NEW
YORK
The promise of the American dream continues to lure
immigrants to U.S.
shores, but the tide of opportunity is turning against the latest wave of new
arrivals, according to a new report.
When compared to workers born in the United
States, the latest immigrants are poorer
today than at any time since World War II, according to data released Wednesday
by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
In 2000, the average immigrant earned about 20 percent less
than their American-born counterpart, the report stated. In 1940, a typical
immigrant earned nearly 6 percent more.
Furthermore, while the children of immigrants today make
more money than typical nonimmigrants, their climb up the economic ladder has
slowed in recent decades, according to the report.
The second generation earned 6.3 percent more than
American-born workers in 2000, compared to nearly 15 percent more in 1970 and
almost 18 percent more in 1940.
Some of the difference in immigrants’ earnings reflects the
dramatic change in the economic and ethnic composition of U.S. immigrants, and
it is anyone’s guess how the economy will respond to that in the future, said
John Morton, managing director of economic policy for The Pew Charitable
Trusts.
