Will Hispanics follow the same route? I think this depends largely on what we do. For many Hispanics, yes, I think they do, and will, but others do not.
"Silent" Cal was a man of few words but his words were fitly spoken, especially on this matter.
I have little hope that the tide of Mexicans that have flooded our country will embrace American values and culture. Yes, there were those in the late 1800's and early part of the last century who thought the southern and eastern Europeans would never assimilate.
I think the Hispanics (and I'll focus on the Mexicans) present a totally different situation. Here's why:
1). Proximity to their homeland. The Europeans immigrants that you mention had to "sink or swim" here and adapt to American ways.
2). The sheer numbers of Mexicans is unlike anything seen before for one group. Yes, immigrants came in waves some hundred years ago but they came from an assortment of countries. The rallying cry is no longer "We shall overcome" but "We shall overwhelm".
3). The rise of political correctness and the diversity agenda have made it nearly impossible to articulate a "Shape up or ship out" policy. The culture of tolerance has not worked in America's best interest in this regard.
4). The mass media (Univison, Telemundo, Azteca, Estrella) allow Mexicans (and other Hispanics) to continue to have the language of their homeland delivered to them 24 hours a day. It's a disincentive to speak English, which I consider an important component of assimilation.
Maybe I present a too-bleak picture and I welcome fellow FReepers to give me some reason for optimism on this matter.
I intimately knew a family of illegals that lived here in Georgia.
They had zero desire to assimilate.
The parents didn’t bother to learn English because they moved and lived within a community of other illegals from Mexico. They had ways and means to work the system, without ever having to learn a word of English.
They marveled that the Americans even provided “Dora the Explorer” on television. They thought it was cute that the Americans would encourage their American children to watch the program that used cartoons and Spanish for entertainment. It helped their daughter learn more words, so that she could help them at the grocery store or when they went to the doctor.
They saw their four year old daughter as a soon-to-be English dictionary. They would enroll her in school, she’d become bilingual, and help them to communicate with the gringos. They never tried to read American publications and only watched Spanish-based programming on cable television. They had no desire to become Americanized in any way.
They spent a lot of time “hiding” in plain sight. They knew the rules about how to behave and how not to draw attention to themselves. They knew that doctors would see them, and that they could get food and clothing from within their network, or a private charity, if necessary. They never contacted the police if they knew of a crime, because they were fearful of being watched. They contributed to the decline of their neighborhood.
They never showed an interest in becoming like Americans. All they did was earn their low-paying checks and send half of the money home to Mexico. They even went home to Mexico to visit family, and then came back to their American rental home without ever drawing any suspicious attention.
Why worry, when you can make money, send it home, and go home to visit for a family vacation?
They thought Americans were stupid. And they’re right. We’re so tolerant and forgiving that we never say a word about the illegals living among us. We roll out the welcome mat for them.
Also back then, they had to pay their own way or die. There were no large scale freebies such as now.