Salvadorans living in the U.S. are as American as apple pie? Learning English?

What’s the first thing to do when moving to a new country?  Learn the language? Yes.    So, how well have Salvadorans done — those who have moved to the U.S. –  in terms of learning English?

What do we know about Salvadorans living  here in the U.S.?  Roughly a third live in California, the majority in southern California with pockets in San Francisco, Oakland and other cities in northern CA.

Somewhat less than half  of Salvadorans (42%) have lived in the U.S. for more than 20  years.

Salvadorans are slow to learn English.  Two-thirds of Salvadorans living in the U.S. are “Spanish dominant”.  About a half are considered  ‘proficient’ in English. Only 3% are “English dominant”.

Salvadorans do not self-identify as “American”.  Only 12% of Salvadorans living in the U.S. identify as “American”.  In comparison, about  a quarter of all Hispanics  – which includes Salvadorans – (23%) self-identify as “American”.

Salvadorans get jobs at about the same rate as native born Americans.  And they marry at about the same rate.  They do have more out of wedlock children  — 44% of women age 15 to 44 who had a child in the last 12 months was born out of wedlock.

Roughly 60% of  immigrants from Central America are in the U.S. illegally and roughly 50%  are on some form of welfare. 

Salvadorans living in the U.S.  are considerably less educated.  Only 8% of those age 25+ have a college education compared to 30 percent of native born Americans.  The ‘good news’ is that Salvadorans born in the U.S. achieve a 22% rate of college education.

comment by Aptos Psychologist Cameron Jackson:

Will all the thousands of Salvadorans actually be deported?  Commit a crime, get deported seems to be the current rule.