Immigration 2009 Part Two

Part Two: Fitting In

Most immigrants say that they became comfortable in the United States quickly, yet ties to their birth countries have become stronger since 2002, particularly among recent immigrants. Most of the immigrants we surveyed either were citizens already or were in the process of being naturalized.

For most of them, citizenship is a practical step. So is learning to speak English, with most immigrants reporting that it is difficult to get ahead or keep a job without language skills.

Immigrants clearly buy into American values, but how long does it take them to feel comfortable in American society? Although immigrants clearly embrace what the United States stands for, this is no guarantee that they are able to fit in on a day-to-day basis.

The immigrants we surveyed don't seem to feel that fitting in is a major barrier, and in fact say the process moved quickly. More than three-quarters (77 percent) say that it takes fewer than five years to "feel comfortable here and part of the community," and nearly half (47 percent) said it took fewer than two.

Such easy comfort with their adopted home generally isn't being propelled by money or a common language. Just more than three quarters (76 percent) say that they came to the United States with "very little money," and only 20 percent say they had "a good amount of money to get started."

Some 45 percent say that they came to this country not speaking any English at all, an increase of 10 points since 2002. In general, we aren't talking about people who move freely between nations, so-called "citizens of the world." We're talking about people who say they're taking a big financial and cultural gamble when the emigrate to the United States.

In the focus groups we conducted as part of this study, one of the consistent themes was of immigrants being surprised by how much work it takes to succeed in the United States.

Even with all of its advantages over their birth countries, the reality for many immigrants is that it can be difficult to live in the United States and achieve a good standard of living:

"There’s the assumption that when you come here you will become wealthy very fast and very easily. I have to work 12, 16 hours a day to make a living. [In my birth country] . . . they work, like, from 9:00 until 2:00 and then go home."

- A woman in the Detroit, Michigan, focus group

Her sentiment is partly borne out by the survey, which also asked how often immigrants found themselves living "paycheck to paycheck." Some 70 percent of immigrants reported doing so "always," "most of the time," or "sometimes." When Newsweek asked the same question of the general public in January 2009, only 59 percent said they lived paycheck to paycheck. ^[1]

Among our focus groups, there was a general sense that America has no better publicist than Hollywood on this point — although movies and television often present a misleading picture:

"All the movies [are] just great propaganda . . . like it's a lot of fun and [you have] a lot of money and all that. You don't think about, like, you have to pay [the] mortgage. You don't know."

- A man, in New York

"When I came here, the first thing I imagined was I want to live la vida loca, the great life... I wound up in an area that was very bad, in a two-bedroom apartment where twelve people were living. They were sharing their rent, and I said, 'What have I gotten myself into?' With time, I wound up renting another apartment. I didn't imagine it would be like this."

- A woman, in the Los Angeles focus group

There are some indications, however, that when it comes to being "comfortable" in communities, other immigrants play a critical role. Compared to 2002, more immigrants say that they spend time with people from their birth country and have closer ties there.

Half of the immigrants we surveyed (51 percent) say they spend "a lot" of time with people from their birth country, a jump of 14 points from 2002.

Other kinds of birth-country ties have strengthened as well. One is the simple act of telephoning. The number of immigrants who tell us that they call home at least once a week rose 12 points (40 percent from 28 percent). Granted, this may be partly because telecommunications is better and cheaper than even a few years ago. Cell phones are common, international calling is less expensive and innovations like Skype and instant messaging make it easier to keep in touch.

These strengthened ties are not merely emotional, either; they're financial. While there's been no real change in the number of immigrants who say they send money to their birth country regularly, the number who say they do so "once in a while" increased 14 points, to 44 percent. And the number who says they never send money fell from 55 percent to 37 percent.

About one-quarter of our sample was made up of more recent immigrants, those who arrived since 2001. On the whole, their ties to the United States aren't as strong. For example:

The recent immigrants in A Place to Call Home do seem to have different attitudes on these points than those who were recent arrivals in our 2002 study, Now That I'm Here — in other words, those who were new and still adjusting to American life in the 1990s as opposed to the 2000s. When we compare immigrants who arrived between 2001 and 2009 and those from the 2002 study who arrived between 1990 and 2001, we find:

• The 2001-2009 group is more likely to spend a lot of time with people from their birth country (61 percent versus 35 percent in the 2002 survey)
• Individuals in this group are also more likely to call their birth country at least once a week (66 percent compared to 38 percent)
• And those who came to the United States knowing little or no English are more likely to say they speak their native language most of the time at home (86 percent compared to 55 percent).

At least as far as perceptions go, a majority of the immigrants we surveyed in 2009 (57 percent) suggests that recent immigrants "have the same respect for American laws and customs as immigrants like you." About a third (32 percent) say that recent immigrants have less respect, though only 15 percent of immigrants who have arrived after 2001 agree.

Among our focus groups, there was a strong sense that American culture is a difficult force to resist. Many immigrants mentioned the materialism often associated with America as a drawback, although how they responded to it depended greatly on their personal beliefs.

Significant numbers of immigrants came to the United States without being able to speak English, and more than half still consider their language skills fair or poor. However, they consider speaking English important for getting ahead, and most say they've taken classes to improve their ability.

One of the perpetual flashpoints in the immigration debate has been over language: to what extent immigrants speak English, and to what extent the nation should accommodate those who don’t. As mentioned above, a sizeable number of immigrants (45 percent) come to the United States with no knowledge of English. Overall, about half of them (52 percent) report that they can read a book or newspaper "a little" or "not at all." Even more of them, 63 percent, consider their ability to speak English to be "fair" or "poor."

This is a barrier, and immigrants know it. More than half of immigrants (52 percent) say it is "very hard" to get a job without knowing English (although, interestingly, that's a ten point decline from 2002), and more than half (56 percent) say that the United States should expect all immigrants to learn English.

Immigrants are willing to take practical steps to address this. Seven in ten of those who came to this country knowing very little or no English at all say that they've taken classes to improve their English, a jump of 23 percent from 2002. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of immigrants overall say that it is more important for schools to teach immigrant children English as quickly as possible than it is to teach them other subjects in their native language. Some 88 percent of those with school-age children consider their child's English to be "excellent" or “good.”

Despite this, English isn't the primary language in many immigrant homes. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of those who came to the United States speaking little or no English say that they mostly speak their native language at home, a 25 point increase from 2002.

There's also a significant difference based on when immigrants came here, and how much money they have. Ninety percent of those who still don't speak English well came to the country with very little money.

Recent immigrants (since 2001) are more likely to have arrived already knowing how to speak English (30 percent compared with 22 percent), but the recent immigrants who did not are also much more likely to speak their native language in the home (86 percent compared with 55 percent). These immigrants are also more doubtful about their skills, with 75 percent reporting that their English is “fair” or “poor,” compared with 58 percent of immigrants who have been here awhile.

Growing numbers of immigrants cite practical reasons for seeking U.S. citizenship: securing stronger rights and protections, and the ease with which they are able to get a job are just as important as showing commitment and pride in America.

The ultimate in "fitting in" is to become a citizen. In our survey, 46 percent of those we spoke to say that they are not U.S. citizens, and 15 percent say they are undocumented.^[2] Of the non-citizens who are legal residents, 87 percent say they are either in the process or planned to become citizens in the future.

Among those who are citizens or plan to pursue citizenship, one-third say, becoming a U.S. citizen is “a dream come true.” A majority, however, view the step more matter-of-factly; 46 percent call it "necessary" and 17 percent "practical."

When we ask all immigrants about specific reasons for becoming citizens, the top considerations are obtaining the right to vote and "better legal rights and protections," both at 78 percent. "Showing commitment and pride" came in at 71 percent, while "making it easier to get certain jobs" and not worrying about immigration status both came in at 69 percent.

Though these responses were consistent overall with our 2002 survey, there were some considerable shifts. There are 14-point increases in those who say getting certain jobs and making it easier to travel are major reasons to become citizens. Qualifying for government programs like Medicaid and food stamps also saw a 14-point increase, although, as noted, this is still remains quite low on the overall list, with 36 percent calling it a major reason.

There was also a 13-point increase among those who say that a major reason to seek citizenship was to make it easier to bring other family members to the United States (49 percent) and an 11-point increase among those who wished to dispel their worries about their immigration status.

[1] When asked, “How often, if ever, do you and your family live from paycheck to paycheck: always, most of the time, sometimes, hardly ever or never?” 23 percent said always, 16 percent said most of the time, 20 percent said sometimes, 17 percent hardly ever and 21 percent never. (Princeton Survey Research Associates International/Newsweek Poll, January 2009).

[2] Undocumented immigrants interviewed for this study were identified through this question: "Before you answer the next question, I want to assure you that this interview is totally confidential. Some immigrants have gotten all of their documents together and become legal residents. Other immigrants are still preparing their documents and are considered undocumented. Are you a legal resident, or are you an undocumented immigrant?"