Intergeneration research shows immigrants to the US assimilate as well now as they did over a century ago

by PNAS Nexus

In the past, sons of poor immigrants experienced more economic mobility than the sons of 

White US-born fathers. These figures compare the income rank of sons raised at the 

25th percentile of the income distribution by fathers born in various European countries or

 in the United States. The sons were observed in their childhood homes in 1880 or 1910,

 and then in adulthood in 1910 or 1940, where we measure their rank in the income 

distribution. The underlying data are linked census files. Illustrations by Patti Isaacs,

 based on Abramitzky et al. (2). From Streets of Gold by Leah Boustan and Ran 

Abramitzky (3) copyright © 2022. Reprinted by permission of PublicAffairs, an imprint of

 Hachette Book Group, Inc. Credit: PNAS Nexus (2024). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae344

Children of immigrants to the United States typically incorporate themselves into US economic and cultural life, and this pattern of assimilation has not markedly changed in over a century. Today, one in seven US residents was born abroad, rates similar to those seen in the late nineteenth centur

As immigrants' countries of origin have shifted from Europe to Asia and the Americas, a narrative has developed that contemporary immigrants do not assimilate as thoroughly as older immigrants. But is this true?

In a Perspective, Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan summarize their long-running research program matching individuals across historical US Censuses. The authors compare intergeneration trends across two periods: the late 19th to early 20th century, and 1980 to the present. The article was published in PNAS Nexus.

By following millions of immigrants into the second generation, the authors were able to empirically investigate whether rates of assimilation have changed over time. By and large, the authors found that the process and rate of assimilation has not changed since the nineteenth century. Immigrants still tend to work low-paying jobs throughout their lives but live to see their children enter the middle class.

Now, as before, rates of incarceration are lower among immigrants than among the US-born population. Attitudes toward immigration today are more positive than ever before in US history, but significantly more polarized by political party. According to the authors, creating immigration policies based on the belief that immigrants do not integrate would be a mistake.

More information: Abramitzky, R. et al. Immigrants and their children assimilate into US society and the US economy, both in the past and today, PNAS Nexus (2024). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae344, academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/art … 3/10/pgae344/7795945

Journal information: PNAS Nexus 

Provided by PNAS NexusImmigrants found to be significantly less likely to commit crimes than the US-born