Second-generation immigrants in the United States
People are likely to overestimate the population size of second-generation immigrants due to fear of their growing economic success and hold discriminatory attitudes towards them.
[2] The following graph depicts the data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau on educational attainments for immigrant generations in the year 2009.
Reports have shown that immigrant adolescents earn better grades in school than their national contemporaries, despite their lower socio-economic status.
[12] In addition, differing modes of incorporation make available certain resources that second-generation immigrants can use to overcome challenges to the process of assimilation.
These networks provide these children with additional resources beyond those offered by the government, such as gateways into well paying jobs in businesses established by the ethnic community.
Instead of adapting to the mainstream values and expectations of U.S. society, they take on the adversarial stance of the poor, entering the vicious cycle of poverty.
[12] Also, immigrant families can enter well established ethnic groups in the United States to increase their pool of resources, lowering the possibility of downward assimilation for their children.
[17] The skin color of these immigrants led to them experiencing a smooth and straight line type of assimilation as they did not have to overcome the race barrier in their attempt to enter mainstream society.
[1] In 2003 it was also projected that, if current trends continue, over the next 20 years, 1/4 of the growth in the labor force would be due to second-generation immigrants who are Latino.
In relation to educational achievement, second generation Latinos follow the general trend for second-generation immigrants in the United States.
These higher rates of racial intermarriage leads to an increase in the birthrates of interracial children, aiding in the elimination of disparities in the U.S. that exist along ethnic lines.
When location is controlled for, the employment rate of Mexican American second-generation immigrants surpasses that of native born, non-Hispanic whites.
[20] Among male Mexican American second-generation immigrants who have less than a high school diploma, employment rates are also higher than those of native born, non-Hispanic whites.
[24] Highly skilled Asian immigrants tend to settle in suburbs upon their arrival to the United States, further promoting the assimilation of their children into white middle class society.
[24] According to acculturation theory, the higher the self-esteem of an Asian and the closer they are to their parents, the less likely they are to internalise racism and more likely they are to maintain ethnic pride, desiring to associate with members of their own race.
This again can be considered as a political construct aiming to dehumanise and 'peck down' members of a foreign race in a manner of tall poppy syndrome because it fails to explain the fact that success in the maths and sciences requires a high degree of lateral thinking alongside an innovation mindset.
[28] There is the popular notion that Asians are more likely to study STEM at university to make more money, but it should also be considered that they are less likely to gravitate towards the humanities and social sciences because a lot of the material in these subjects have been created in response to political pressures[29] that ultimately serve against them.
This can help explain why Asians are generally known for doing better in, and gravitating towards, quantitative subjects rather than qualitative subjects, and also why there exists a separate test for measuring Intelligence Quotient - which Asians do better in - called the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test ("an attempt to measure cognitive abilities devoid of sociocultural and environmental influences").
The theory constantly makes contradictions and exceptions when Asian children do not fit into the model, without explaining this further, and is ultimately inconsistent and thus biased.
Additionally, Asians are stereotyped as being uncreative, with people linking their high grades with a conformist personality that lacks critical thinking and soft skills.
Asians are more likely to hold an internal locus of control and believe that hard work pays off, learning to dismiss and navigate (racist) workplaces in their journey upwards.
While second generation Asian immigrants strive for the middle class white status, as many of their parents do, they develop a sensitivity to issues of race and ethnicity, which can be a major factor in the process of assimilation.
[24] This assimilation is also known to create "intergenerational family conflict", however this is generally a natural way of the child to individuate from their parents and integrate into society as an adult and is prevalent in families across all races; the focal theme of the conflict, culture and race, is often the path of least resistance for an adolescent to generate momentum to construct themselves into adult society.
[24] Partly due to jealousy and envy related to their high socioeconomic success and a fear of what is different, Asians experience unique layers of discrimination in many aspects of their life, however these attitudes primarily come from White people and other minorities from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who have greater reason to feel threatened by their success.
[38] Currently, there is a prevailing idea that whilst Asians are successful at the entry level workplace, it is much rarer for them to take on leadership positions - and this is sometimes attributed to their 'lack of social skills'.
[41] Asians are stereotyped to be submissive and neotenous,[42] and whilst there may be a genetic and cultural component to this personality description, it can also be interpreted as a political construct to keep them subservient to White people and morally dependent.
[45] Generally, first generation black immigrants of Caribbean origin in the United States tend to hold on tightly to their ethnic identities and resist the social pressures of identifying themselves as African Americans.
[18] Children born to these black Caribbean immigrants can easily enter the category of African Americans as they tend to lack the accents exhibited by their parents.
[12] Further studies reveal that the identification of second-generation immigrants, of Caribbean heritage, as African Americans leads these children to be more aware of racial discrimination in the U.S.
Thus, these children face conflicting pressures from family, non-second generation immigrant peers, and discrimination by the larger society.
