Anti-Assimilation Sentiments

While those who argue in favor of assimilation possibly argue from a position of National preservation, those who argue against it potentially argue from the perspective of immigrant preservation. However, in his essay “Assimilation & the persistence of culture”, James Bennett suggests that anti-assimilation sentiments can also originate from a place of Nationalism in that, “By global standards, the culture and social systems of the English-speaking nations are some of the most individualistic. Interactions with other cultures therefore inherently involve a challenge to those features of our culture and a challenge by our culture to the less individualistic, less free features of theirs” (Bennett). Further anti-assimilation arguments claim

Skerry offers, “Immigrant leaders and advocates claim that America is a racist society that will not allow "people of color" to become part of the mainstream of American life. Alternatively, it is argued that the assimilation of such individuals into that mainstream is an insidious process that robs them of their history and self-esteem. No one ever bothers to explain how both claims can be true”. Carroll Rodas quantifies assimilation in definition put forth by Richard Alba and Victor Nee as, "the decline of an ethnic distinction and its corollary cultural and social differences”. Speaking of the 11 million illegal resident immigrants, they remain fragmented and disjoined from the country in the underground makeshift community, unable to engage in a society’s common culture as requested of the assimilation process. This unfortunate statistic leaves a sizable population of people disadvantaged and out of reach of larger community benefits, while also leaving America with a substantial crack in its supportive foundation of

Another reason could be that society could be guilty of buying into statements like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s "immigration without assimilation is an invasion". Myers and Pitkin summarize this error in thinking stating that, “Many Americans fall prey to the presumption, largely, that immigrants are like Peter Pan—forever frozen in their status as newcomers, never aging, never advancing economically, and never assimilating…people who perpetually resemble newcomers”. Without assimilation, the Nation is fragmented and unstable, or as Bennett states, “A population without a common language, common assumptions, or indeed any means of generating a genuine polity is easier to manipulate and turn into the common day from which a new transnational order can be molded”. This fear of the lack of assimilation threatening National foundation dates back to the 1700s; “[In 1753] Ben Franklin was deeply worried that immigrants of German ancestry would overwhelm America and change its most basic virtues, possibly bringing an end to the fledgling republic. Many of his arguments regarding this community directly mirror those used in today 's immigration debate against Latinos” (Costantini). This early fear continued into the 1990s where; “in the summer of 1996, President