Immigration Supplemental Information
Sub Topic One: Asian America: Common Differences
Many groups constitute Asian America. Who are these groups? How are they different from each other? How does the history of their immigration shape these differences?
Japanese Immigrants
In 1853, Japan’s economy became dependent on the west and their citizens struggled to survive. For the U.S., they came to Hawaii as cheaper replacements for Chinese workers, but “they” came to find opportunities. During this time, like “China Towns”, “Little Tokyo’s” first appeared in Hawaii, San Francisco and Los Angeles. These enclaves served and still do as ethnic communities and as “well-developed economic structures that operate mainly through ethnic dynamics” ( The Japanese primarily worked in agriculture. They were subjected to discrimination, and were denied rights to own land and become citizens. They fought for their rights, but were constantly denied equality (
In 1941, the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor. Suspicion arose that the Japanese Americans were being recruited as spies. This led to Executive Order 9066. Under this order, 112,000 Japanese Americans had their rights revoked and were thrown into concentration camps (2/3 were U.S. citizens). The Japanese tradition of self-reliance was destroyed because these Japanese were forced to rely on the government for basic needs. After WWII, coincidently, the Japanese were seen under a positive light and given the right to become U.S. citizens. Twenty years after the war, the entire Asian population tried to rebuild their lives and assimilate. The economic boom was big enough to give them the opportunities to do so, without them being a threat to the white Americans. In 1987, through the Redress Movement, an official apology and compensation was given to those Japanese Americans that experienced Executive Order 9066. This Compensation allowed many to fell newly “resurgent” sense of being Japanese American. A “resurgent ethnic identity” means that a traditional/ancestral identity re-emerges through historical events ( Many Japanese discarded their identities after WWII to avoid shame or embarrassment with being imprisoned (
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Japanese were the 6th largest Asian group in the U.S (
Japanese Americans (extra material)
They were drawn to undeveloped land & abundant farming opportunities in California
Fought for equality: court cases, demonstrations and strikes, boycotts, essays, etc.
Japanese discarded identity after WWII to avoid association, shame or embarrassment with being imprisoned.
-Redress Movement allowed them to feel resurgent sense of being Japanese American, although not all compensation was given because some of the Japanese that endured the imprisonment were no longer alive by the time the movement took place.
1. Steinberg Article; PG. 74, starting with “not all Asian immigrants…”
Many Asian immigrants are unskilled and uneducated, and as a result have difficulty in finding jobs in the racially segregated labor market. When they aren’t employed in the ethnic enclaves (such as Chinatown), they are forced to accept jobs that are degrading and exploiting, such as sweatshops and restaurants. Overall, Asian success has a lot to do with inheriting class advantage and disadvantage. It doesn’t always have to do with genes or culture, as the myth stands.
(SOURCES: The Demystification of Ethnicity by Stephen Steinberg)
2. Vietnamese Immigration:
The first wave of Vietnamese refugees came after the fall of Saigon in the spring of 1975. The reason for leaving had to do with political instability, corruption from the Communist party, natural disasters, etc. In general, people became desperate to escape the regime. The plan was to evacuate approximately 17,600 Vietnamese citizens by U.S. military cargo ships or to airlift them. “Operation New Life” was a plan to relocate Vietnamese to places such as Guam, the Philippines, Thailand, Wake Island and Hawaii. These places were of United States governmental bases. Afterward, they were split up to four different refugee centers throughout the United States: CampPendleton in California, FortChaffee in Arkansas, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. With the arrival of all the Vietnamese immigrants, the Ford Administration was accommodating and approved the Indochina Migration and Refugee Act of 1975 which was a program that matched Vietnamese with Volags’, voluntary agencies whose job it was to coordinate the refugee’s eventual resettlement with local sponsors into communities throughout the United States. With the help of the Volags’, Vietnamese were somewhat able to find employment, schools, etc.
The second wave of Vietnamese immigration was a result of the new Communist government’s control and ideas on economics, politics and agriculture. Deemed “The Boat People,” in 1977, many Vietnamese escaped onboard overcrowded, under-equipped construction boats. Emigrating to the U.S. was more difficult, as Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980 that allowed only 50,000 immigrants per year, so many flew to Thailand, Malaysia, etc.
Upon arrival into America, many of the Vietnamese were encouraged to assimilate into ‘mainstream’ American society as soon as possible. Many Vietnamese were unwelcome, and a 1975 poll showed that 36% of Americans were in favor of their immigration. The Vietnamese people like many other ethnic immigrants wanted to create their own communities (ethnic enclaves) where they could join family and friends in metropolitan areas. As of today, forty percent of Vietnamese Americans have established residency in Orange County, California. They also reside in San Jose, Houston and WashingtonDC. Within the home, Vietnamese is the most dominant language spoken, which makes it the seventh most spoken language in the United States. One of the top priorities of Vietnamese Americans is family reunification, as Vietnamese Americans are the fifth largest Asian immigrant group behind Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian and Korean. Overall, the Vietnamese Americans have been able to keep their traditions alive and religious values intact.
(SOURCES:
Korean Americans
If one thing can be agreed upon during our research for this project, is that all Asians were treated unfairly when immigrating to the United States. Japanese, Chinese and Korean’s were used like slaves to produce resources in the early 1900’s. “Asian Americans were systematically stripped of their political, economic, cultural, and citizenship rights”. The majority of immigrants to first arrive in America were male laborers who left their families behind to make some money and accomplish the “American Dream”.
The first wave of Koreans that immigrated to the Untied States was on January 13, 1903 upon the S.S Gaelic boat carrying 56 men, 21 women, and 25 children to Honolulu, Hawaii. In Honolulu, the first significant group of Korean Americans would now work for low wages at sugar plantations. During the early 1900’s sugar was a much needed resource and Hawaii would produce a large quantity of it. Over the next few years to follow, more then 7,000 Koreans would make the trip to Hawaii from Korea.
In 1905 Japan would invade Korea and gives up Korea’s rights for diplomacy with other countries. Japan would govern the small country and restrict mostly everyone coming in and out of Korea. In 1908 the administration of then president Roosevelt, entered an agreement with Japan called the Gentlemen’s agreement. The agreement was on allowing a certain amount of women from Japan and Korea, to be shipped over to the United States. Japan made Korea it’s colony in 1910 and shortly allowed Korean men in America to have picture wives.
Picture-Bride process was the term used during the time of the first wave for the Korean workers in America. Pictures would be sent back and forward, to set up a marriage between laborers in America and Korea, with permission from Japan. About 1,000 Korean women would immigrate to America through this process.
In 1925 an anti-Asian exclusion act was passed, to prohibit any immigration to America by Asia for the next 25 years, therefore ending the first wave. During the time of this act in action, immigration from Korea was very minimal. In the meanwhile, most of the picture wives were educated and survived during the time of labor. Korean’s managed to endure during the struggling times of immigration and became a stepping stone for the next generations of the Korean community.
According to the 2000 censuses, about 30 percent of Korean American are natural citizens and are increasing every year. In large cities such as Seattle and Tacoma, Koreans are heavily populated and running numerous amounts of different businesses. Strong values and maintaining family bonds is what keeps the Korean Americans up and running in this country. Sooner or later, the minorities of today’s society will be the majority.
Resources-
Chinese Immigration
Immigration to the United States from China began primarily in the middle of the
19th Century. As more of the American West was becoming settled, several waves
of Chinese immigrants arrived in the country eager to pursue the opportunities
awaiting them. For the most part, these immigrants consisted of young male
peasants who came in search of economic success.
Some of the reasons why the Chinese emigrate to the U.S. and Canadawere escaping
from chronic poverty in China, economic hardship, to pursue higher education and
more desirable lifestyle. All hopes were to bring successful wealth earned in
the US to their native land.
The first recorded Chinese immigrant to what would become the United States was
a man named Ah Nam who arrived in Monterey, California as a cook in 1815
(Stephan Thernstrom, ed., Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, 1980,
p. 218).
Timeline # of Immigrants
1971-1980 = 138,068
1981-1990 = 354,675
1991-2000 = 426,722
2001-2004 = 212,724
Jobs Held
Of all the reasons why the Chinese migrate, it was particularly the start of the
California Gold Rush in 1848, that lured the Chinese to enter California (which
they called "Gam Saan" or "Golden Mountain") in significant numbers. In 1852,
at the height of the Gold Rush, 67,000 people came to California, of which
20,000 reportedly were from China. While some toiled as panhandlers looking for
the elusive "GoldMountain" of California, most had moved to fill the void of
low-paid labor created by America's rapidly expanding industries. Approximately
30,000 Chinese worked outside of California in companies such as wool mills, as
well as shoe, and garment manufacturers. Others moved to support the growing
need for labor in areas such as mining, land development, and irrigation.
In particular, the advanced agricultural knowledge possessed by many of these
first immigrants from China was greatly appreciated on the developing farms of
the West. Chinese farming techniques along with thousands of migrant
agricultural laborers combined to allow the new western states to become more
self-sufficient in their food production. Until this point, the American West
had been largely dependent upon suppliers in the east.
Another famous occupation that the Chinese immigration held was working for the
Central Pacific Railroad. There were approximately 15,000 Chinese were hired by
Central Pacific Railroad as it stretched into the western frontier. The average
railroad payroll for the Chinese was $35 per month. The cost of food was
approximately $15 to $18 per month, plus the railroad provided shelter for
workers. Therefore, a fugal man could net about $20 every month. These workers
created a vast network of track that opened up untapped resources not only in
California but the Northwest as well. The path of the railroad also spurred
development of the surrounding territory that many immigrants cultivated into
profitable farmland.
Acceptance Perspective by the US
With all the efforts that the Chinese immigration contributed to the US, only
the first Chinese immigrants were well and widely received by the Americans.
The first Chinese immigrants were perceived as wealthy, successful merchants,
along with skilled artisans, fishermen, and hotel and restaurant owners. Within
first few years of migrating, they were greatly receipted by the public,
government officials, and especially by employers, for they were renowned for
their hard work and dependability.
Consequently, after a much larger group of coolies, unskilled laborers usually
working for very little pay, migrated to the U.S. in the mid 1800's, American
attitudes became negative and hostile. Fear, ignorance, and post-Civil War
depression combined to create an isolationist atmosphere and a suddenly hostile
home. By the year 1851, there were 25,000 Chinese working in California, mostly
centered in and out of the "Gold Rush" area and around San Francisco. During
that time, more than half the Chinese in the U.S. lived in that region. These
Chinese clustered into groups, working hard and living frugally.
As the populations of these groups increased, they formed large cities of ethnic
enclaves called "Chinatowns" all over the country. The first and most important
of the Chinatowns, without a doubt, belonged to San Francisco. One of the most
remarkable qualities of San Francisco's Chinatown is its geographic stability.
It has endured half a century of earthquakes, fires, and urban renewal, yet has
remained in the same neighborhood with the same rich culture.
These became targets for anti-immigrant protests and riots that often resulted
in violence. Chinese immigrants may have been targeted due to the increasing
belief that immigrants were occupying too many jobs within the city. Because
Chinese Americans were living together in such close-knit communities within
these cities, they drew the brunt of the anti-immigration sentiment. Pressure
upon these immigrants became so fierce that some chose to leave the country
altogether--their American dream had been shattered.
Regulations
Due to the discrimination and the negligent working treatments among the Chinese
immigrants, laws such the Naturalization Act of 1870 and the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1882 restricted immigration of Chinese immigrants into the U.S.The
Naturalization Act of 1870 restricted all immigration into the U.S. to only
"white persons and persons of African descent," meaning that all Chinese were
placed in a different category, a category that placed them as ineligible for
citizenship from that time till 1943. Also, this law was the first significant
bar on free immigration in American history, making the Chinese the only
culture to be prohibited to freely migrate to the United States for a time.
Even before the act of 1870, Congress had passed a law forbidding American
vessels to transport Chinese immigrants to the U.S. The reason behind the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was to prevent an excess of cheap labor. However,
the act froze the population of the Chinese community leaving its already
unproportional sex ratio highly imbalanced. The only exceptions for Chinese
immigration were teachers, diplomats, students, merchants, and tourists. It was
the first exclusion of a national group. The 1882 act was the first of four
"Chinese Exclusion Laws" which suspended the inflow of Chinese laborers,
including their wives, who were also considered as labor, for ten years from
1882 through 1892.
To enforce the law, the Angel Island Inspection Station was built in San
Francisco in 1910. All Chinese entering the country went through an
interrogation session and were then either allowed to enter the country,
detained in prison-like barracks, or deported. For 30 years AngelIsland
processed close to 175,000 Chinese who came to America only to find that the
door had been closed on their people.
Finally, in 1943 the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, allowing immigrants
already in the US to bring over family members from China. It was in 1952, that
the passage of the Walter-McCarren Act allowing first-generation Americans to
apply for citizenship. Throughout the 60's, Chinese Americans made particular
gains into professional arenas: medicine, corporations, and politics. The 1964
Immigration and Nationality Act removed the last barriers to Chinese
immigration initiating a new era in the history of America's melting pot.
Sub Topic Two: Asian Americans andthe Model Minority
What is the Model Minority myth? What are its impacts?
The model minority myth, -all other minority groups should follow the lead and example of the one supreme minority group.” Model minority” definition: a bright shining example of hard work and patience whose example other minority groups should follow. (asian-nation.org)
This myth is based primarily on statistic, such as income per household. According to the article “Success story of one minority group” compared statistically to other minority groups Asian Americans are more prosperous and have a higher income per household than any other minority group. However what is not factored is the number of people in the household whom all contribute to household income. One commonness with many immigrants is that when they choose to relocate to another country, typically they may move all or a large portion of those in their immediate or extended families concurrently. Although it should be noted that this is not true for all; In contrast, many immigrants migrate alone or in small numbers to make money to send back to their families in the home countries.