Asian American Immigrants

Ethnic Immigration: Asian Americans

Written by: Kate Slee

The term Asian American is used to describe Americans that are of Asian decent. The term generally refers to people who have ancestors from East Asia. This usually includes Chinese, Korean and Japanese Americans. Yet the term overall refers to any minority group whose national origin is from Asia. Asian American only make up around 5 percent of the United States population. However they are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in terms of percentage increase in the United States. The Asian American community has been through many hardships over the years but in a number of ways the Asian American population still remains misunderstood. They have recently proved to be a major influence when it comes to culture, communities and the work force.

Overall Asian Americans have the second lowest poverty rate only after Caucasian Americans. They also have the highest educational attainment levels, median household income in addition to median personal income of any racial or ethnic demographic in the nation. Asian Americans make up the third largest minority group in the United States. As of 2000, 11.9 million people reported themselves as Asian American. Surprisingly, Honolulu does not have the largest population of Asians. According to demographics, the greater Los Angeles area has around 16,400,000 Asian Americans while New York has the largest community of Asian American at 22,000,000 million people. In addition, Baltimore, Washington, Seattle and Alaska have a fairly large population of Asian Americans.

More than three-fourths of the Asian American population has immigrated into the United States over the last two decades. This shows a proportionally higher immigration trend for Asians of the last twenty years. About 71 percent of Asian men and 57 percent of Asian women aged 16 and over are active in the labor force. Around 45 percent of Asians were employed in management, professional and related occupations, compared with 34 percent of the total population. In addition around 44 percent of all Asians have a Bachelors Degree or higher compared to 24 percent of the total United States population and the annual median income of Asian families is around $59,324. Among top Asian groups, Asian Indians and the Japanese had annual median incomes of about $71,000 each, around $10,000 more than all other Asian groups.

Information from:

http://www.asian-nation.org/

http://www.asianamericanalliance.com/

http://www.ameredia.com/resources/demographics/asian_american.html

Human Resource Departments: Organizations and their Mission Statements

AACRE – Asian Americans for Civil Right & Equality

http://aacre.org/

Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) is a progressive voice advocating for justice in California. As the first and only project based in California’s capital with a focus on state legislative and budget advocacy for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, AACRE fights for critical legislation and funding on behalf of our diverse communities, and empowers APIAs to be an active and effective force in advancing civil rights and social justice.

Asian-Nation: Asian American History, Demographics & Issues

http://www.asian-nation.org/

An authoritative, one-stop information resource and sociological exploration of the historical, demographic, political, and cultural issues that make up today's diverse Asian American community.

AAJC - Asian American Justice Center

http://www.advancingequality.org/

The Asian American Justice Center is one of the nation's leading experts on issues of importance to the Asian American community including: affirmative action, anti-Asian violence prevention/race relations, census, immigrant rights, immigration, language access, television diversity and voting rights. Our expertise is widely acknowledged: in the media, by the public and lawmakers at the very highest tiers of government.

AALDEF – Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

http://aaldef.org/

Founded in 1974, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all. AALDEF focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans, including immigrant rights, civic participation and voting rights, economic justice for workers, language access to services, Census policy, affirmative action, youth rights and educational equity, and the elimination of anti-Asian violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking.

Asian American Giving

http://www.asianamericangiving.com/

Asian American Giving serves as the link between Asian American donors, leaders, and the non-profit community. We promote stories of individuals engaged in philanthropy, draw attention to the issues in our community, and highlight trends and patterns in charitable giving. We aspire to be the ultimate source for Asian American philanthropy.