Immigration experts: Poor English is the biggest obstacle for Chinese immigrants in the United States

Immigration experts: Poor English is the biggest obstacle for Chinese immigrants in the United States "Qiao Bao" reported that an American immigration expert pointed out in an interview with reporters that in the past 10 years,...

"Qiao Bao" reported

A U.S. immigration expert recently pointed out in an interview with a reporter that in the past 10 years, the growth rate of immigrants from mainland China has exceeded that of other countries in the world, but their English proficiency is lower than the average level of immigrants from other ethnic groups. Language barriers are the biggest obstacle for Chinese immigrants to integrate into American society. A survey report on mainland Chinese immigrants provided by Michael Telstetter, director of communications and public affairs at the American Immigration Policy Institute, showed that as of 2010, there were about 1.8 million immigrants born in mainland China and Hong Kong in the United States, more than half of whom lived in California and New York. Between 2001 and 2010, 700,000 immigrants born in mainland China and Hong Kong obtained green cards in the United States. China was the third largest source of green card recipients in 2010, and mainland Chinese who obtained green cards through work accounted for one-tenth of those who obtained green cards that year. In the past 30 years, immigration from mainland China to the United States has grown rapidly. In the 1980s, the number of immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong was approximately 366,000, accounting for 2.6% of the total number of immigrants in the United States; in the 1990s, this number increased to approximately 676,900, accounting for 3.4%; in 2000, it increased to approximately 1.1924 million, accounting for 3.8%; in 2010, it reached 1.808 million, accounting for 4.5%. 40% of immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong to the United States arrived after 2000. The average English proficiency level of immigrants from mainland China is lower than that of immigrants from Hong Kong and other countries. Only 7.6% of mainland Chinese immigrants in the United States use English as their main communication language, and only 26.9% speak English very well. Mittelstedt analyzed that in recent decades, immigrants from mainland China have risen from a small proportion to the second largest source of immigrants. The reason is that compared with other ethnic groups in the United States, immigrants from China have higher educational levels and are more likely to engage in economic jobs that require advanced skills. However, mainland Chinese immigrants are less proficient in English than other ethnic groups.