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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Seriously! I appreciate this perspective and I think it’s pretty eye-opening (or should be) for us to know that a lot of these people streaming in are not hard working refugees looking to become (and I stress) “become” a part of our country and culture. They aren’t interested in assimilating the way our ancestors did. So, what is their future here? What is ours with them here? [/quote]

This is some of the most xenophobic BS I've ever read. What are you scared of? Your ancestors were interested in assimilating? What?? The same ancestors who settled in specific geographic areas around the country where their fellow countrymen already were? Little Italy and Chinatown in every major US city are tourist attractions, but god forbid the Salvadoreans want to open a couple of shops in a strip mall geared to their community and look, that community doesn't want to assimilate.

Half of the state of New Jersey says "we're Italian" because they have sauce on Sundays and eat their pasta fazool despite never having stepped foot in Italy for three generations.  Ever had pierogis in Cleveland or Chicago? The United States has always been a melting pot of cultures.  Keep ordering your sushi while thinking the families sending their kids to school with tamales for lunch aren't assimilating. [/quote]

That's not how it works anymore. People like to cite immigration of the 1880s like it's the same trends as today. Firstly, it is a fact that we have huge issues with violent crime from many current groups (see MS-13, MSX3, and similar). Venezuela is of particular concern because we have no way of securing background checks. We lack the consular relationships to get these from the government, as we would with other countries, and also lack avenues for tracking/vetting. It is also true that most migrants will be dependent on public benefits and their US citizen kids will outpace other US citizens in needing public benefits, as well (medicaid, eg).

To your point about assimilation, however, there was significantly more impetus to assimilate in the 19th/20th centuries than now. In fact, you could not survive in US society if you did not learn the language and fully assimilate into the culture. In 2023, it is drastically different. We offer services in dozens of languages and meet immigrants where they are. Immigrants can live their entire lives here (albeit poorly) in their native language - particularly Spanish - without having to learn English. This is a huge problem because lack of English language skills is a leading contributor to remaining impoverished and limiting career options. I see it all the time.

I'm opposed to the current immigration programs that we have. Ideally, I'd love to take Switzerlands approach toward assimilation and make it a requirement that all applicants for residency/naturalization comply with US cultures and customs. There was, of course, the famous case of a Muslim applicant who was denied because she refused to shake the hand of the Swiss immigration officer, which was compulsory. She sued the government and the case was overturned. I think that's misguided progressivism. Immigrants should be required to assimilate and pass tests confirming the same. The UK has a massive problem with this issue.

Of course, the vast majority of people that I work with do want to assimilate in the US, though my client base are usually college educated with either job offers or investments. But don't think that immigration of the 1800s and that of 2023 are remotely similar. [/quote]

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