To be sure, assimilation is moribund among many of our elites, especially ethnic, racial, and minority group leaders But as an animating force in our communities and in our national life, assimilation is alive and well

A pluralistic society is a diverse one, where the people in it believe all kinds of different things and tolerate each other’s beliefs even when they don’t match their own A pluralistic society accepts many different sorts of people, from different races, sexual orientations, cultures, and religions

Forced assimilation is an involuntary process of cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups during which they are forced to adopt language, identity, norms, mores, customs, traditions, values, mentality, perceptions, way of life, and often religion and ideology of established and generally larger

Americanization is the process of an immigrant to the United States becoming a person who shares American values, beliefs, and customs by assimilating into American society This process typically involves learning the English language and adjusting to American culture, values, and customs

Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society’s majority group or assume the values, behaviors and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially

Americanization, in the early 20th century, activities that were designed to prepare foreign-born residents of the United States for full participation in citizenship It aimed not only at the achievement of naturalization but also at an understanding of and commitment to principles of American life and work

In this view of assimilation, over time, immigrant communities shed the culture that is embedded in the language, values, rituals, laws, and perhaps even religion of their homeland so that there is no discernible cultural difference between them and other members of the host society

Although the experiences of European groups coming to the United States in the early-20th century suggest that full assimilation generally occurs within three to four generations, no fixed timetable governs completion of the process

In sociology, people who permanently immigrate to a new country are generally designated first generation, while those born to at least one immigrant parent are considered second generation

Persons in the third generation are those who have both US-born parents, but one or more foreign-born grandparents Persons in the first generation were born abroad and their ethnicity is based on their country of birth

The first generation refers to those who are foreign born The second generation refers to those with at least one foreign-born parent The third-and-higher generation includes those with two US native parents

The formal definition of a first-generation college student is a student whose parents did not complete a four-year college degree

Immigrant Generations “Second generation” refers to people born in the United States, with at least one first-generation (immigrant) parent People born in Puerto Rico or other US territories with at least one parent born in a different country are considered second generation

A participant was coded as first generation if they, their parents and grandparents were born in Mexico A participant was coded as second generation if they were born in the U S and their parents and grandparents were born in Mexico

A ‘first-generation immigrant’ is a person born in a country other than her/his country of residence and whose residence period in the host country is, or is expected to be, at least 12 months A ‘second-generation immigrant’ is a native-born person with at least one foreign-born parent

Simply put, an immigrant is a person living in a country other than that of his or her birth No matter if that person has taken the citizenship of the destination country, served in its military, married a native, or has another status—he or she will forever be an international migrant