Read and watch news coverage about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. Given what we have studied in this module, discuss your perception of

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%).