Assimilation: Immigration to the United States and Immigrants Essay

Submitted By jaymen19
Words: 1108
Pages: 5

Assimilation: The Reason Why Immigrants Have Been Advancing In the Past Years Have you noticed how assimilation is becoming a part of our society? All you have to do is walk down the street and you will see how immigrants are assimilating into our society. First of all, what does it mean to assimilate? Well, according the Merriam-Webster to assimilate to take in and utilize as nourishment: absorb into the system. When immigrants come to the United States, most of them come here in search of their own “American Dream.” However, it takes a long time of assimilation for an immigrant to reach their American Dream. Assimilation is one of many topics that can be seen in “A Raisin in the Sun.” Beneatha and George Murchisonis are both assimilationists, people who advocate a policy of assimilating differing racial or cultural groups. Assimilation has been a powerful tool for many immigrants on their long journey to their American Dream. Nonetheless, most of the people who oppose immigration are conservatives, who strongly believe that assimilation is not taking place right now and that instead most immigrants are only destroying our society. However, immigrants who have been living in the United States for a long time have been able to succeed at the “American Dream” through assimilation. According to the Center for American Progress, “Our nation’s latest immigrants are following in the footsteps of our ancestors, spreading out across the country to assimilate in communities large and small. There are now 14 states that have foreign-born populations greater than the national average share of 12.5 percent.” (Myers and Pitkin, 2010) The kinds of immigrants that are currently coming to the United States today are very similar to the first groups of immigrants that came to America, because they are expanding everywhere. This is clearly a sign of their advancement, because they are searching for resources in order to succeed in whatever aspect of live they want to improve. The Youngers families in “A Raisin in the Sun” are similar to immigrants, because their major goal was to buy a new house that was better than their old poor apartment, because they wanted to improve their social status. Fortunately, there were able to buy a house, and more importantly, in a white neighborhood. Also, buying the house was a reward for Mama for all the hard work and effort she put in in order to reach her dream. According to a San Antonio article, named “Report says assimilation working well”, “The rate of homeownership was one of the most telling indicators of assimilation, because it’s an entry into the middle class.” A great number of immigrants are becoming homeowners, which gives them some sense of accomplishment in their lives and it proves that they are working hard to flourish their dreams, just like Mama did. (Martin, 2010) “The energy that immigrants bring elevates the entire housing market. It’s a story of commitment to America.”(Martin, 2010) As a result, immigrants who have been living in the United States for a long period of time have been reaching their “American Dream” through assimilation. It is not a surprise that the rate of assimilation in education and occupation have increased among immigrant children. The studies done by Center for American Progress say that, “The college graduation rate among immigrants is also on the rise since 2000, demonstrating that immigrant children are able to pursue opportunities for educational advancement.”(Myers and Pitkin, 2010) Beneatha from “A Raisin in the Sun” was the only member of the family that got the chance to go to college and get a better education. Beneatha’s dream was to become a doctor so she could help people. However, during the 1940’s it was very rare to see a black women doctor. Clearly, Beneatha was going to have some obstacles along the way, but she was determined to go to college and make a difference in her life. “The study found children of Hispanic immigrants were more