A Detailed Picture of Recent Asian Immigration to the U.S.

As we mentioned in our previous piece on annual immigration statistics, recent immigration to the U.S. is quite different when compared with eras of the past. Before, in the mid-nineteenth century up through the mid-twentieth century, immigration flowed heavily from Europe. Since the 1960s, with certain key changes to immigration law, this pattern has changed, and now a great percentage of immigrants derive from Latin America, Asia and elsewhere.

In this post, we’re going to take an in-depth look at recent Asian immigration to the U.S. As we will see, in recent years, Asian immigrants have made up an increasingly larger percentage of the immigrant population. In fact, in the last few years, the majority of documented immigrants have arrived from Asia. Let’s look at a few key details.

• In 2016 Asian Immigrants Overtook Mexican Immigrants

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Beginning in 1990, immigrants from southern Asia and eastern Asia began to makeup a substantial portion of the overall immigrant population. Immigrants from Asia were 22% of the overall immigrant population in 1990, compared with 22% from Mexico, and 21% from other Latin American countries. The percentage of Asian immigrants gradually continued to rise thereafter, reaching a high of 28% of the overall immigrant total in 2018. In 2016, the percentage of Asian immigrants first surpassed immigrants from Mexico: 27% derived from Asia, and 26% derived from Mexico. Since 2016, the gap has widened, as Mexican immigrants were 25% of the immigrant population, and Asian immigrants constituted 28% (as mentioned previously).

• The Largest Sender Countries

Asian immigration has clearly jumped a lot, but what about the specific countries from which these Asian immigrants are hailing? Here are the 5 largest “sender” countries which are responsible for sending the most people to the United States: China, India, Vietnam, South Korea and the Philippines. These results shouldn’t give too many surprises. Every year, we hear about how new Asian immigrants are making large strides in the realms of education, business and other areas of society. Chinese and Indian immigrants, for example, constitute a sizable percentage of students at America’s prestigious universities.

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Out of these five countries, China has tended to send the most, India the next most, then the Philippines, then Vietnam and then South Korea. In 2019, for instance, China delivered 62,248 immigrants, India delivered 54,495 immigrants, the Philippines delivered 45,920, Vietnam delivered 39,712, and South Korea delivered 18,479.

As a percentage of America’s total foreign-born population, these countries are also represented in almost the same order. The only difference is that Americans of Indian descent makeup a larger percentage than those of Chinese descent. Here are the total numbers as of 2019: India (2,688,075), China (2,250,230), Philippines (2,045,248), Vietnam (1,383,779), South Korea (1,038,885).

According to many reliable sources, Asian immigration is projected to increase in the future, and so Asian immigrants will constitute an even larger share of the overall immigrant population later on. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, in 2065, Asian immigrants will comprise 38% of the total foreign-born population, compared with 31% from Latin American counties. As a percentage of the entire U.S., in 2065 Americans of Asian descent will comprise a total of 14%.

• Contact New Frontier Immigration Law for More Information

The U.S. continues to be shaped by immigration in profound ways. If you need assistance with any immigration related legal issue, contact New Frontier Immigration Law today by calling 623-552-5025. We have extensive experience assisting recent immigrants, and those looking to change their immigration status.