Kevin Khunkhlai Multiculturalism in California Immigration into California over the last thirty years has been tremendous.

During that time it is reported that California is home to 8 million immigrants from various nations. That represents one in four state residents. Compared to the number of immigrants reported nationwide, California houses one-third of the nations total immigrants. While California is home to sizable populations of immigrants from dozens of countries, the leading countries of origin are Mexico (4.3 million), the Philippines (739,000), China (469,000) and Vietnam (451,000) (Immigrants in California, par.3). This document will show how three of these four groups have assimilated into American culture, maintained their native culture, and faced issues with their cultural identity. Success of being assimilated into Californias culture is based largely on the immigrants English language abilities. The better the grasp of English language abilities, the easier it is for immigrants to assimilate into Californian culture. Conversely, the lesser the grasp, the harder it is to assimilate. Mexican immigrants are the least likely to arrive in California with strong English language skills. Approximately one third of Mexican immigrants report they do not speak English at all. Thirteen percent of Chinese speakers and 11 percent of Vietnamese speakers also do not speak English. Although spoken English is just one measure of language competence, English language ability ranks as one of the key human-capital traits that immigrants must master to succeed (Carnevale, Fry, and Lowell, 159). All three of these very different cultures are thriving in present day California. It has been shown that all three groups of immigrants have adapted to Californian culture while maintaining their native cultures and values. The core of the Mexican American social structure lies with the family. Women, while greatly revered, are still seen as secondary to their husbands, the

Kevin Khunkhlai husbands are seen as the authority figure for the family (Franklin, 1). Typically families are very large and include an extensive extended family. And, most Mexican Americans are followers of the Catholic religion. The Chinese Americans have very different cultural values from the other two immigrant groups. The majority of Chinese Americans today could be characterized as practicing some form of Buddhism or Taoism, folk religions, and ancestral worship. In general, the Chinese are pragmatic in their approach to life and religion. They are somewhat superstitious, in that they believe in doctrines called fengsui, which are supposed to help in organization of a home. (http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/kane98/kane_p3_immig/China/china.html). Finally, the Vietnamese American also have their own cultural values derived from their native culture. Vietnamese Americans have adapted to California culture while keeping their traditions and religious values intact. Their value system includes high educational expectations and strong commitment to family ties (Povell, par. 5). All three of these immigrant groups have also had a great impact on the cultures of California. Studies show that past and present immigrants tend to settle in the same areas as previous immigrants from their same countries. Because of this there has been an increase of businesses that are owned and run by Mexican, Chinese, and Vietnamese immigrants. No one can dispute the increased number of Mexican, Chinese, and Vietnamese restaurants that have sprung up not only in California but throughout the nation. Studies have shown that the longer an immigrant spends in California the better they fare. Education levels, poverty levels, employment, income levels, and home ownership seem to improve over time. However, the gap between Mexican and Chinese/Vietnamese immigrants remains large. The rate of progress for Mexicans is lower than for Chinese and Vietnamese

Kevin Khunkhlai immigrants. This is because most Mexican immigrants arrive in California at a young age and are frequently uneducated while Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants tend to be older and better educated. A recent study at the national level suggests that concern about progress among Hispanics has been exaggerated. Smith finds that sons and grandsons of Mexican immigrants do make great strides relative to native-born non-Hispanic whites. However, it is clear that Californias Mexican immigrants clearly have large deficits to overcome and that it may take generations (Smith, 316). As time goes on, there is no doubt that more and more immigrants will be entering California and settling where previous immigrants have settled. Conversely, studies have shown that third and fourth generation immigrants will leave these areas and settle in other areas of the country. In some cases this migration will be seen within California and in other cases the migration will take them to other parts of the nation. With these migrations the cultural face of California and the nation as a whole will continue to change. Immigration already has changed the old biracial view of the United States to a multiracial mix in California and the rest of the United States will follow fairly quickly (Clark, par. 16).

Kevin Khunkhlai Works Cited Immigrants in California. Public Policy Institute of California. April 2007. http://www.ppic.com. Carnevale, Anthony P., Richard A. Fry, and B. Lindsay Lowell. Understanding, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Earnings in the Immigrant Labor Market. The American Economic Review, Vol. 91, No. 2, May 2001. Franklin, Ricky. Hispanics in America: Culture and Mexicans, Cubans, Venezuelans. Associated Content: The Peoples Media Company. 1 November, 2006. http://associatedcontent.com. Povell, Marc. The History of Vietnamese Immigration. The American Immigration Law Foundation. 2 June, 2005. Smith, James P. Assimilation Across the Latino Generations. The American Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 2, May 2003. Clark, William A.V. Immigration and California Communities. Center for Immigration Studies, February 1999. http://www.cis.org.