"You are showing the rest of the country that immigrants want to become American," he said. "Becoming American doesn't mean giving up your culture. Being American is three things: learning English, learning our system of government and learning our history."
Besides the government's involvement, community groups and businesses are doing their part to encourage assimilation by offering classes and teaching new immigrants everyday skills.
During Thanksgiving, the Los Angeles restaurant Guelaguetza taught Mexican immigrants how to prepare turkeys. But they added their own Oaxacan twist: mole sauce. The restaurant also donated 30 turkeys to poor families.
"We were talking about assimilation, and one of the biggest American values is giving and donating," said Martha Ugarte, who handles special events for the restaurant.
In North Hills, Aztlan cyber-cafe owner Edith Jose offers free weekend classes to immigrants who want to learn how to surf the Web, send e-mails and job-search online. Jose said computer skills are critical for immigrants to get ahead, in part because many applications are posted only online.
"The Latino community is motivated to learn," said Luz Ruiz, who recently attended a session at the cafe. "We don't want to be at the bottom. We want to get ahead."
Ruiz, an immigrant from Mexico, said she also wanted to take classes so she could save money by paying bills online and better monitor her children's Internet use.
--
anna.gorman@latimes.com
