(FORTUNE Magazine) – The rhetoric of some Hispanic leaders might make you think that the government must treat low-income Latinos as though they are somehow different from earlier waves of immigrants, that without such federal programs as bilingual education this group will remain stuck on the bottom rung of the economic ladder. But such special treatment is not warranted, and may in fact be counterproductive. Statistics that purport to show a lack of progress by immigrant and U.S.-born Hispanics obscure as much as they reveal about this segment of our society. The main problem: The numbers fail to take into account the huge influx of people from Latin America. With Latin arrivals making up over 30% of the total legal immigration, roughly a third of the Hispanic community is foreign-born. As with other immigrant groups, these newcomers are almost always on average less educated and less qualified for higher-paying jobs than native-born Americans. The Mexican immigrants have had on average six years of schooling; Cuban immigrants, nine years. These individuals come to the U.S. not only with an education deficit, but with a language barrier. ) The numerous recent arrivals pull down the overall averages for Hispanic earnings and education levels. Median family income for this group -- $22,900 -- is about two-thirds that of the general population. The latest U.S. Census data show that median education for Mexican-Americans in 1987 was 10.8 years, vs. 12.7 years for the total population. But a much brighter economic picture appears when foreign- and U.S.-born Hispanics are considered separately. Rand Corp.'s study of Mexican immigrants in California found that Latinos born in this country had high school completion rates as good as non-Latinos -- about 80%. Other studies find no income gap at all between male Hispanics who are fluent in English and male whites. Programs clearly are needed to help Spanish-speaking children learn English. But as long as each successive group of immigrants continues to show economic and educational advancement, why do Hispanics need government programs beyond that? The federal bilingual program, which began in 1968 and currently operates in about 30 states, encourages local school districts to teach Spanish-speaking children in their language. While bilingual education may produce such short-term benefits as a boost in self-esteem, it may also mean less-than-adequate teaching of English. The program may also encourage another disturbing trend: A recent study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that Hispanic children are more likely to be in separate schools or classrooms than they were 20 years ago. In the long run, such programs may do Hispanics more harm than good. The initiative and drive that lead an individual to seek opportunity in another country are the qualities that promise mobility in the new society. Hispanic leaders should recognize this and not drive the U.S. into misguided programs. Some activists suggest that Latinos will reject the path taken by other immigrant groups. ''We cannot assimilate, and we won't,'' Arnoldo Torres, former executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, told Hispanic students at Stanford University earlier this year. (He spoke in English.) He's wrong. Hispanics may choose not to assimilate, but not because they cannot.