The New Immigrants

The history of theAmerican “melting pot ” reflects alternating tensions and accommodations between newcomers and the old guard. No country on Earth, it is said, has absorbed immigrants in greater numbers or variety, or has done more to incorporateimmigrants into the national culture. But in today's era of globalizing trade and mass communications, immigrants coming to the U.S. are more diverse in appearance and language than earlier generations of newcomers, more prosperous and more assertive about seeking changes in the cultural and political landscape. Critics charge that the American identity is threatenedby the government's overly accommodating immigration policy. Defenders of new immigrants say that putting roadblocks to citizenship in the path of patriotic foreign-born residents is unnecessary and unjust.