How successful is immigrant group integration in the United States and Western Europe? :a comparative review and analysis

Abstract

This article examines how successful immigrant integration is on the two sides of the Atlantic through a systematic comparison of five countries: four in Western Europe (Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands) and the United States. The focus is on low-status immigrant groups, such as Mexicans in the United States and Turks in Western Europe. The comparison reveals that no one country is a clear winner or loser. How successful a country is in integrating immigrants and their children depends on the institutional context or domain being examined. The analysis explores a range of domains: race and religion as well as the labor market, residence, education, mixed unions, and national identities.