Want Americans to identify as Americans? Being white helps

The US will function more effectively if its inhabitants define themselves as one people, as Americans.

The General Social Survey asked 1,450 participants: "When you think of social and political issues, do you think of yourself mainly as a member of a particular ethnic, racial, or nationality group or do you think of yourself mainly as just an American?"

Here are the percentages by race of immigrants who responded, "Just an American."

Percent of immigrants who say they are just Americans

Whites  76.8

Blacks  36.4

Other Non-Whites  57.1

Even when all people compared are born in other countries, whites are more than twice as likely as blacks to say their identity is American. While not as severe as blacks, a majority of other non-whites also do not feel they are simply American. 

What happens when people are born here?

Percent of people born in US who say they are just Americans

Whites  96.0

Blacks  68.3

Other non-whites  74.2

Being born here makes almost all whites define themselves as Americans, and while native-born non-whites feel more American than non-white immigrants, there is still a large segment that has ethnic loyalties. 

It looks like the "melting pot" idea works best for whites. White immigrants moved here and sooner or later melted into Americans. This doesn't seem to be working so well for non-whites. Many black families have been here for centuries, and Natives have been her for millennia, but the melt for them is still far from complete. 

A similar dynamic seems to be happening to recent non-white immigrants. Some melting happens, but not like it has been for whites. 

Is this difference due to the fact that immigrants were expected to assimilate when most whites emigrated? And now that most immigrants are non-white, US elites encourage people to hold on to their ethnic identity? Maybe, but recent white immigrants don't seem follow the liberal desire for them to hold on to their roots.

Maybe non-whites are simply more clannish than whites. 

Liberals would say it's due to discrimination, but 95% of Americans of Irish descent identify as American only, and they weren't received with a big wet kiss. America has gotten more and more welcoming, yet it's the New Immigrants who are more reluctant to let the ethnic loyalties go.       

Whatever the case, Americans are on a course to be less and less on the same page about where to take the country. And that's putting it nicely.