This article examines the debate between key theories of immigrant assimilation by exploring the effect of acculturation types – dissonant, consonant, and selective – on socioeconomic outcomes in young adulthood. Drawing on survey data from the Immigrant Second Generation in Metropolitan New York, we show that while all three types occur, dissonant acculturation is the exception, not the norm, among second generation young adults. Our results also suggest that neither the type of acculturation nor the level of ethnic embeddedness can account for the variation in mobility patterns both across and within second generation groups. These findings lead us to question assumptions about the protective effect of selective acculturation and the negative effect of dissonant acculturation.

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IMR Volume 51 Number 1 (Spring 2017): 155-190 155 parity with native majority peers. Second, second-generation Latinos report significant progress compared to their parents and there is no evidence of a second-generation decline. Third, there is no difference in outcomes among second-generation Mexicans by immigrant destination type. Overall, these analyses yield an optimistic assessment of second-generation progress, while noting potential stagnation among third-and higher-generation Mexicans.

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Analyzing three waves of data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey, this article explores the process of language assimilation among second-generation Latinos. Although previous studies have focused on the shift from mother tongue to English across immigrant generations, few have examined change in language proficiency over time within the second generation. Results from a series of growth-curve models suggest three findings. First, both English and Spanish proficiency increased over time. Second, significant differences exist across Latino ethnic groups, with Mexicans being least proficient in English and most proficient in Spanish. Third, use of Spanish at home and in school has no effect on English acquisition, but significantly promotes Spanish retention. Overall, these findings lend support for the emergence of a new context for bilingualism.Over the past four decades, immigration has once again transformed local communities and cities in the United States. In 2008, one in eight American residents is foreign-born and, together with their American-born children, they account for one in four of the total U.S. population. Many studies to date have examined the socioeconomic, civic and political incorporation of the new second generation 1 because their assimilation will likely reshape the American mainstream in the coming decades. This article focuses on one specific aspect of their integration -the process of language assimilation -and asks how it unfolds over time among second-generation Latinos. 2 Latinos have featured prominently in the ongoing academic debate on language assimilation because their population has grown most rapidly over time. In 2000, 13 percent of the U.S. population or 35.2 million people self-identified as of Latino descent. To put this into historical perspective, the current level reflects a four-fold increase from 1960 and a two-fold increase from 1980 when it was 3.6 percent and 6.9 percent of the total population, respectively. Figure 1 provides a snapshot of this diverse population by national origin. Mexican was the largest ethnic group (20.9 million), followed by Puerto Rican (3.4 million), Cuban (1.2 million) and Dominican (.08 million). I would like to thank