SECOND-GENERATION immigrants in the US are far better off than their parents and almost as well-placed as the offspring of native-born Americans, a study found on Thursday (February 7).
The average annual household income for US-born children of immigrants stands at $58,100 (£37,077.54), significantly better than the $45,800 (£29,227.93) of adult immigrants not born in the US, and close to the $58,200 (£37,142.46) average for all US adults.
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, 36 per cent have degrees and 64 per cent own a home, compared to 29 per cent and 51 per cent respectively for their parents, and 31 per cent and 65 per cent for the average American.
The research was based on data from the 2010 US Census. At the time, an estimated 40 million foreigners lived in the US, including legal residents as well as temporary and undocumented refugees.
Immigrants are also increasingly learning more English. About 93 per cent of second-generation Hispanic immigrants said they could converse in English well or very well, a big jump from 48 per cent for their parents.
Among Asian immigrants, 92 per cent said they speak English well or very well, up from 77 per cent for their parents.
“The second generations of both groups are much more likely than the immigrants to speak English, to have friends and spouses outside their ethnic or racial groups, to say their group gets along well with others and to think of themselves as a ‘typical American,’” the report said.
The study was released just as the US Congress is on the cusp of launching a debate on immigration reform pushed by President Barack Obama, who wants a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
