Short
11-30-09
Interracial 1
Michael Dynamics
Sociological Analysis
Asian Immigration: The Transformation of Racialization
Throughout the history of immigration in the United States all immigrant
groups have had their effect on the reality of race and the racial order in the U.S.;
Asian immigrants are no different. There are many factors affecting the American
perspective towards the more recent Asian immigrants. However, these factors have
primarily gone to helping these immigrants climb the racial ladder, and Asian
immigrants have ultimately become one of the highest minorities in the racial order.
In the United States Asian immigrants have gone through two separate periods of
racialization. The first period occurred prior to the 1960s, primarily in the mid
1800s. The second era of racialization towards Asian immigrants came post 1960s. I
argue that Asian immigrants since the 1960s are among the top echelons of
minorities in the racial order. They are almost fully accepted in the United States due
to an increased number of skilled laborers and through United States political
involvement in the years before and after the 1960s.
For the most part, access to education increased in Asian countries
especially Southeast Asiathroughout the 20th century. After a large increase in
education the number of skilled laborers in these countries grew. The substantial
growth in skilled laborers then led to mass frustration with the countries lack of
economic opportunity and government restriction in business. The frustration was
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followed by mass immigration to the United States. Currently going through a severe
shortage of white-collar laborers, the United States provided the economic
opportunities these educated immigrants were looking for. This mass immigration of
educated Asians directly into skilled labor positions undoubtedly helped them move
up in the racial order within the United States. The perfect storm of Asian education
and major job needs in America ultimately had a major impact on Americas view
toward the Asian race. Instead of Americans viewing this new group of immigrants as
useless and needy, Americans instead viewed them as useful, intelligent and
hardworking.
Asian immigrants are directly in contrast with Mexican immigrants, who are
considered to be uneducated and needy. This is supported by the fact that in the last
decade Asians made up 30.9% of the legal immigrants, while Mexicans only made up
24.8. However, in the year 2000 Mexicans made up 68.7% of all undocumented
immigrants, while Asians made up only 4.6% of the undocumented immigrant
population (Congressional Budget Office, 2006, p. 3-4). These percentages can be
directly linked to education levels and jobs in the United States. More Asian
immigrants during this time came to the United States for white-collar jobs than
Mexicans, and therefore received legal status by the United States. Receiving legal
status as well as a decent paying job has placed Asian immigrants higher on the racial
ladder than Mexican immigrants, allowing them to align more closely to the status of
American Whiteness. This distinction, of this new wave of Asian immigrants,
allows them an increase in the racial order as well as a small assimilation to the
American Race, due to the races pursuance of the American Dream.
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Along with this increase in foreign education, American universities greater began
accepting amounts of foreign students. In 1995 roughly 40 percent of
immigrants from China came to the U.S. on preferences from the government. Most
of these immigrants received their higher education from universities inside the
United States (Zhou & Gatewood, 2007, p. 117). This assimilation through American
education helped Asian immigrants move up the racial ladder in America, as they
were educated in America making assimilation a more natural process.
Throughout the 20th century the U.S., as a world leader, was actively involved
in the worlds affairs. During this period the United States engaged in militant activity
in many countries in Asia: the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
Because of the mass level of involvement by the United States, there was constant
interaction between the soldiers and the people residing in these countries. This
military activity and occupation had various affects on new wave of Asian
immigration post 1960s.
First, many soldiers found their wives while overseas in Asia. An extreme
example of this comes from the Vietnam War. In 1980 one in every four Filipino
American women were married to soldiers who served during the Vietnam War.
(Bankston & Hidalgo, 2007, p. 143) Such interracial marriages allowed for a new
generation of Asians to easily assimilate into American society helping to further
move their race up the racial ladder.
Secondly, due to political involvement, primarily military occupation many
Asian immigrants were more readily able to immigrate to the United States.
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Immigration became more available to Asians during and after occupation due to
increased relations between the U.S. and Asian countries. The relationship formed
during this period led the United States to a more open immigration policy with
specific Asian countries, especially the Philippines. The mass increase in the
immigration of Asianspredominately educateddue to these policies helped
Americans to see Asian immigrants as a more normal and integrated part of society,
which in turn altered the racialization patterns of the past.
Prior to the 1960s, especially in the 19th century, Asian immigrants were
racialized and discriminated against on a broad scale. Social, economic, and political
changes to both the United States as well as foreign Asian countries have changed the
way American society views immigrants from these areas. The United States role as a
world power led to constant involvement in Asian affairs for a majority of the 20th
century. Without this political participation in Asian countries the racial order would
be different; there would be stricter immigration policies, along with a lack of
education in specific Asian countries like the Philippines due to the absence of
military occupation. This perfect storm of U.S. political involvement and increased
education has forever changed the experience that Asian immigrants have in the
United States.
Bibliography
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4.
Bankston, C.L., Hidalgo, D. A. (2007). Contemporary Asian America: A
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Multidisciplinary Reader.
Gatewood, J.V., Zhou, Min (2007). Contemporary Asian America: A
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Multidisciplinary Reader.
Congressional Budget Office. (2006). Immigration Policy in the United
s
States.
Saxton, Alexander. (1974). The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the
Anti-Chinese Movement in California.
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