Degree Name

Department

Sociology

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Defense Date

2025-11-25

Publication Date

2025-12-15

First Faculty Advisor

Jane Lilly Lopez

First Faculty Reader

Melissa Alcaraz

Honors Coordinator

Michael R. Cope

Keywords

immigration, language, language barrier, integration, belonging

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the effect of English-language fluency on immigrant experiences and access to integration or inclusion, using Utah as a case study. I seek to answer the following research questions: does language or region of origin matter in integrating into a new country and learning a new language? Is this effect still relevant in a context like Utah where it is easier to find native-born residents who speak one’s first language? And how does English language ability and the language barrier impact the lives of Asian and Latina immigrants living in Utah? I draw upon 34 in-depth interviews to understand immigrant experiences with English, the role it plays in migration experience, and how it influences immigrant ability to find belonging in the United States. I find that English language ability helps with integration and belonging, but only if immigrants speak it at a certain level of fluency and at certain points in their migration. I also find how “immigrant with poor English” becomes a racialized status many immigrants find put upon them, and that the language barrier often serves as the biggest barrier to both structural and social belonging in a new country. Despite Utah’s unique religious context, relatively welcoming attitude towards immigrants, and many institutional and social programs geared towards belonging, more can and should be done to address the problems raised by the language barrier and ensure the state really is a place anyone can belong.