Several weeks ago, I analyzed hispanic immigration into the United States – statistics, effects, history, etc. I found that 25% of all immigrants in the United States come from Mexico. Today, I want to take a closer look at another large group of immigrants in the United States – Asian immigrants. Immigrants from Asian countries accounted for 31% of all United States immigrants in 2018. China and India make up the largest portions of that 31% of immigrants. In fact in 2018, China was the top country in terms of immigrants to the United States with roughly 149,000 people, followed by India at 129,000 and then Mexico at 120,000. The PEW Research Center estimates that by the year 2055, Asians will surpass Hispanic immigrants the largest immigrant group in the U.S., making up nearly 40% of all immigration into the United States.
Historically, there have been two major waves of Asian immigration. First, from around 1850 to the early 1900’s, many Asian immigrants came to Hawaii as a source of cheap agricultural labor, with many working on contracts on plantations and farms in Hawaii. Over 200,000 Japanese workers came to Hawaii during this time period. Other large groups included Koreans encouraged by Christian missionaries to migrate to the U.S., and many Filipinos as well being encouraged by the U.S. presence in the Philippines. In 1848, there were roughly 400 Asian immigrants in the U.S., but just 4 years later in 1852, that number skyrocketed to over 25,000. What caused such a sudden influx of Asian influence in the U.S – The California Gold Rush. This historical race to California for riches is an underlying cause to the first anti-Asian sentiments in the United States. The sudden influx of Asian laborers, mostly Chinese and Japanese, started to join the hunt for gold. However, because the gold was limited, eventually the workers moved on and needed new sources of income, so naturally they needed to find jobs. Native-born Americans then saw the new Asian immigrants not as Americans, but as job thieves and aliens. The competition for jobs led to increasing anti-Asian feelings in America and eventually led to legislation against Asian immigration.
As lynchings, massacres, and formations of anti-Asian organizations increased in the late 1880’s, the United States government created the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act essentially prevented all immigration from China, and all current Chinese immigrants could not be citizens. What followed was a dark period in both American history and Asian history in the United States. Asian immigrants were subject to constant racism, mistreatment, and harsh lives. They worked low income jobs and had to become closer as a people because the hatred from the outside was so intense. This time period began the establishment of Chinatowns in cities, as Asian immigrants felt the need to stick together to protect themselves. Eventually, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and in 1943, the Magnusen Act ended 62 years of Chinese exclusion. For the next 20 years or so, more and more policies were enacted to reverse the damages done by the Chinese Exclusion Act, and eventually the second wave of Asian immigration in the U.S. began.
Today in the U.S., Asian immigrants play a significant role not only in the ethnic diversity of the melting pot of the United States, but also in the economic sector. Asian immigrants own roughly 1.5 million businesses, which have the total sales of over 506 billion dollars. 208 million people are employed by these companies. It is also estimated that the total buying power (spendable money after taxes) of Asian immigrants grew from 274 billion to over 700 billion in the last 13 years. These statistics show us that Asian immigrants are here, and they’re greatly beneficial to the country’s economy. Additionally, in regards to education, statistics show that Asian immigrants have a higher education completion rate than the overall U.S. population. With all of these statistics in favor of Asian immigrants, one would think that they’re treated kindly and respected in America, however that is not always the case. Especially in recent months due to the Coronavirus pandemic stemming from Wuhan, China, Anti-Asian sentiments have made an unpleasant return to American society. Anti-Asian attacks on U.S. soil have rapidly increased in the past few months, as exemplified by the recent tragedy at Atlanta spas. USA Today reports that 17% of Asian Americans have reported sexual harassment, stalking, or other forms of intimidation this year alone, which is up 11% from last year. While Asian hate crimes have dramatically increased, many companies and organizations are rallying behind Asian immigrants and doing what they can to stop the violence. Facebook and several other social media companies are revising their guidelines and making stricter boundaries for what kind of speech is allowed on their private social media apps.
While it is a good start for companies and organizations to prevent hate speech and hopefully prevent more hate crime against Asian immigrants from happening, a change in culture is also essential. In times of tragedy, a scapegoat often takes the brunt of the brutality and the blame. During the Black Plague, the Jewish community was scapegoated and brutalized. Again in Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the Jews were blamed for the economic crash and they were persecuted. In the present time, Asian Americans or Asian immigrants are being brutalized by Americans because some feel the need to lash out and hold someone responsible for the current pandemic. More people need to realize that Asians didn’t cause the worldwide pandemic, and there’s nothing anyone can do to reverse it now. Similarly, there’s a lot of anti-Asian sentiment because of the way the pandemic is being dealt with in other nations. Many people have seen that China’s strict regulations and handling of the pandemic has led them to a faster recovery and return to normalcy, which many Americans feel jealous of and loathe. All of these factors have led to an uptick in anti-Asian acts and discrimination, and it must be put to an end for the greater good of the country, and for the good of the immigrants that this country reaps the benefits of.
Works Cited:
Budiman, Abby. “Key Findings about U.S. Immigrants.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 22 Sept. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20foreign%2Dborn%20population,record%2044.8%20million%20in%202018.&text=Immigrants%20today%20account%20for%2013.7,immigrants%20lived%20in%20the%20U.S.
Center for Global Education. “Asian Americans Then and Now.” Asia Society, asiasociety.org/education/asian-americans-then-and-now.
Guynn, Jessica, and Aleszu Bajak. “Asian Americans Report Biggest Increase in Serious Incidents of Online Hate and Harassment during COVID Pandemic.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24 Mar. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/03/24/asian-american-hate-crimes-covid-harassment-atlanta-google-facebook-youtube/6973659002/.
Malik, Sanam. “Asian Immigrants in the United States Today.” Center for American Progress, 5 Feb. 2016, www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2015/05/21/113690/asian-immigrants-in-the-unites-states-today/.
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This is a really well written piece. enjoyed reading and you bring ntoice to a lot of good points. Anit-asian remarks and crimes have definetly seen a rise and is very dissapointing.