Asians Surpass Hispanics among New Immigrants in USA

World | June 19, 2012, Tuesday // 18:35|  views

61% of all Asian immigrants over 25 years of age in the USA have Bachelor's degrees. Photo from jdpayne.org

Asians have surpassed Hispanics as the largest group of new immigrants to the United States, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

The study entitled "The Rise of Asian-Americans" was released on Tuesday; it reveals that about 430 000 Asians, or 36% of all new immigrants, arrived in the United States in 2010, according to US census data. About 370 000, or 31% of the new immigrants, were Hispanic.

The wave of incoming Asians pushed the total number of Asian-Americans to a record 18.2 million, or 5.8% of the total U.S. population, according to census data.

By comparison, non-Hispanic whites (197.5 million) account for 63.3% of the US population, while Hispanics (52 million) and non-Hispanic blacks (38.3 million) account for 16.7% and 12.3%, respectively.

The study also reveals that Asian-Americans also have the highest income, are the best-educated and are the fastest-growing racial group in America.

The influx of Asians reflects "a slowdown in illegal immigration while American employers increase their demand for high-skilled workers."

In May 2012, figures revealed that for the first time in history, there were more minority children born in the United States than white, according to 2011 census data released on Thursday.

The US Census Bureau reported that 50.4% of children born in a 12-month period that ended July 2011 were Hispanic, black, Asian-American, or from other minorities groups, while non-Hispanic whites accounted for 49.6% of all births in that span. In 2010, minority babies accounted for 49.5% of all births.

Overall, minorities in the U.S. increased 1.9% to 114 million, or 36.6% of the total U.S. population. But with the weak economy resulting in fewer Hispanics entering the U.S., demographers project that the tipping point when minorities become the majority in America may not happen as early as some predicted. After the 2010 census, experts suggested it could happen by 2040.

The census report signals "the dawn of an era in which whites no longer will be in the majority," the Washington Post said.

"Such a turn has been long expected," the New York Times noted, "but no one was certain when the moment would arrive--signaling a milestone for a nation whose government was founded by white Europeans and has wrestled mightily with issues of race, from the days of slavery, through a civil war, bitter civil rights battles and, most recently, highly charged debates over efforts to restrict immigration."

"The 2008 election of Barack Obama as America's first black president was in some ways emblematic of the nation's changing face," the Wall Street Journal said. "But as the population evolves toward a more-varied mix that includes fast-growing Asian and Hispanic populations, the black/white divide that characterized the civil-rights movement has itself become a relic."

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Tags: Asians, Asian-American, African-American, white, black, hispanic, USA, US, America, race, racial, population, census

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