As with any change in life, growing older can present its challenges. Beyond relatively incipient social-networking programs like Twitter and Facebook, or newfangled cell phones to deal with, there is the transition from the workforce to retirement, and adjustments as some friends or spouses pass away. New routines must be established.
How is this time of transition for older immigrants in the United States? They are a population often overlooked within current debates on teaching English to immigrants in schools, or competition posed by migrants entering the labor pool.
Last weekend a New York Times article provided further description of the lives of immigrants over 65 years of age in the United States.
For many, there is a shift away from a familiar culture of reverence for elders that may be more common in their country of origin. A total of “seventy percent of recent older immigrants speak little or no English” and foreign-born elderly are one-third more likely to live in poverty. As a result, their ability to assimilate and to care for themselves is more delicate than that of younger populations.
At the same time, this population continues to grow in size. As a nifty graphic attached to the article describes, “since 1970, the number of United States residents 65 and older who were born in Europe dropped by nearly half, while those born in Asia and Latin America increased tenfold”. It is these “elderly, [who] now make up America’s fastest growing immigrant group”.
A witty comment from Judith Treas, who teaches sociology and studies populations at the University of Califorinia, Irvine:
“They never win spelling bees . . . they do not join criminal gangs. And nobody worries about Americans losing jobs to Korean grandmothers.”
In the end, this vulnerable immigrant population would benefit from greater attention. Hopefully this NYT article will increase efforts to bring this about.
