Asian Immigrants in the United States

The United States has a long history of immigration from Asia and, although it isoften lost in teh cantankerous debate over immigration, many Asians continue to immigrate and are affected by immigration enforcement (and the failure of comprehensive immigration reform).  

Asian Immigrants in the United States by Jeanne Batalova, Migration Policy Institute, provides a wealth of information.  As of 2009, there were more than 10.6 million Asian immigrants in the United States. Immigration from Asia has increased considerably since the 1965 US Immigration and Nationality Act, which removed national-origin quotas that favored European immigration. In 1960, the Asian born accounted for just 5 percent of the foreign-born population in the United States, but by 2009, their share increased more than five-fold to account for nearly 28 percent of immigrants.

Today, the Asian born are the country’s second-largest immigrant population by world region of birth, behind those from Latin America. The top three countries of origin of Asian immigrants are the Philippines, India, and China, and California, New York, and Texas are home to nearly half of all Asian immigrants in the country.

Among other things, Asian immigrants are more likely than other immigrants overall to become naturalized US citizens. Last year, 251,598 Asian-born immigrants attained citizenship through naturalization. 

KJ