Becoming Young Americans:
The Civic Incorporation Of Immigrant Youth In The United States

Mark Setzler, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor of Political Science
High Point University 

Nick McRee, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of Portland 

Abstract 

We test the central assumptions of three competing theories of immigrant civic incorporation by exploring support for core American values, volunteerism, and political participation among young first- and second-generation immigrants. Using data from a nationally-representative longitudinal survey of adolescents who have recently reached voting age, we find robust evidence countering arguments that today's immigrants are resistant to either acculturation or political assimilation. To the contrary, the patterns of civic engagement and support for core American political values among both first- and second-generation immigrants closely mirror those of native youth. Our study adds an important caveat to the sparse existing literature on immigrant political incorporation by demonstrating that the young immigrants presently entering adult political life do not exhibit the disproportionately low levels of civic volunteerism and political participation that have been reported in most studies of adult immigrants.