Immigration = Assimilation

Here's yet more evidence that the recent wave of (mostly Hispanic) immigrants are assimilating at a faster rate than their early 20th century counterparts.

Note that the Duke University study was published by the Manhattan Institute, a "conservative think tank". So much for the fear of a cultural upheaval spread by conservatives such as Tom "Miami is Third World" Tancredo, Pat Buchanan and Laura Ingraham.

A wide-ranging and provocative new study of immigrants' integration into U.S. society has concluded that newcomers today are assimilating more quickly than their predecessors did 100 years ago -- with Cubans, Vietnamese and Filipinos among those leading the way.

Those darn pesky Cubans are at it again. If that's not enough, also consider that the study finds Miami-Hialeah to be ahead of cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston in assimilation trends.

The report also found wide variety in assimilation among U.S. metro areas, with the Miami-Hialeah area coming out only slightly better than average among top immigrant destinations. Metro Miami had a lower assimilation index than the leaders, New York and San Diego, but fared better than Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston in the study. Assimilation in the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood-Pompano Beach metro area, not so large an immigrant gateway, outpaced all the above.

Though Cubans scored well above the national average of 28 on Vigdor's assimilation index, other principal nationalities in Miami, including Haitians, Brazilians and Nicaraguans, pulled down the local score.