In the heated debate on immigration, a common assumption on all sides of the issue is that immigrants manifest traditional family values. One hears that the immigrants—whether legal or illegal—are trying to put food on the table for their families and may have a stronger commitment to family values than do native-born Americans. Today's U.S. immigrants, of which the great majority are Hispanic, are commonly pictured as similar to the European immigrants who came to this land at the turn of the 20th century—seeking a better life for their families. President Bush lent support to these notions when he said, "Family values don't stop at the Rio Grande" (Oct. 18, 2005).
Some have even argued that new immigrants instill the country with a stronger commitment to family values.
However, this image that many people hold towards today's immigrants is largely a fantasy that doesn't hold up upon closer scrutiny, according to Steven A. Camarota, from the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. Moreover, Dr. Camarota sees troubling signs for the resilience of immigrant families, particularly Hispanic immigrants, such as their low education attainment and, particularly, their high rates of illegitimate births.
The rate of births to unmarried mothers would appear to be an apt indicator of family strength. Children born to unmarried parents are at a disadvantage on a host of social problems, including poverty, incarceration, and academic problems. "Illegitimacy may be especially problematic for children of immigrants because they need strong families to adjust to life in America," says Camarota.
Out-of-Wedlock Births Rise for Immigrants and Natives
By studying publicly available birth records, Camarota made some remarkable discoveries. Speaking April 24th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., he said that children born out-of-wedlock have become much more common in recent years, even in the United States. In 1980, 19% of births of native-born mothers were illegitimate, compared to 13% of births to foreign-born mothers. At that time, immigrants held a small but significant advantage in having proportionately fewer out-of-wedlock births. This gap has since narrowed to almost disappear.
By 2003, the rate of out-of-wedlock births had risen dramatically for immigrants and native-born—more than doubled since 1980. The rate was 31.5% for immigrants and 35% for natives. The actual numbers show the impact of illegitimate births: in 1980, immigrants accounted for about 45,000, which by 2003, increased to nearly 300,000; for natives the increase went from 600,000 to 1.1 million.
Thus, in 2003, about 35% of U.S. births were illegitimate. This rate of illegitimacy was not affected much by the immigrants. Immigrants are not making the situation any worse, but at the same time, they are not helping the problem much either, according to these findings.
Next, Dr. Camarota broke down the immigrant and natives groupings into four mutually exclusive categories: Hispanic, Whites, Blacks, Asians. The table below shows the number and percent of illegitimate births for the year 2003.
The Hispanic immigrant's percent of out-of-wedlock births is the largest at nearly 42%, which is higher than the nation's rate and every other immigrant group. Hispanic immigrants far exceed the Asian immigrant's illegitimacy rate who are at 11%.
The table's last column gives the actual counts of illegitimate births. Hispanics contribute nearly 8 out of 10 illegitimate immigrant births.
The situation doesn't seem to improve with the next generations. For every racial/ethnic group, illegitimacy is higher among natives than the foreign-born. For Hispanics born here, nearly one out of every two births is out-of-wedlock. Native whites are almost half that rate at 24%. The rate of births from Asian/Pacific unmarried mothers is a little higher at 30%.
So, there is no basis for the hope that the immigrant populations will be improved by more time in residency of the U.S.
Stunning Increases of Out-of-Wedlock Births Since 1980
The table above is part of a larger table Camarota uses that shows the same data for the year 1980. The changes in the 23 years of the races and Hispanic ethnic groups are stunning. Immigrant Hispanics out-of-wedlock births increased from 19% in 1980 to 42% in 2003, which is the largest among the immigrants. Native Hispanic rate of illegitimacy nearly doubled from 26% to 50%.
Native white illegitimacy increased from 10% to almost one out of four births (24.4%). Native black illegitimacy—always disturbingly high—increased from 57.5% in 1980 to 72.5% in 2003.
Asian illegitimacy rates show the same pattern of increase but start at a much lower base. Immigrant Asian/Pacific illegitimate births increased from 4% to 11%.
Strong Predictor for Illegitimate Births
Dr. Camarota shows data that the least educated immigrants and natives have relatively high levels of illegitimacy. Among immigrants, the illegitimacy birth rate of mothers without a high school education is 45%, which compares to only 8% for immigrants with a college degree.
For natives, the differences due to education are still greater. Lacking a high school education means a 72% illegitimacy rate. The rate declines with more education; only 6.4% of births by college degree women are out-of-wedlock. For native Hispanics, the percents of illegitimacy are 69% for less than high school education versus 13% for 4-year college degree or more.
These findings of high rates of illegitimacy among less-educated Hispanics have far-reaching implications for immigration policy. Dr. Camarota cites estimates that about 80% of illegals are Hispanics. More than half of the illegals lack a high school education, and around 20 to 25% only have a high school degree.
"Given that most illegals are less-educated and Hispanic, and given the high rates of out-of-wedlock births among less-educated Hispanics…an amnesty rather than an enforcement approach could contribute greatly to the illegitimacy problem in this country," opined Dr. Camarota. Sending illegal aliens home and selecting legal immigrants in the future based more on education levels would significantly reduce illegitimacy among immigrant populations in the future, says Dr. Camarota.
Of course, other factors are involved in this issue as well, and this is a very controversial subject. But based on education and birth data, Camarota's findings show at a minimum, we should be careful not to harbor the unrealistic expectation that once given legal status, immigrant families will prosper and family values for the rest of the country will improve.
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