Recent debates about immigration reform have focused on many topics, including the
economic impact of illegal immigration, national security, guest worker programs, and amnesty.
One other prominent concern has been assimilation. On the one hand, immigrants and their
supporters at rallies have been praised as showing native-born Americans what active citizenship
is all about (Meyerson 2006). But they have also been chastised for not “becoming American.”
Theses charges were most vocal when a group of musicians released a Spanish interpretation of
the national anthem. As one newspaper columnist wrote, the recent developments signaled “an
invitation to separatism and a fractured national identity now finding voice among Mexican
illegal immigrants and their advocates,” (Farmer 2006). One editorial noted that, “the mere fact
that [the anthem] is in Spanish is a protest against assimilation.”
presence of Mexican flags at immigration rallies to underscore their concerns. Some critics
blame activists or the federal government rather than immigrants themselves. As one
conservative columnist wrote, “New immigrants are not expected to learn our history, master our
common language, or even demonstrate loyalty and commitment to the United States” (Wilson,
2006). The cause may lie with institutions, but the consequences appear first among immigrants
– in the form of this attitudinal alienation – and second in the nation as a whole, which will suffer
if commitment and loyalty disappear. The goal of this paper is to assess the claims that newer
Americans and their descendants shun an American identity and that this lack of identification
promotes alienation from the American political community in the form of reduced trust and a
diminished sense of obligation. It examines whether self-identification affects trust and
obligation broadly, by comparing respondents from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds.
1
From an online editorial at Investor’s Business Daily, “Star Spanglish,” posted 5/1/06, available at
, accessed on 5/24/06.
1
Convention