Immigrants today differ little from those of past

Randy Rossi (Letters to the Editor, 2/20) describes with pride his Italian immigrant family's dedication to American ideals, and uses that experience to criticize current "illegal immigrants" who, he says, refuse to learn English and adapt to American culture.

Mr. Rossi might be surprised to learn, however, that many of the advantages given to his family are no longer available to today's immigrants. He says his family came to the U.S. fleeing persecution by Mussolini - perhaps as refugees under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948? His father obtained citizenship by serving in the U.S. military, an option that is now strictly limited to legal green card holders. And while Mr. Rossi's family showed admirable frugality in living in a converted garage, today's immigrants must demonstrate (through employment records, etc.) their ability to support a household at 125 percent of the federal poverty rate before receiving residency.

Most strikingly, while the Rossi family may have been deeply committed to learning English and defending democracy, outsiders were quite worried about Italian immigrants' ability to assimilate. (The number of Italian Catholic churches still in existence today, Mr. Rossi's own acknowledgement that he lived in an "immigrant neighborhood," and the popularity of margarita pizza, bruschetta, and tiramisu all testify to the longevity of Italian immigrant culture in Chicago.)

In 1925, for example, Madison Grant could have been writing about Mr. Rossi's family when he said that recent immigrants "have not amalgamated with the native population. They largely marry among themselves, maintain their religions and customs, and retain their foreign connections and sympathies."

In fact, if history tells us anything, the children and grandchildren of today's immigrants - the ones Mr. Rossi criticizes as un-American - are the ones most likely to be writing to newspapers defending American values a generation from now.

Jessica Criales

Grayslake