The Second Wave: The Recent Asian Immigration

The Immigration Act of 1965 Abolished the national-origins quotas and provided for the annual admission of 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere. 20,000 immigrants per country from the Eastern Hemisphere Exempted from the quota would be immediate family members

Ramifications of the new law Represented a sharp ideological departure from the traditional view of America as a homogeneous white society Basis for the law in the Civil Rights Movement

Shift from Necessity to Extravagance Immigrants not pushed from their homelands in Asia by “necessity” but rather pulled to America by “extravagance”

How did the second wave newcomers differ from the earlier immigrants? Professionals and people from the urban centers Fewer Japanese due to Japan’s post WWII economic expansion and its greater demand for labor. – Most Japanese Americans were native born – Did not reinvigorate ethnic neighborhoods – Kids don’t know Japanese

Chinese Immigrants Refuge from political conflict and instability (ie. China’s Cultural Revolution and Mao, Vietnam War) Economic Opportunities and School Originated from urban areas included Mandarin as well as Cantonese speakers Created a bi-polar Chinese-American community: colonized working class & entrepreneurial, professional middle class CHAIN MIGRATION

Chinatown-San Francisco

Chinatown-Manhattan

Special Difficulties Women employed largely in garment industry, men in restaurants- DUAL FORMS OF OPPRESSION Children of Second Wave feel the confinement surrounding their parents and their own lives. Impoverished Chinatowns with mostly bachelors Upward mobility based on enterprise

Special Difficulties Occupational Downgrading Former doctors, teachers, accountants, and engineers take jobs as janitors and waitresses. Language barriers or fear

Filipino Immigrants Originated from cities rather than rural areas Mostly professionals: engineers, scientist, accountants, teachers, lawyers, nurses and doctors Motivated to immigrate by the repressive regime of President Ferdinand Marcos Occupational Downgrading

Korean Immigrants Recent Korean immigrants were college-educated middle class Many medical professionals – but many doctors often found themselves confined to inner-city hospitals and shunned by white doctors. Greengrocers: Kae – Credit rotating system brought from Korea to help finance grocery stores

Korean Greengrocer at night in NYC

A Decline in Greengrocers Rising rents and competition from larger grocery chains Prosperity of South Korea translates into a decline of Korean immigrants at the turn of the 21 st century South Koreans move out of the industry either into upscale business like organic grocery stores or become professionals

Asian Indian Immigrants After 1965, increase in immigration. Arrivals from Pakistan - a new country carved from India including parts of the Punjab. But these newcomers were educated professionals from cities.

Asian Indians Asian Indians went from 10,000 in 1965 to 525,000 in Equal amounts of males and females. English speaking educated middle class. Surplus of engineers and physicians. Many had doctorates and other graduate degrees. Found jobs outside of their areas of expertise.

Refugees from Southeast Asia: Vietnamese, Laotians, Hmong, and Mien Many Vietnamese refugees came to the US after the Vietnam War. Americans generally do not know who they are or why they are here Unskilled except in farming

Issues faced by Second Wave Asian Americans The Myth of the Model Minority Racial Intolerance and Violence Interethnic Conflict Assimilation vs Acculturation(ie. Banana or Twinkie) Gaining political voice in mainstream society