Children of immigrants to the United States typically incorporate themselves into US economic and cultural life, and this pattern of assimilation has not markedly changed in over a century. Today, one in seven US residents was born abroad, rates similar to those seen in the late nineteenth century. As immigrants’ countries of origin have shifted from Europe to Asia and the Americas, a narrative has developed that contemporary immigrants do not assimilate as thoroughly as older immigrants. But is this true?

In a Perspective, Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan summarize their long-running research program matching individuals across historical US Censuses. The authors compare intergeneration trends across two periods: the late 19th to early 20th century, and 1980 to the present. By following millions of immigrants into the second generation, the authors were able to empirically investigate whether rates of assimilation have changed over time.

By and large, the authors found that the process and rate of assimilation has not changed since the nineteenth century. Immigrants still tend to work low-paying jobs throughout their lives but live to see their children enter the middle class. Now, as before, rates of incarceration are lower among immigrants than among the US-born population. Attitudes toward immigration today are more positive than ever before in US history, but significantly more polarized by political party. According to the authors, creating immigration policies based on the belief that immigrants do not integrate would be a mistake.