Abstract
This essay explores the question of the impact of illegal migration on American unity and cultural pluralism in the United States. Assuming that over time the descendents of undocumented workers now in the United States will behave substantially like descendants of those who immigrate legally, the author concludes that the long-term impact of illegal migration barely will be noticeable provided it is reduced substantially in the future. The process of acculturation will work in the same way for both groups as it has for other ethnic groups in the past, given comparable levels of education and length of family residence in the United States. The author takes special notice of the illegal migration of Spanish-speaking workers and hypothesizes that the behavior of their descendants will not differ from the descendants of other immigrants, legal or illegal, in ways that disrupt fundamental patterns of American political unity and cultural pluralism.
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