
Today, in the midst of the 2016 US Presidential Election, immigration is a hot topic for presidential candidates. Some Americans are angry that immigrants are taking away opportunities without embracing American culture (Tancredo), while others believe that immigrants should be treated with respect and be allowed to dream of a new home in America whilst remaining a part of their native culture. However, when immigrants completely conform to American culture and try to ignore their native values, they tend to experience stress and confusion with cultural identity. Immigrants should integrate rather than assimilate into new cultures. For this research, I will focus mainly on Indian-American immigrants; however, many of these concepts transfer to other ethnic immigrant groups.

Since the first great waves of immigration to the United States in the 1880's, the effects of immigration on immigrants themselves and their host country have been studied. In 1880, J.W. Powell first coined the term "acculturation," which he defined as "the psychological changes induced by cross-cultural imitation" (Powell). Much later, four acculturation strategies emerged: assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization (Berry 496). These methods define the four ways in which an immigrant can experience acculturation (Figure 1). Today, there are two methods that are most commonly discussed: assimilation and integration. 

Assimilation defines the 'melting pot' theory, in which immigrants from different cultures combine to form the American mainstream, fighting together for one country. In an assimilating society, ethnic groups are encouraged to forget their "language, religious practices ... eating habits ... values, and norms" (McDonald 2). There are three characteristics of assimilation according to Peter Skerry. The first is to accept English as a national language, which includes being able to speak, read, and write English. The second is to live by the Protestant work ethic, which includes being self-reliant, hardworking, and morally upright. The third is to "take pride in their American identity ad believe in America's liberal, democratic, and egalitarian principles," which includes being accepting of women's equality, homosexuality, and other progressive social issues (Skerry).

Integration, better known today as 'multiculturalism' or 'pluralism,' allows immigrants to accepted as "unique and important groups within the larger dominant group." It emphasizes the "mutual respect between the various groups in a society for another's cultures," which allows minorities to retain their cultures without facing prejudice or discrimination (qtd. in McDonald, Schaefer 47). Pluralism also encourages "mutual exchange of cultural content" and assumes that, while immigrants preserve their own cultures, they also contribute to American civic life (qtd. in McDonald, Epps 177). Today, as immigrants still relocate to the United States in large volumes, Americans are beginning to slowly beginning to accept pluralism more and more, creating a divide between the opinions of the general population.

While assimilation seems as though it is the most unifying and nationalist method of acculturation, it is outdated and is much more difficult to achieve today than it was years ago. When the melting pot theory was first developed in the eighteenth century, the population of American society was "predominantly white, English, and 99 percent Protestant" and the immigrants coming into were not apparently different (qtd. in McDonald, Ramakrishnan 13); immigrants could easily assimilate into the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture, since many immigrants were already from the same religious, racial, and ethnic group (McDonald). African Americans, for example, were unable to assimilate and be accepted into the United States for a few hundred years, and one can argue that even today, African Americans have not fully assimilated into that white Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture that once was. Additionally, immigrants are expected to be comfortable speaking, reading, and writing English almost immediately after arrival into America, and if they cannot, they are criticized. Many Americans may assume that immigrants do not value English or see it as necessary to learn the language, however, according to a study through Gallup over several years, 95% of immigrants believe that it is "essential" or "important" to learn English; it is simply unrealistic to expect immigrants to speak the language fluently and without a blatant accent upon arrival (Jones). This inability to fit into the dominant culture and a lack of acceptance for immigrant cultures can create social stress.

Assimilation can create tension both within an ethnic group and a loss of cultural identity among individuals. In the process of assimilation, immigrants are expected to fit in with their peers as soon as possible and become comfortable with American cultural norms. However, when immigrants feel "isolated from his or her culture, unaccepted by the 'majority culture' and [have] a lack of social support, a consequent sense of rejection, alienation and poor self-esteem may occur" (Bhugra and Becker 19). Additionally, many immigrant children or adolescents who have assimilated into American culture may feel regret after growing up and realizing the distance they have put between themselves and their cultures. In an interview, Peter Skerry spoke to a Mexican-American immigrant who had just completed his first year at Yale University and "did not speak Spanish, but he considered the language a critical part of the Mexican culture he fervently wanted to hold onto." The young man felt remorse that he had not retained his ethnic language and identity and claimed that "he would see to it that his future children would learn Spanish before English" (Skerry 58). Despite the fact that assimilation can make immigrants feel rejected and isolated, many Americans believe that it would it is a better option for creating a more well-educated and nationalistic American society.

Opposition argues that "forced assimilation benefits immigrants as it...prevents the immigrants as a group from becoming an undereducated underclass by fostering both ambition and a respect for education, the keys to widespread social advancement" (qtd. in Yale Political Union, Wagener). However, according to Skerry, on the contrary, "although newly arrived students experience significant adjustment problems attributable to their rural backgrounds, inadequate schooling, and poor English-language skills, their typically positive attitudes contribute to relative academic success." Furthermore, "among Latino students born in the United States ... despite fluency in English and familiarity with American schools, many such students are prone to adopt an adversarial stance toward school and a cynical anti-achievement ethic" (Skerry). The immigrant children who had integrated into American culture showed to be more successful in schools regardless of their adjustment issues then Latino students born and brought up assimilated into American culture. Some Americans also believe that integration and multiculturalism implies a lack of American pride and nationalism. Tancredo claims that "...to the partisans of multiculturalism ... such accommodations [to assimilation] are no longer necessary; in fact, they are undesirable relics of our racist, xenophobic past" (Tancredo). However, this simply does not reflect the goal of multiculturalism, which is to create a unified society with respect to diverse cultural backgrounds

Integration satisfies the wants of both the ethnic group and the host culture, allowing both to harmonize and allowing ethnic groups to remain close to their native cultures, preventing stress and confusion with personal identity. Studies have shown that integration can lead to a happier and healthier American society. According to Bhagra, "post-migration stresses include culture shock and conflict, both of which may lead to a sense of cultural confusion, feelings of alienation and isolation, and depression" (Bhagra). The rejection and alienation leads to a loss of cultural identity and psychological stress. In a study by Diwan and Jonnalagadda, the physiological conditions of many elderly Indian-American immigrants were pulled together, and results showed that, with social ties and relatives nearby, participants experienced better health and lower instances of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, etc (Diwan and Jonnalagadda). Immigrants who had more completely assimilated were more likely to suffer from physiological health conditions, due to either American eating habits or psychological stress.

Integration has shown to be successful and to provide a healthy environment for learning and appreciation of native and host cultures. Many coming-of-age novels have been written about adolescent immigrants and their experiences with balancing their native and host culture identities. For example, in Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, Dimple Lala is a high school second generation immigrant how explores her bicultural identity through her family, friends, and love interests (Hidier). Hidier writes a story that is relatable to many second-generation immigrants, including me, who resist their native culture and try their best to assimilate for many of their adolescent years, but later end up forming an appreciation for both ways of life. Over time, immigrants have learned to complement and intermix the flavors of both cultures to form one that fits their lifestyle and identity. In Bollywood Weddings, Dr. Kavita Ramdya studies the intermixed culture of modern-day Bollywood and how it affects Indian-American wedding traditions today. She uses several case studies to examine how some immigrants include touches of American wedding traditions into their traditional weddings, or vice versa, to create a more fulfilling wedding experience that touches on both sides of their cultural identity (Ramdya). 

Assimilation can often create unrealistic expectations for immigrants to completely fit into American culture within days of their arrival into a new country. Assimilation has shown to result in psychological and physiological stress and confusion of cultural identity. On the other hand, integration allows for immigrants to both accommodate to American norms and values and, at the same time, keep intact their ethnic identities.

