IMMIGRANTS MORE ASSIMILATED AND MORE ARE BECOMING CITIZENS, ACCORDING TO STUDY

San Fernando Valley Sun
September 25, 2008
CA

Immigrants are becoming citizens in huge numbers this year, part
of their assimilation into US culture. This photo is from a recent
citizenship ceremony in downtown LA.

California’s immigrants are more assimilated, with more of them
reporting last year that they became U.S. citizens and most Spanish
speakers now saying they speak English very well, a sharp rise from
2000, according to U.S. census data released today.

Data from the bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey showed that
California continued to diversify, with whites declining to 42.5
percent and Latinos, Asians and blacks increasing to 54.4 percent of the state’s
population, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The foreign-born population inched upward and now make up more than
one- fourth of residents in the state and one-third in Los Angeles
County, according to the figures cited by The Times.

But, contrary to perceptions that high immigration levels are
jeopardizing national cohesion, the data showed that today’s
immigrants, like those before them, are embracing an American identity,
the newspaper reported.

In Los Angeles County, for instance, the proportion of native Spanish
speakers fluent in English increased to 51.4 percent in 2007 from
44.6 percent in 2000, The Times reported.

The Survey findings seem to corroborate a report by The Coalition
for the Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) released in
may that showed that children of Children of immigrants grow up in a
linguistically diverse environment- 83% of these children in the county
speak a language other than English at home. However, the majority-77%
of these children are able to speak both languages well. Seventy
percent of parents in immigrant families in the county speak English,
whereas 30% are "linguistically isolated" and do not speak English.

That report, titled "A Closer Look, Portraits of Immigrants in Los
Angeles County," indicated the diversity of languages children speak
in Los Angeles immigrant households is reflective of the diversity
of Los Angeles as a whole-67% speak Spanish, 3% Chinese, 2% Korean,
2% Armenian, and 2% Tagalog.

And contrary to public perception, the CHIRLA report shows that
Immigrants in Los Angeles County made up a disproportionately small
portion of the population using general public assistance programs
in 2004.

Citizens in the county make up 93.9% of CalWorks caseloads, 88.1%
of General Relief caseloads, 61% of Medical Assistance caseloads,
and 90.3% of Food Stamps caseloads. Unsurprisingly, legal immigrants
make up 99.8% of refugee caseloads and 99.6% of CAPI (Cash Assistance
Program for Immigrants) caseloads. Undocumented immigrants notably
utilize almost no public assistance programs in the county. The single
major program where undocumented immigrants register as a percentage
of caseloads is for Medical Assistance-where they make up 4.1% of
caseloads. 82% of food insecure immigrant families in Los Angeles
County (families with foreign-born members, including naturalized
citizens and families with citizen children) did not receive food
stamp benefits in 2000.

"We hope that this report counters the negative stereotyping prevalent
in today’s immigration discourse. And we hope that these facts will
help to enlighten the debate by serving as a reference point in the
future," said CHIRLA Executive Director Angelica Salas when the report
was released.

The Survey cited by the Times also found that the share of naturalized
citizens among the foreign- born grew to 43.3 percent from 38 percent
over that time. The increase in immigrants becoming citizens is plainly
seen at the recent naturalization ceremonies held at the Convention
Center in downtown Los Angeles. Just last month, 18,000 immigrants
became citizens in one single day in Los Angeles, the third time
this was taking place this year. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) estimates during the 2008 fiscal year, some 150,000
people in the Los Angeles District would have become citizens, almost
doubling the 2007 numbers when 78,454 immigrants became citizens.

Jane Arellano, district director for USCIS in Los Angeles said
recently at the end of one of these ceremonies that several things
are responsible for this upswing in citizenship applications: a lack
of immigration reform that makes people fearful of what’s to come,
a new citizenship test that will take effect next month, an increase
in immigration fees and the fact that this is an election year.

The majority of new citizens in Los Angeles comes from Mexico,
followed by El Salvador, Guatemala, the Phillipines and South Corea.

Among them was Trinidad Hernandez, a Mexican who after 18 years living
in the country was pledging allegiance to the U.S.

"I’m thankful for all the opportunities we can have in this country,"
said Hernandez.

"Every major study shows that immigrants from whatever country are
integrating into our society at the same level and degree as prior
immigrants," said Antonia Hernandez, president of the Los Angeles-based
California Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that recently
launched an initiative to help immigrants adapt here, told The Times.

The survey cited by The Times found other changes in the statewide
population between 2000 and 2007: Latinos increased to 36.2 percent
from 32.4 percent; Asians increased to 12.2 percent from 10.8 percent;
whites declined to 42.5 percent from 46.6 percent; and blacks declined
to 6 percent from 6.3 percent.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 September 2008 )