American Dream Barriers Essay

Immigrants and minorities in America associate the American dream with opportunity, a good job and a home with a white picket fence. The United States offers democracy and a more liberal society that provides more opportunity than many other countries. Through home ownership and entrepreneurship, immigrants have helped to grow the U.S. economy and improve the economic condition of their communities and families, but immigrants continue to face barriers to higher education. The American dream has many different meanings. Natural born citizens often view the American dream as, financial security, freedom and even family. Immigrants in the U.S., however, are more likely to see the American dream as freedom to pursue opportunity, a good job, safety

. Immigrant college students spend more time on family responsibilities than native-born peers and these responsibilities make it more difficult for them to succeed in school according to Erisman Thus creating a more stressful environment with a much larger demand it creates strain on education and can slow down the students process to get ahead. Language is another burdened applied to immigrates limited English proficiency is a primary barrier that prevents immigrant students from graduating from high school and moving into postsecondary education, especially immigrant students who come to America as teenagers and have only a few years to learn English. Limited English proficiency may also be a concern for older immigrants who wish to attend college because they are more likely than young immigrants to speak a language other than English. Among immigrants age 24 and older, for example, 18 percent reported that they spoke no English or did not speak English well, compared with only 5 percent of immigrants age