Immigrants Lose Attachment to Home Country over Time

WASHINGTON — Recently arrived Latino immigrants maintain strong ties to their home countries, but the bonds fade with time as they become more attached to the United States, a study released Thursday found.

The study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, examined three activities — phone calls, return visits to the home country, and remittances sent back to relatives.

Only 10 percent of Hispanic immigrants engaged in all three over the past two years, the study found.

However, the report also said that most of the immigrants still feel a "core identity" with their home country, even if they have been in the United States for many years.

About one-third of immigrants said they describe themselves as Americans, it said. In addition, almost half said that their "real homeland" is their country of origin.

Roger Waldinger, a sociology professor at UCLA who authored the report, said that it shows that immigrants are in a period of transition, adapting to the United States and putting down roots while still feeling an identity or "sense of self" with their native countries.

"Immigration is a life-changing event, and people don't change their lives overnight," he said. "People are in the middle of this life transformation, but for most immigrants, it's far from complete."

The study comes at a time when the assimilation of immigrants is a hot political topic and several GOP presidential candidates have endorsed making English the nation's official language.

Several of the report findings seem to assuage concerns that immigrants are not adapting to American culture.

The report found that most immigrants have positive feelings about the United States even as they stay in regular contact with friends or family in their home country.

"The very same people who are keeping in touch and trying to remain true to the people and places they have left behind are simultaneously shifting loyalties and allegiances to the U.S., where they see a bright future for themselves and their children," the report said.

In addition, it said that the long-term trend is toward "a steadily deepening commitment to the United States."

The study also found:

— Three-fourths of foreign-born Hispanics call someone in their native country at least occasionally and two-thirds do so at least twice a month.

— Almost a quarter of foreign-born Hispanics say they never or almost never call someone in their home country.

— More than half of immigrants who have been in the United States for less than 10 years are planning to stay for good.

— Slightly more than half of the Latino immigrant population sends remittances to their home countries. The activity is most common among new arrivals. However, a large minority of long-settled immigrants continue to send money to relatives. Among those who have lived in the United States for 30 years or longer, about one-third continue to send money to relatives.

— Only 15 percent of Latino immigrants report using e-mail to contact friends and family in their native lands.

On the Web:

Pew Hispanic Center: www.pewhispanic.org