Haitian immigrants have received more attention in recent weeks after the U.S. government trapped them in terrible conditions at a camp along the U.S.-Mexico border and is now using extraordinary legal methods to expel more than 500 per day. But there is no reason to oppose Haitian immigration. Despite extreme challenges, Haitians integrate well into the U.S. economy and society. Across numerous economic and social measures, Haitians and their U.S. descendants contribute to and prosper in their new country.

First Generation Haitian Immigrants Assimilate

Haitians mostly speak Haitian creole—a mix of French and West African languages. Rates of English among Haitians are quite low, and this is reflected in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data: more than two thirds of Haitians above the age of 25 do not speak English well upon moving to the United States (Figure 1). However, this rate falls quite dramatically as Haitians remain in the United States over a long period of time, to only ~17 percent after 10 or more years of residence.

Labor market integration is among the most important indicators of assimilation. Although most Haitians arrive without jobs, a majority of adults find work within 1 year. After three years of residency in the United States, Haitians actually had a higher rate of employment than the population on average, peaking at nearly 80 percent, or almost 20 percentage points higher than the national average.*

Haitian immigrants’ initial economic status reflects the fact that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Nonetheless, the share of Haitians living below the poverty line falls slightly below the national average after 15 or more years of residency. When given the chance and proper legal institutions, Haitians are able to turn around their economic fortunes.

Descendants of Haitian Immigrants Assimilate

Economic and social assimilation of Haitians continues into subsequent generations. Nearly 100 percent of those born in the United States with Haitian ancestry speak English well or very well with only 1 percent speaking English “not well” or not at all. Unfortunately, the American Community Survey doesn’t make it easy to identify people as the children of Haitians once they reach adulthood. However, they do ask about a person’s ancestry, and since most Americans with Haitian ancestry are the children of immigrants, this category allows us to understand the trends on the intergenerational assimilation.

One motivation for immigration is ensuring that one’s children are able to have better opportunities than in the country of origin. Haitian immigrants are less educated than those born in the United States and other immigrant groups. Notably, they are three times more likely to have not completed high school. Nonetheless, their descendants actually outperform the U.S. population as a whole. Not only do nearly all adults with Haitian ancestry graduate high school—more than half hold a college degree, compared to 42 percent of those born in the United States not of Haitian descent.

Those of Haitian descent also perform well in the job market – more than 80 percent of persons born in the United States with Haitian ancestry report being employed. Again, this group outperforms the rest: beating other U.S. born persons by 21 percentage points, non-Haitian immigrants by 16 percentage points, and their own parents and grandparents by 13 percentage points. This is consistent with the National Academy of Science’s 2016 report’s finding that the 2^nd generation is the most fiscally positive of any generation.

Poverty rates also reflect the trend of improved outcomes among the descendants of Haitian immigrants. While Haitian and other immigrants tend to have slightly higher poverty rates than the U.S. population in general, especially as children and young adults, that difference disappears for people born in the United States with Haitian ancestry.

Further measures of assimilation rates may be difficult to quantify using the American Community Survey. However, descendants of Haitians are about twice as likely to be active-duty members of the armed forces. If we are to take military service as a signal for patriotism, this reflects other measures of assimilation into American society more broadly and strong support for American cultural values.

Haitian Asylum Seekers and the U.S. Immigration System

Haiti is an incredibly poor country. With a GDP per capita of $1,149.50, according to the World Bank as of 2020, Haitians often seek to escape the economic hardship and political instability by emigrating. Nearly 82 percent of Haitians who have ever escaped poverty have done so by coming to the United States. But the government could do much more to facilitate faster and fuller assimilation of Haitians in the United States. Because so many Haitians come and reside illegally, they face much greater challenges to integrate into the labor market and society. They often cannot receive authorization to work, are more socially isolated for fear of discovery, and have no opportunity to naturalize and become a U.S. citizen.

Congress should address these problems by providing a pathway to citizenship for the illegal immigrants in the United States. It should also allow them to immigrate to the United States legally. The Biden administration already partially addressed the lack of work authorization and legal status by granting temporary protected status to Haitians who entered prior to August 2021, but that status could be revoked in the future and offers no path to citizenship. Moreover, Congress and the administration must increase avenues for legal immigration from Haiti. President Biden has administrative options to grant more Haitians temporary status and refugee status, but Congress should also remove the caps on the unbelievably backlogged employer and family-sponsored systems. Doing so would aid assimilation and reduce illegal immigration.

Cato Institute research intern Jacob Creskoff contributed to this analysis.

*Updated from 20 percent, 10/5/21.