We Asked the Children of Immigrants: Is the American Dream Still Alive?

Art: Cynthia Springer and Hala Hassan

By ABDUAL ASHRAF and KEREM BICER

with contributions by Eric Lau and Adam Nassar

Worldwide, millions of people leave their homes, families, and jobs each year to come to our country with visions of the American Dream: the idea that everyone on our shores has the opportunity to be successful if they work hard and sacrifice.

A lot of people are betting they can make a better life here. In fact, between 2021 and 2022, 65 percent of the increase in the United States’ population was due to immigration, according to the Migration Policy Institute. They also estimate that 11 million people are risking living here illegally in hopes of attaining a better life for their children. So it seems important to ask: Is the American Dream still possible in our current day and age?

Some would say today’s America is different than the land of opportunity depicted in older films and novels. Our government has racked up over $34 trillion in debt, rising by $1 trillion every 100 days, a burden that will be up to future generations to pay off. Housing has become unaffordable for many, and 2023 saw a 12 percent increase in homelessness over 2022. In other words, we’re in trouble.

However, studies also show that immigrants often do find success in America. The New York Times reported in 2022 that for people born between 1978 and 1983, children of immigrants were more likely to be upper-middle class or rich than the children of U.S.-born Americans. All of this to say, the families of immigrants have been able to find wealth in our economy.

Around 12% of the U.S. population is made up of second generation immigrants (meaning the first in their family to be born here), and 15% are first generation. The American Dream is not just a mere phrase to them, but an experience they’ve gone through to build better lives for themselves and their families. 

“I believe the vision of America is still true,” said Emma Deblasio ‘24. “My mom came here from Ukraine for the first time with a single $100 bill in her pocket. Now she's a nurse. One of my dad's first jobs was being a janitor; now he teaches English at a private school as someone who started learning the language in his late teenage years. America has many great opportunities; you just have to search for them. If you want anything bad enough, you can make it happen.”

Abubakar Khan ‘26, whose parents migrated from Pakistan, said his family encountered obstacles. All the same, “I think this vision is still very true,” he said. “Many people who are born in countries outside the U.S. aren’t able to get good jobs or any at all. My mother used to have to work 12 hours every day, but after moving to the U.S., she found a much better job with better pay.”

Part of the American Dream is seeing the quality of your children’s lives surpass your own. So it’s good to note that second generation Americans do better financially than their first generation parents. According to Pew Research, second generation adults earn $58,000 per year on average, in comparison to the $46,000 that first generation adults make. Second generation Americans also have higher rates of homeownership (64%) than their parents (51%), according to ULink.

These generational advancements are a continuation of the progress first generation Americans make during their time in the States.

“If you work hard enough and have dedication, you can be successful no matter what,” said Raymond Lin ‘26. “My mom immigrated from China to the U.S. for better opportunities and in pursuit of a better life. She initially worked at a supermarket, and she now owns a non-profit organization for cleaning parks. America still has many opportunities for people to succeed. My mother is proof of this.”

"Growing up in a family of immigrants, I've witnessed the American Dream in action," said Jonathon Arnasalam ‘25. “My parents' journey reflects the resilience and hard work that define this pursuit. Despite challenges, their experience affirms that opportunity still thrives in America."

Immigrants seem to pass this pattern of progress down to their children. Compared to all adults in the U.S., second generation Americans are more likely to be highly educated. A study conducted by uLink found that 36 percent of second-generation immigrants have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 31 percent of all American adults.

Seven-in-ten second generation Asian Americans and eight-in-ten second generation Hispanics say that conditions for raising children are better in the U.S. than in the countries their parents immigrated from.

“The harder you work, the more success will come your way,” said Deniz Gurcan ‘25, whose parents immigrated from Turkey. “Through hard work and dedication, they’ve secured successful jobs. America still has plenty of opportunities for people; all they need is to work hard and be determined to succeed.”

While our interviews resulted in an overwhelming “yes” to the question of whether the American Dream was still possible, the responses were not unanimous. Racial inequality remains an issue in our country, something that many immigrants may feel, and inflation and the cost of housing have made basic life more expensive for everyone.

“The American Dream has been dead for years,” Saveliy Markan ‘24 said. He thinks the majority of Americans, low and middle class, can’t attain the finances to live comfortably here, no matter how hard they work.

Still, “as long as conditions in other countries are worse [than in the U.S.], people will come here,” Markan added. For his family, it’s not really an option to go back. Returning to Russia would be risky because they could be “dragged into the military.” The only option, to him, is to hustle here in America.

Though we usually think of the American Dream in terms of financial wealth, in its more broad definition, it could also refer to simply attaining meaning and happiness. The famous American Henry David Thoreau, for example, found peace in living closer to nature. In his way, he also accomplished the American Dream.

It is refreshing to see that immigrants still see opportunity in America and have been able to achieve prosperity here. But we shouldn’t take anything for granted. Empowering individuals to strive for a better future in a culture centered on the ideals of freedom and equality is a constant challenge, one that all American generations must stay focused on preserving.