Competing Voices
More than Hispanic
a broader perspective on the immigration question
n immigration history, 1965 was a landmark year. I’m not speaking of Hispanic immigration trends. Rather, that’s the year the United States more fully opened its borders to Asian immigrants.
Before then, the “National Origins” system (implemented in 1924) effectively limited immigration from Asia to token levels. But the Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965 changed everything1. Due to that Act and other factors, annual immigration levels in this country rose from 300,000 a year in the 1960s to almost a million today2.
Asians/Pacific Islanders are now the second-largest immigrant group in the United States, just behind Hispanics — representing shares of 23 percent and 53.8 percent, respectively, of the post-2000 immigrant population3. As of 2007, for every eight U.S. residents, one is an immigrant4.
While Hispanics constitute the majority of the undocumented, Asians are the second-largest group, at 11 percent. Another 9 percent come from regions such as Europe, Canada and Africa5. This is an issue that must be addressed among all people.
My family was among the first-generation of immigrants coming in the post-1965 wave. And we were among the many who heard the gospel through the work of faithful, visionary Christians in our new country. That’s because the change in immigration landscape also led to a mushrooming of Asian-American churches, notably among Chinese and Koreans.
May God raise up more churches that are willing to go beyond their traditional horizon. Their mission to engage the immigrant population with church-centered, compassionate, legal ministries will prove to be even more fruitful as history progresses.
- Le, C.N. 2011. “The 1965 Immigration Act,” Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America.
- See Steven A. Camarota, November 2007 Backgrounder, “Immigrants in the United States, 2007: A Profile of America’s Foreign-Born Population,” p. 5, published by the Center for Immigration Studies.
- Ibid., p. 12.
- Ibid., p. 1.
- Pew Hispanic Center, “U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade,” by Jeffrey Passel and D'Vera Cohn.
Lisa Yeung was an immigration attorney before entering seminary. “In my previous career,” she says, “I used to hold the view that justice always triumphs over mercy. But the more I meditate on God’s mercy as revealed in the Bible, the more my paradigm has shifted.” After obtaining her M.Div., she joined the EFCA as a licensed minister and was the former executive director of Dorcas Ministries—an EFCA gospel organization offering community services to Chinese immigrants in Brooklyn, N.Y.
More Than Hispanic
In immigration history, 1965 was a landmark year. I’m not speaking of Hispanic immigration trends. Rather, that’s the year the United States more fully opened its borders to Asian immigrants.
Before then, the “National Origins” system (implemented in 1924) effectively limited immigration from Asia to token levels. But the Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965 changed everything (1). Due to that Act and other factors, annual immigration levels in this country rose from 300,000 a year in the 1960s to almost a million today (2).
Asians/Pacific Islanders are now the second-largest immigrant group in the United States, just behind Hispanics — representing shares of 23 percent and 53.8 percent, respectively, of the post-2000 immigrant population (3). As of 2007, for every eight U.S. residents, one is an immigrant (4).
While Hispanics constitute the majority of the undocumented, Asians are the second-largest group, at 11 percent. Another 9 percent come from regions such as Europe, Canada and Africa (5). This is an issue that must be addressed among all people.
My family was among the first-generation of immigrants coming in the post-1965 wave. And we were among the many who heard the gospel through the work of faithful, visionary Christians in our new country. That’s because the change in immigration landscape also led to a mushrooming of Asian-American churches, notably among Chinese and Koreans.
May God raise up more churches that are willing to go beyond their traditional horizon. Their mission to engage the immigrant population with church-centered, compassionate, legal ministries will prove to be even more fruitful as history progresses.
Le, C.N. 2011. “The 1965 Immigration Act,” Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America.
See Steven A. Camarota, November 2007 Backgrounder, “Immigrants in the United States, 2007: A Profile of America’s Foreign-Born Population,” p. 5, published by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Ibid., p. 12.
Ibid., p. 1.
Pew Hispanic Center, “U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade,” by Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn.
Lisa Yeung was an immigration attorney before entering seminary. “In my previous career,” she says, “I used to hold the view that justice always triumphs over mercy. But the more I meditate on God’s mercy as revealed in the Bible, the more my paradigm has shifted.” After obtaining her M.Div., she joined the EFCA as a licensed minister and was the former executive director of Dorcas Ministries—an EFCA gospel organization offering community services to Chinese immigrants in Brooklyn, N.Y.