16 September 2016

On Trip to US, London Mayor Says Immigrants Shouldn't Have to Assimilate

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, while on a trip to the northern U.S. city of Chicago Thursday, argued that new immigrants in America should not have to assimilate into American culture, but the government should instead do more to help them build “cohesive communities.”

"One of the lessons from around the world is that a laissez faire or hands-off approach to social integration doesn't work. We need rules, institutions and support to enable people to integrate into cohesive communities and for the avoidance of doubt, I don't mean assimilation, I mean integration, and there's a difference,” Khan said. “People shouldn't have to drop their cultures and traditions when they arrive in our cities and countries."

Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, did not mention Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump by name, but went on to criticize positions Trump has taken regarding Muslim immigrants. [Voice of America] Read more