children & parents become full parts of mainstream at same pace.

� 2) Dissonant Acculturation: Children & parents acculturate at different paces (children acculturate faster) à May lead to intergenerational conflict.

Segmented Assimilation

� 3) Selective Acculturation: Both familial generations adapt to aspects of the new culture & retain parts of native culture à little conflict b/w family members & children are often bilingual.

Acculturation

� John Barry examined relationship b/w how people acculturate & how well they adapt to host society.

� Found that integrated youth (favorable affiliations toward native & host societies) had best adjustment in terms of psychological & sociocultural outcomes.

� Diffuse youth (weak native & host identities): Poorest rates of adaptation

Acculturation

� The soundest families: maintained their cultural heritage and identity and participated in the everyday life of the larger society.

� Moderate Acculturation: Protective for immigrant youth

� High & Low levels of acculturation: Put youth at risk for substance abuse & mental health problems.

� Important for well-being of children of immigrant families to maintain integrated, bicultural identity.

Immigrants’ Perception of Life in The U.S.

� 80% of immigrants consider the U.S. to be a special place.

� 96% are happy in this country.

� Value economic opportunities afforded in this country (88%)

� Value our commitment to women’s rights (68%)

� Value our democratic system of government (62%)

� Value having the freedom to choose how to live their lives (40%)

Immigrants’ Perception of Life in The U.S.

� They consider our legal (67%), health care (67%), and education (60%) systems to be better than what they had in their countries of origin.

� 75% indicate they want to make U.S. their permanent home and 80% say they think of themselves as Americans or as acting like Americans outside the home while keeping their culture and traditions at home.

Immigrants’ Perception of Life in The U.S.

� Bicultural Identity

� Immigrants keep close contact with family and friends in country of origin (59%), send money back to relatives (44%), keep abreast of events in their home country (47%), and hold dual citizenship (32%).

Immigrants’ Perception of Life in The U.S.

� In terms of how they are treated by others:

� 53% believe that as a group, immigrants are not treated well by Americans.

� 68% indicated that Americans are not nice to each other.

Immigrants’ Perception of Life in The U.S.

� Concerning education, English language use, work, and civic life:

� 65% believe they have an obligation to learn English.

� 87% find that learning English is necessary for personal & economic prosperity.

Immigrants’ Perception of Life in The U.S.

� 47% of those coming to U.S. with limited English take classes; 49% say they can read and communicate well.

Attitudes Toward Work & Civic Life

� 73% say it is very important to work and stay off welfare.

� 68% believe it is very important to become a citizen, serve in the military (49%), and to volunteer for community service (47%).