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Amazingly, nearly thirty years and an entire information and mass communication revolution later, little has changed. Despite the abundance of information available to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection, immigration assimilation seems to prefer a more archaic system, a system deeply rooted in tradition, cultural values and community.
�Most immigrants when they arrive in America have a sponsor, usually a family member or close friend, who will support them as they learn the ways of the American society,� Sargon-Swanson said.
�I had my uncle here and he got me involved in community events and taught me about the government and helped me get my green card. It was the same thing when my mother came here. I looked after her and helped her settle in to the community.�
A member Human Relations Commission and head of the Commission�s Immigration Committee, Sargon-Swanson said that as her uncle did with her, she talks to her mother about local politics and helps her make informed decisions when voting.
Another time-tested practice in the assimilation process is to get involved with a church or a cultural organization. Pastor Michael Scott Porter of the Carter-Westminster United Presbyterian Church says that while his congregation does not have a formal integration plan, he has noticed the community band together to get new immigrants on their feet. Porter said that the Assyrians community in particular is good about looking after their own, so much so that if new immigrants would prefer services conducted entirely in their own language, the community directs that member away from Carter-Westminster and towards another Presbyterian congregation.
Jerry Clarito, also a member of the Human Relations Commission and the main contact for Cyber Nayong Pilipino sa Skokie, a web-site dedicated to the Skokie Filipino community, said that Filipino immigrants have an unspoken, unwritten but widely understood system in place to assist them.
�There�s no structured way of orienting new immigrants. Filipino immigrants usually have an extended family, many of them are Catholics and they go to church. There will be groups and associations and organizations that they join to help assimilate.�
Clarito said that he would like to see the Filipino community institute a structured program to give new immigrants a place to turn for a more formal orientation process.
The closest place for a new immigrant to turn to for a comprehensive database of relevant information is the Skokie Library�s New Americans Website. Created by Katrina Zlotnikov, a reference librarian and Russian immigrant, the site contains links to various recourses, such as information on the latest immigration law, local and national government websites and a list of the various Skokie clubs and religious organizations.
�The library felt the need for something, somewhere to give immigrants what they need to know to get their bearings in a new country,� said Fran Roehm, the Skokienet.com librarian.
According to Tracy Shields-O�Reilly, the Library Public Relations Officer, the library also offers volumes of books and periodicals in an immigrant�s native language. She said that patrons can read the Harry Potter series in Russian, Korean, Chinese and Malayaham, among others.
