Reading Between the Data: The Incomplete Story of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific...

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Reading Between the DataThe Incomplete Story of Asian Americans,

Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

By Farah Z. Ahmad and Christian E. Weller March 2014


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Reading Between the DataThe Incomplete Story of Asian Americans,

Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

By Farah Z. Ahmad and Christian E. Weller February 2014


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1 Introduction and summary

3 The importance of Asian Americans

6 Challenges in using Asian American data

14 Dispelling the model minority myth:

A closer look at disaggregated data

19 Recommendations for improving the use

of Asian American data for public policy

21 Conclusion

22 About the authors & Acknowledgments

23 Endnotes

Contents


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1 Center for American Progress | Reading Between the Data

Introduction and summary

Income inequaliy has become one o our greaes obsacles o economic mobil-

iy, as U.S. residens oday ace unequal opporuniies and access o he American

Dream. Some people have i beter han ohers: Whies earn higher incomes and

greaer access o educaion and healh care han communiies o color.1Bu here

are large variaions even beween differen communiies o color, wih Arican

Americans, Lainos, and Naive Americansas well as muliracial Americans and

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPIall acing differen challenges.

Tere are urher differences wihin hese individual populaions, paricularlyamong AAPIs. As policymakers craf inervenions o bes address inequaliy, i

is vial ha heir daa are robus and heir analysis is perormed houghully. Tis

will ensure no only ha policy soluions efficienly address he problem bu also

ha hey successully acknowledge he diversiy wihin differen communiies.

While no he only crierion,2efficiency is very imporan o he design o public

policy. More efficien public policy means ha more governmen services and

social programs can help Americans who need assisance. For programs o be

efficien, however, heir arge audiences mus be clearly idenified; his is no

always a simple ask . In he Unied Saes, ideniying arge audiences o deer-

mine he disribuion o public services ofen requires a working definiion o

race and ehniciy, as communiies o color requenly sruggle wih economic

disadvanages ha require hese services. Bu populaion daa ha are broken

down by race and ehniciy ofen only exis a highly aggregaed levels, mean-

ing ha groups o people wih very differen culural, social, and hisorical

backgrounds end up being lumped ino one larger group. For example, people

o Chinese, Indian, Pakisani, Vienamese, Cambodian, and Laoian descen

among many ohersmake up he Asian American populaion, even hough

heir socioeconomic experiences vary widely. Tereore, programs and servicesargeed oward only he broader Asian American populaion may sruggle o

mee he specific needs o some subpopulaions.


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Tis repor discusses some o he daa available on Asian Americans. I hen pres-

ens and explains he challenges associaed wih he daa and offers policy recom-

mendaions o address hem. During our research, we discovered ha:

Asian Americans are a very diverse populaion group. Te erm Asian in official

governmen saisics is a racial caegory based on he hisory o U.S. migraionand race relaions. I encompasses immigrans rom Asia and people o Asian

descen born in he Unied Saes. Asians come rom Chinese, Indian, Pakisani,

Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Vienamese, and Tai backgrounds, among many oh-

ers. Naive Hawaiian and Pacific Islander has been a differen racial caegory in

he decennial census since 2000, and he caegory was added or daa colleced

by all ederal agencies no laer han January 1, 2003.3

People o Asian descen are he ases-growing populaion in he Unied Saes.

Te porion o he U.S. populaion ha sel-idenifies as Asian grew 46 percen

rom 2000 o 2010.4Te Asian American populaion grew by 2.9 percen in2012, compared o he Hispanic populaion, which grew 2.2 percen. However,

he oal populaion o Hispanics is sill markedly bigger a 53 million people;

here are sill only 18.9 million Asian Americans.5

Asian Americans have highly varied economic experiences. A subsanial share

o Asian American subpopulaions sruggle wih high povery and a lack o

healh insurance, bu hese sruggles are ofen masked by he high employmen

and incomes o oher, larger Asian American subpopulaions.

o boh increase he number o respondens willing o ideniy heir race and eh-

niciies and beter disseminae disaggregaed daa, we recommend ha he ederal

governmen do he ollowing:

Conduc surveys in he mos common languages o relevan subpopulaions

Encourage he Census Bureau and oher ederal saisical agencies o coninue

researching more ways o capure subpopulaion daa, including naional origin

Oversample respondens rom subpopulaions ha are likely o underrepor

Generae disaggregaed daa in addiion o is aggregaed daa whenever possible

Creae a cenral daa reposiory on communiies o color, includingbu no

limied oAsian Americans


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The importance

of Asian Americans

Asian Americans are a growing share o he U.S. populaion and offer our naion

a variey o alens and rich culures. Tey are an imporan par o he counrys

communiies o colorcommuniies ha include Arican Americans, Lainos,

Naive Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Communiies o color will accoun or

he majoriy o U.S. residens by 2043 and make up a majoriy o he workorce

by 2045.6Imporanly, 92 percen o U.S. populaion growh over he pas decade

has come rom people o colora rend ha will coninue in he years o come.7

Bu wih hese communiies low raes o educaion, raining, and economicopporuniy, we will no mee uure needs, and our economy will suffer.8en

years rom now, 36 million American jobs will require some educaion beyond

high school; i nohing changes, we will no be able o fill 5 million o hem.9

While many Asian Americans have high levels o educaion, a large share o his

populaion does no. In ac, some groups have quie he opposie experience,

wih low high school graduaion raes ha may be caused by heir poor or

underprivileged backgroundssuch as hose o many Souheas Asiansand a

lack o access o affordable higher educaion.10

Wih growing diversiy comes a remendous opporuniy o build a robus, sus-

ainable, and compeiive economy ha benefis all Americans. Tis is why closing

racial gaps, such as hose wihin he Asian American communiy, is more impor-

an han ever. I we had managed o close racial and ehnic gaps in 2011, he year

in which he daa we analyzed were colleced, average yearly income and gross

domesic produc, or GDP, would be subsanially higher, and 13 million people

would have been lifed ou o povery.11

In order o close hese gaps, we need o make imporan policy changes in educa-

ion, healh care, he workorce, and immigraion, as oulined in he recen Ceneror American Progress publicaionAll-In Nation: An America that Works for All.

Furhermore, we need o make sure hese policies are righ or he communiies

hey affec. o do his, policymakers mus examine daa in a meaningul way,

paricularly in regard o he Asian American communiy, where diversiy is ofen

masked when policies only consider he median or average communiy member.


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Asian Americans: A diverse and fast-growing part of the U.S. population

Race and ehniciy are disinc governmen daa caegories. In heir book Ethnicity

and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World, academics Sephen Cornell and

Douglas Harmann provide nuanced definiions o race and ehniciy ha rely

heavily on he heory o social consrucivismhe idea ha race is defined bysocial, culural, economic, and poliical circumsances.12Tey define race as:

a human group defined by itself or others as distinct by virtue of perceived com-

mon physical characteristics that are held to be inherent. Determining which

characteristics constitute the race is a choice human beings make. Neither

markers nor categories are predetermined by any biological factors.13

Ehniciy, hey say, is a sense o common ancesry based on culural atachmens,

pas linguisic heriage, religious affiliaions, claimed kinship, or some physi-

cal rais.14Tey urher clariy ha racial ideniies are ypically hough o asencompassing muliple ehnic ideniies.15Te Asian racial caegory in he U.S.

conex, or example, conains many ehniciies and origins, including Chinese,

Indian, Vienamese, and Bangladeshi. Similarly, he Hispanic ehniciy is defined

as a person belonging o or o Cuban, Mexican, Puero Rican, Souh or Cenral

American, or oher Spanish culure or origin, regardless o race.16

Alhough he aoremenioned concep o race is ofen seen as more o a sel-

perceived physical consruc and ehniciy as more o a culural one, boh o hese

conceps and naional origin have no generally agreed upon definiion.17Bu he

ederal governmen, as deermined by he Office o Managemen and Budge, or

OMB, has five minimum caegories or race in ederal saisics, program adminis-

raive reporing, and civil righs compliance reporing.18Te ederal governmen

noes ha hese caegories are or daa-collecion purposes only and are social-

poliical consrucs ha should no be inerpreed as scienific or anhropologi-

cal in naure.19Tese caegories are American Indian or Alaska Naive, Asian,

Black or Arican American, Naive Hawaiian or Oher Pacific Islander, and

Whie.20Addiionally, here are wo caegories or daa on ehniciy: Hispanic

or Laino, and No Hispanic or Laino.21While hese caegories may seem

innocuous, hey carry considerable hisorical weigh based on pas paterns oracial discriminaion, colonizaion, and immigraion.22


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Asian is deemed a racial caegory or all ederal agencies ha perorm daa col-

lecion. As such, i reers o a person having origins in any o he original peoples

o he Far Eas, Souheas Asia, or he Indian subconinen including, or example,

Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakisan, he Philippine Islands,

Tailand, and Vienam.23Asians make up a considerable porion o he U.S. popu-

laion, which oals close o 314 million people: More han 18 million people, or5.8 percen o he populaion, are AAPI.24Some subpopulaions make up a larger

share o he Asian American populaion han ohers. Below is a char displaying

he 14 larges Asian American groups by origin.

Asian Americans are he ases-growing popula-

ion in he Unied Saes, even hough he sheer

size o he populaion ha idenifies as Hispanic

is much larger53 million people.25Te popu-

laion sel-ideniying as Asian grew 45.6 percen

rom 2000 o 2010.26Tis rend coninued rom2010 o 2012: Te Asian American popula-

ion grew 2.9 percen in 2012, compared o he

Hispanic populaion, which grew 2.2 percen.

During his period, Asian American growh

was raher rapid across much o he counry. All

bu one sae increased heir Asian populaions

rom 2000 o 2010 wih growh raes beween

30 percen and 116 percen. Nevada, Arizona,

Norh Carolina, Norh Dakoa, and Georgia

were he five saes wih he ases growh.27

FIGURE 1

Asian alone or in any combination by selected groups

2012 American Community Survey 1-year estimates

174,772 Taiwanese255,934 Laotian261,042 Thai280,178

Hmong310,064 Cambodian409,966 Pakistani544,883 Other Asian

Asian Indian3,341,560

Filipino3,593,534

Chinese(non-Taiwanese)

4,167,131

Vietnamese1,860,069

Korean1,760,428

Japanese1,355,426

Bangladeshi158Burmese 124

Asian subpopulation (


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Challenges in using

Asian American data

While he above definiions may seem relaively sraighorward, hey hide major

challenges in using Asian American daa.28We discuss hese challenges and heir

policy implicaions in he ollowing secions.

Self-identification of racial categories can prevent

detailed analysis of the Asian American experience

Te OMB views sel-idenificaion as he preerred mehod o obaining inor-

maion on individuals race and ehniciy;29he U.S. governmen hus relies on

peoples sel-idenificaion when collecing daa by race and ehniciy. Tis can

lead o underreporing or a variey o reasons. Survey daa analyss using agency

guidance, or example, may view cerain peoples race differenly han hey would

ideniy hemselves. Te OMB offered guidance in 2000 ha sough o produce

a relaively easy mehod o ensure ha daa were consisen across ederal agen-

cies, allowing or easier and more sraighorward enorcemen o civil righs laws.

Among oher guidance, i deemed ha responses ha combine one minoriy race

and whie are allocaed o he minoriy race.30I a person idenifies as boh Asian

and whie, or example, ha persons race will be allocaed o he Asian in combi-

naion race caegory, which disinguishes he response rom hose ha indicae

Asian alone bu does no provide more deail.31Te governmen sees he minor-

iy race as he dominan ideniy, while individuals may no personally ascribe o

ha view. Because o his deerminaion, daa by race may be arificially skewed

or minoriy communiies, including Asian Americans.

Sel-idenificaion also poses a paricular problem or he collecion o accu-

rae and comprehensive Asian American daa. Many Asian Americans do noview heir race as Asian, even hough he Census would view i as such. Tis is

because being Asian American ofen is seen as more experienial han physi-

cal or biological.32Te erm Asian American is largely a geopoliical consruc

ha resuled over ime as a produc o immigraion rom he Asian coninen o


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he Unied Saes. Ouside o he Unied Saes, individuals do no necessarily

ideniy as Asian bu raher ideniy based on heir ehniciies or naionaliiesas,

or insance, Chinese or Indian.33In ac, mos Asian Americans sel-idenified

in he 2012 Asian American Survey as eiher heir ehnic groupFilipino, or

exampleor an ehnic AmericanFilipino Americanraher han Asian

American or Asian.34

Fory-six percen o hose surveyed who were o Filipinodescen idenified as Filipino Americans, compared o 40 percen who ideni-

fied as Filipino, 15 percen as Asian American, 15 percen as Asian, and jus

3 percen as American. Tis dominance o sel-ideniying by counry-o-origin

American over Asian American holds rue or boh oreign-born and naive-born

Asian Americans.35I is hus imporan o noe as we analyze daa ha such sel-

idenificaion is an evolving process, especially as he populaion o naive-born

Asians increases and immigrans say longer in he Unied Saes.36

Oher reasons or he underreporing o race and ehniciy could include language

barriers, lack o rus o governmen, and culural obsacles, such as he genders ohe inerviewer and inerviewee or survey daa ha are colleced over he phone

and in person. Federal governmen saisicians can address such issues, wihin

limis, o make sure ha daa indeed reflec much o he Asian American experi-

ence. Tese saisicians can employ various mehods, including he realloca-

ion o counry-o-origin-American responses o he Asian American caegory.

However, he lack o specific reporing can preven researchers rom breaking

down daa by age, gender, and subpopulaion characerisics and analyzing i a a

more granular level.

Addiionally, he inclusion o Pacific Islanders in he Asian American caegory is

largely seen as a resul o heir shared experience o marginalizaion in he Unied

Saes.37Tus, he merging o hese groups ino one singular racial caegory is

inherenly a more experienial allocaion han a physical one.

While necessary, data aggregation misses experiences of key subpopulations

Te aggregaion o Asian American daa occurs a several levels. A number o

ederal governmen daases do no include inormaion on Asians as a subca-egory. For example, he Federal Reserves Survey o Consumer Financesa key

daase on household wealhdoes no allow or sel-reporing o Asian as a race.

Even among daases ha do permi or he possibiliy o sel-idenificaion as

Asian, more specified groupings by origin, or insance, are ofen unavailable. Tis

is especially problemaic or many advocaessuch as policy hink anks and non-


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profi organizaionsha ofen rely on summary daa rom hird pariessuch

as research organizaions and he governmen. Tese summary daa ofen do no

separae inormaion on Asians rom oher racial and ehnic caegories, such as

American Indians, and do no break down Asian American daa by age, gender,

and subpopulaion, even when ha inormaion has been colleced.

Ta is no o say ha aggregaing daa is wihou meri. I is necessary o some

degree because o small sample sizes in he daa on Asian subpopulaions. In his

insance, muliple years o hese daai i exiss a allwould likely have o be

combined o consiue a represenaive sample. Aggregaion isalso necessary orhisorical comparisons. An agency may collec daa on Asians now, bu ha does

no mean ha i did so in he pas. Te creaion o he oher caegory in some

rouine surveyswhich combines inormaion on Asian Americans wih oher

groups ha have small sample sizesallows or hese ime comparisons.

Neverheless, daa aggregaion masks he remendous and rapidly changing diver-siy in he Asian American populaion. Te composiion o he Asian American

populaion has changed over he pas cenury, becoming more diverse wih

respec o naional origin. In he early 20h cenury, he Asian American popula-

ion was primarily made up o Chinese and Japanese Americans; hese people are

less han one-hird o he populaion oday.38Te Pacific Islander populaion is

also diverse bu consiss o ewer subpopulaions han he Asian American popu-

laion since hal o i is comprised o Naive Hawaiians and Samoans.39

Tis ehnic diversiy has led o increasing diversiy in he social and economic

well-being o he Asian American communiy. Tese incredibly varied individuals

and communiies ofen ell a misleading sory when considered ogeherha

he Asian American communiy, on average, is doing he bes o any demographic

group or a leas perorming as well as non-Hispanic whies. A closer look a

he daa shows his is no he case. Ineresingly, alhough he Asian American

populaion is diverse, i is largely a biurcaed populaion: Tere are many Asian

Americans who are very well across a wide range o economic indicaors, such as

income level and employmen, bu here is also a sizable group ha ares poorly

when i comes o such indicaors as uninsured and povery raes.


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Language barriers present significant challenges in precise data collection

Close o 77 percen o Asian Americans spoke a language oher han English a

home in 2011. Tis was a greaer percenage han ha o any oher populaion in

he Unied Saes.40O hese almos 11 million Asian Americans, 47 percen spoke

English lesshan very wellagain, a percenage higher han ha o any oher

populaion, including Hispanics.41As he Asian American populaion grows, so

oo does he number o Asian Americans who speak languages oher han English

a home. From 1980 o 2010, he number o people in he Unied Saes who

spoke Chinese a home grew 345 percen, and he number who spoke Vienamese

increased 600 percen.42Beween 2000 and 2011, he use o oher Asian lan-

guagesincluding urkish and Dravidian languages such as Malayalam, elugu,

and amil43grew he ases.44Because o his, and because a large share o his

populaion has limied English proficiency, or LEP,45

surveys conduced solely inEnglish may collec inaccurae daa due o a lack o undersanding, and hey may

also leave ou a segmen o he populaion ha canno paricipae. In ac, many

Asian Americans are oping or in-language surveyssurveys in heir naive lan-

guageswhen hey have he opporuniy o do so: In a 2012 pos-elecion survey

o Asian Americans, 46 percen o respondens oped or an in-language survey.46

$0

$5K

$10K

$15K

$20K

$25K

$30K

$35K

$40K

0%

5%

10

15

20

25

30

$38K12%

Per-capitaincome20072009

$37K8%

$32K8%

$30K12%

$26K13%

$26K6%

$26K12%

$25K15%

$22K14%

$22K14%

$17K20%

$17K13%

$16K18%

$11K26%

Taiwanese

Indian

Japanese

Chinese

(non-Taiwan

ese)

Korean

Filipino

Indone

sian

Pakistani

Thai

Vietnam

ese

Banglad

eshi

Lao

tian

Cambo

dian

Hm

ong

Source: Asian Pacific American Legal Center and Asian American Justice Center, A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans in the United States: 2011 XX (YEAR) XX, available at

http://www.advancingjustice.org/sites/default/files/CoC%20National%202011.pdf

FIGURE 2

Per-capita income and aggregate poverty rate by subpopulation

Per-capita income, 20072009

Poverty rate, 20072009


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Explaining the variances in the Asian American community

Te variances wihin he Asian American communiy are much greaer han hose

in oher ehnically diverse communiies. Tey can be atribued o a variey o

acors, includingbu no limied oplace o birh, immigraion saus, culure,

and geographic locaion. We discuss place o birh and immigraion saus below.

Place of birth: Foreign born versus U.S. born

Foreign-born immigrans make up 13 percen o he U.S. populaion.47Asians

have recenly aken he lead as he larges share o documened people immigra-

ing o he Unied Saes. Ouside o his populaion, here are an esimaed 1.3

million undocumened Asian immigrans in he Unied Saes.48Tree ou o our

Asian American aduls are oreign born, he highes share o any group.49

Te rae o increase in Asian immigraion o he Unied Saes has been incredibly

high, and Asian immigrans have overaken Hispanics in recen yearsAsiansmade up 36 percen o he overall immigran populaion in 2010, and Hispanics

made up 31 percen.50Immigraion is one o he main drivers o Asian populaion

growh in he Unied Saes. Tis is markedly differen rom he Laino communiy,

in which populaion growh is largely driven by birh rae.51However, he naive-

born share o Asian Americans is slowly increasing as well. Beween 2007 and

2009, 60 percen o he naions Asian American populaion was oreign born, a

drop rom 63 percen in 2000.52

Large numbers o Asian Americans are recen immigrans. One in hree o he 9.2

million oreign-born Asian Americans enered he Unied Saes in he firs decade

o he 21s cenury.53Abou 70 percen o Malaysian, Bangladeshi, Indian, and

aiwanese Americans were born abroad.54Bu a subsanial number o immigrans

are long-erm U.S. residens or many generaions o heir amilies have lived in he

Unied Saes. Examples o his include he many Japanese immigrans who arrived

in he Unied Saes during he 19h cenury and he Chinese immigran laborers

who helped build he ransconinenal railroad, which was compleed in 1869.55

Reasons for emigration and immigration status

Immigrans come o he Unied Saes or myriad reasonssuch as reuniing wihheir amilies, urhering heir educaion, acceping employmen, making inves-

mens, and escaping oppressive home counrieswih heir reasons reflecing

heir economic saus and affecing heir economic mobiliy. Consisenly, he


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larges number o Asian immigrans who arrive in he Unied Saes come on

amily sponsored visas or immediae relaives o U.S. ciizens; 35 percen o visas

issued o people born in Asia were amily sponsored in fiscal year 2012, and an

addiional 20 percen o immigrans arrived on amily sponsored preerences.56

Tis compares o he 22 percen ha arrive on employmen-based preerences

and he 19 percen ha arrive as reugees and asylees.57

Ye he visa process canbe incredibly difficul o pass hrough i one has a cerain ype o visa due o caps

on he number o visas issued annually ha resul in issuance backlogs. Te visa

wailis or applicans rom Asian counries is huge. For amily visas, he wailis is

close o 18 million people. For employmen visas, however, i is only slighly more

han 94,000 people.58

As such, many Asians immi-

grans come o he Unied

Saes on educaion visas,

pursuing opporuniies suchas graduae school. Chinese

and Indian Americanswho

make up wo o he bigges

shares o he Asian American

populaionobain a large

amoun o issued educaion

visas. Te growing middle

class in China is one major

reason or he increase in

Chinese immigraion o he

Unied Saes on educaion

visas, as undergraduae educa-

ion in China becomes more

atainable and hus he pursui

o graduae school in he

Unied Saes is placed more

wihin reach o Chinese incomes.59In ac, China produces more applicaions o

U.S. graduae schools han any oher counry, wih he nex highes number com-

ing rom India.60

Overall, 27 percen o he U.S. immigran populaion has a bach-elors degree or higher.61Bu a Pew sudy finds ha, when looking a wha ype o

educaion recen immigrans possess, 65 percen o Asians have a college degree

or higher, compared o only 16 percen o Hispanic immigrans.62In ac, he gap

beween recen Asian immigrans and recen non-Asian immigrans beween he

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 - Legal Permanent Residents," availaat https://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-legal-permanent-residents (last accessed January 2014).

21.3%

35.0%

19.2% 20.2%

429,599Total

86,742

Family-

sponsored

preferences

4,996Other

91,591

Employmen

basedpreferences150,254

Immediate

relatives of

U.S. citizens

13,336

Diversity

82,680

Refugees

and asylees

FIGURE 3

People from Asia who obtained legal permanent resident statusin the United States by broad class of admission, FY 2012

3.1%

1.2%


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ages o 25 and 64 who possess a leas a bachelors degree has only widened since

he 1980s: 61 percen o Asian immigrans had a leas a bachelors degree in 2010,

compared o only 30 percen o recen non-Asian immigrans.63

Addiionally, immigrans wih high levels o educaion are ofen able o obain

employmen visas. Indian immigrans, or example, end o be more educaedand more proficien in English han he Unied Saes overall oreign-born

populaion, which may be a principal reason why hey are more likely o arrive

on employmen-based visas.64In ac, more han 70 percen o all Indian immi-

grans have srong English-language skills, and only 27 percen o hem have

LEP, compared o 51 percen o all immigrans.65Indian immigrans, boh male

and emale, are also more likely o repor working in he science and echnology

secor, paricularly he inormaion echnology secor, han heir overall working

immigran counerpars.66

In 2010, Indian Americans had he highes median household income o anygroup$88,000compared o Asian Americans overall$66,000. Te general

U.S. public made an average o only $49,800 ha same year.67Furhermore, a look

a per-capia income rom 2007 o 2009 shows ha Indian Americans had, on

average, he second-highes per-capia income a $36,533; aiwanese per-capia

income was highes a $38,312. Meanwhile, he average per-capia income o

whies was $31,735.68

Due o he growing economies and wealh o a number o Asian counries such as

China, he uilizaion o nonradiional orms o immigraion has increased. One

example o his is he use o he EB-5 immigraion visa program, in which indi-

viduals rom ouside he Unied Saes can inves eiher $500,000 or $1 million

in American developmen projecs in exchange or green cards or hemselves

and heir amilies.69Emigraion is high or some wealhy Chinese ciizens, as

hey search or beter educaion or heir children, a differen ype o governmen

sysem, and invesmen opporuniies, among oher hings.70weny-five percen

o Chinese individuals worh more han $16 million have emigraed, according

o a recen Hurun Research Insiue and Bank o China repor. 71Affluen and

educaed Chinese elies have been he major orce or Chinese emigraion, wih

he Unied Saes as heir op arge counry, according o he 2012 Annual Reporo Chinese Inernaional Migraion.72


16/29


While educaion, employmen, and wealh have brough many middle- and

upper-class Asian immigrans o he Unied Saes, anoher imporan componen

o he Asian immigraion sory is seemingly conradicory. A large number o

Asian immigrans o he Unied Saes comes as reugees. More han 47 percen

o he 582,000 reugee arrivals o he Unied Saes beween 2001 and 2010 were

born in an Asian counry, wih large shares coming rom Myanmar, Bhuan, andVienam.73Furhermore, 43.2 percen o asylum granees in he Unied Saes

during ha same ime period were rom an Asian counryand more han hal

o hem were Chinese naionals.74Reugees may have litle wealh and educaion

upon heir arrival, and hey provide an imporan conras o heir educaed and

affluen counerpars in he analysis o Asian American daa.


17/29


Dispelling the model minority myth:

A closer look at disaggregated data

Keeping in mind he wo caveas ha we jus discussedhe limis o sel-

reporing racial caegories and daa aggregaionwe presen some o he available

economic daa on Asian Americans. Tese daa already highligh he remendous

diversiy in he Asian American populaion and sugges ha large shares o his

populaion sruggle economically.

Te aggregae daa or Asian Americans show an apparen conradicion:

Unemploymen raes are lower and wages and incomes are higher or AsianAmericans han hey are or whies, bu povery raes and he number o people

wihou healh insurance are also higher. Tis is likely he resul o aggregaing

daa over a larger subgroup ha does comparaively wellone ha has a lower

unemploymen rae and higher earnings and income han whiesand a smaller

subgroup ha has high povery and uninsured raes. Te economically vulner-

able subpopulaion has o be sizable or heir sruggles have o be very large o

affec he aggregae daa on Asian Americans in a noiceable way. Pu differenly,

we can iner rom he daa ha mos Asian Americans do somewha beter han

mos whies wih respec o unemploymen and earnings, bu a sizable number

o Asian Americans do worse, possibly much worse, han mos whies. And we

have enough daa on subpopulaions available o know ha he subpopulaions

ha end o do beter han whies are usually hose o Chinese and Indian descen,

while hose o Vienamese, Cambodian, and Filipino descen end o are worse

han whies. Some noable examples ollow.

Unemployment

Te unemploymen rae or Asian Americans is ofen lower han ha or whies.Te nonseasonally adjused unemploymen rae or Asian Americans was 5.3

percen in November 2013, while he nonseasonally adjused unemploymen rae

or whies was 5.6 percen.75


18/29


Generally, unemploymen raes or Asians look similar o hose or whies and

ollow a similar patern o increases and decreases.76When comparing Asians

and whies by ype o possecondary degree, however, Asians do worse. Asian

Americans who had a leas a college degree had an unemploymen rae o 6.4

percen in 2011, compared o whies wih a college degree, who had an unemploy-

men rae o 4.3 percen.77

Examining he unemploymen raes o Asian ehnic groups makes he comparison

wih whies even more complicaed. For example, combined daa show ha he

overall Asian unemploymen rae was 6.2 percen rom 2008 o 2010,78bu he

unemploymen rae varied rom 4 percen or Japanese Americans o 6.6 percen

or Filipino Americans. Tose in he oher Asian caegoryAsians who are no

Indians, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, or Vienamesehad an unemploy-

men rae more han double ha o Japanese Americans a 8.5 percen.79

Furhermore, he unemploymen sory or Asian Americans grows even morecomplex when we look a long-erm unemploymen. While i appears ha Asian

Americans have low unemploymen raes, a look a long-erm unemploymen

raes pains a differen picure: Asian Americans had he highes long-erm

unemploymen rae o any unemployed group in boh 2010 and 2011. O all

unemployed Asians, 50.1 percen were long-erm unemployed in 2011, com-

pared o 42.4 percen o unemployed whies, 49.9 percen o unemployed Arican

Americans, and 39.8 percen o unemployed Hispanics.80

Educational attainment

While i appears ha he educaional atainmen rae is high or Asian Americans,

a deeper look ino Asian subpopulaions reveals a more complex sory. While 86

percen o Asian Americans have compleed heir high school educaionslighly

above he naional average o 85 percen81some groups, paricularly Souheas

Asians, have significanly lower raes. Cambodians and Hmong, or example, have

raes o 62 percen and 61 percen, respecively.82


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Similarly, while Asian

Americans have he high-

es rae o possecondary

educaional atainmen

when compared o any oher

demographic group49percen o Asian Americans

age 25 and older had a

bachelors degree or higher

in 2010a closer look a

he subpopulaions shows

a large variaion.83Indian

Americans have a 70 per-

cen rae, while Vienamese

Americans have a rae o only

26 percen. On average, only17 percen o Pacific Islanders

have a college degree.84

Boh Indian Americans and

Vienamese Americans have

large populaions wih major-

iy shares87 percen and 84 percen, respecivelyborn ouside he Unied

Saes, bu heir experiences are vasly differen. When hey are aggregaed

ogeher, hey provide a skewed example o realiy.85

Poverty

One o he sarkes conrass in aggregae Asian American daa is he naional

povery rae. Alhough Asian Americans had a median income 20 percen higher

han ha o non-Hispanic whies in 2012, he Asian American povery rae was

also higher han ha o non-Hispanic whies.86Te Asian American povery rae

was 11.7 percen in 2012, and he whie povery rae was 9.7 percen.87A look a

five-year esimaes rom he American Communiy Survey shows jus how much

he diversiy wihin he AAPI communiy can skew he daa. For example, hefive-year esimae o he povery rae or Filipinoswho make up 18 percen o

he AAPI populaionis 6.4 percen, while he povery rae or Koreans and

Vienamesewho each make up 9 percen o he populaion, or a oal share

almos he same as ha o Filipinoseach have a povery rae o 13.9 percen.88

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 7

Hmong

Laotian

Cambodian

VietnameseThai

Japanese

Filipino

Indonesian

Chinese(including Taiwanese)

Bangladeshi

Korean

Pakistani

Sri Lankan

Malaysian

Indian

13%

13%

14%

26%42%

46%

47%

49%

51%

51%

53%

56%

56%

60%

70%

FIGURE 4

Bachelors degree or higher, 2010

Source: Pew Research Social & Demographic Trends, "Demographics of Asian Americans," April 4, 2013, available at

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/04/asian-groups-in-the-u-s/.


20/29


A recen Naional Academy o Sciences analysis shows ha Asian American

povery daa may be even worse han previously hough, due o he high concen-

raion o Asian Americans in ciies wih high coss o living, such as Los Angeles,

San Francisco, and New York Ciy. Abou one-hird o he Asian American popu-

laion lived in hese ciies in 2011.89In ac, hal o he AAPI people in povery

live in he 20 mos expensive U.S. real esae markes.90

Tis analysis showed hahe Asian povery rae was abou 2.9 percen higher han he whie povery rae

in 2011, bu when cos-o-living adjusmens were made, he povery rae was 5.7

percen higher han he whie povery rae, a very subsanial increase.91

Household income

Daa show ha Asian American households appear o have he highes median

household income a $68,636 in 2012, compared o whie households a $57,009,

Arican American households a $33,321, and Laino households a $39,005.92Ineresingly, Asian Americans are he mos likely group o have hree or more

working individuals per household.93Tis may skew he daa and make Asian

American households appear wealhier han hey are, when hey simply have

more working members living in one home. o compensae or his variable, a

beter measure o Asian American income would be per-capia income. Per-capia

income or Asian Americans rom 2007 o 2009$28,342shows ha hey do

abou as well as he naional average o $27,100, bu non-Hispanic whie individu-

als have a significanly higher per-capia income$31,735.94

Health insurance

Te oal uninsured rae or Asian Americans was 15.1 percen in 2012, com-

pared o 11.1 percen or whies, 19 percen or Arican Americans, and 29.1

percen or Lainos.95Healh insurance raes are reflecive o he biurcaion

among he Asian American communiy and ollow a patern similar o ha o

he previously discussed indicaorslower-income Asian American subpopula-

ions end o be less insured. Tus, he high rae o uninsured among low-income

Asian Americans, when combined wih he higher rae o insurance amonghigher-income Asian Americans, does no have much sway over he aggregaed

rae or all Asian Americans. Ye some deviaions rom he rend exis. Korean

Americans, or example, had relaively high incomes in 2012median annual

personal earnings were $45,000, well above he naional median o $40,000bu

an uninsured rae o 22 percen.96


21/29


The U.S. Census Bureaus decennial survey and the widely

respected American Community Survey provide an example

of the limitations of Asian American data. The American

Community Survey is an annual survey that includes Asian

Americans in the following categories: unemployment,

employment, the employment-to-population ratio, earnings,

minimum-wage earners, income, poverty rates, and health in-

surance coverage. The unemployment category has included

subpopulation data since 2003, but the other categories

currently do not.

Other surveys and research also illustrate the limitations of

Asian American data, including:

Publically available wealth data from the Federal Res

which Asians, Native Americans, and others are comb

into one category

Homeownership rates from the Current Population S

in which no data on Asians are included as a separate

egory in public-use summary tables

Foreclosure data from the Center for Responsible Len

in which Asians are included but data for subpopulat

are not

Retirement plan coverage from the Employee BenefiResearch Institute, in which Asians are not included i

summary data

Datasets from the American Community Survey and decennial Census


22/29


Recommendations for improving

the use of Asian American data

for public policy

Our discussion in his brie has highlighed wo key issues in he collecion and

use o Asian American daa. Firs, some subpopulaions may underrepor heir

race and ehniciy. Second, available daa are ofen aggregaed or public use o

allow or comparison over ime and address small sample sizes. Te ederal gov-

ernmen should address hese wo issues hrough a number o acions.

Firs, hose in charge o governmen daa collecion could help increase he

number o respondens willing o ideniy heir race and ehniciies by aking heollowing seps:

Conduc surveys in he mos common languages o relevan subpopulaions.

Tis will help overcome poenial language barriers and increase survey parici-

paion by communiies o color.

Encourage he Census Bureau and oher ederal saisical agencies o coninue

researching more ways o capure subpopulaion daa, including naional origin.

Among oher provisions, Census and survey quesions should include more

subpopulaion and naional origin choices by way o checkboxes. Tis will allow

governmen surveys o speak more direcly o peoples experiences and possibly

increase respondens paricipaion.

Oversample respondens rom subpopulaions ha are likely o underrepor.

I his were done, survey designs would be able o address known poenial

obsacles, and he governmen would gain more reliable inormaion, even i he

chance o subpopulaion members acually paricipaing in he survey does no

increase.

A second se o policy recommendaions would help generae and disseminae

disaggregaed daa o Asian American subpopulaions. Tese recommendaions

include:


23/29


Te ederal governmen should generae disaggregaed daa in addiion o is

aggregaed daa whenever possible. In some insances, his may require he

combinaion o a number o ime periods. For example, subpopulaion daa may

only be available on an annual basis, even i he ederal governmen collecs daa

on a monhly basis. Te monhly daa may be oo sparse o be reliable on is own

bu noneheless sufficien or analysis when observaions rom each monh in ayear are combined.

Te ederal governmen should help esablish he creaion o a cenral daa

reposiory on communiies o color, includingbu no limied oAsian

Americans. Te governmen could rely on a panel o expers o review hird-

pary daa o make sure hey mee widely acceped sandards o daa collecion

and generaion beore hey are added o he cenral reposiory.

Insiuing all o hese reorms would allow he ederal governmen o collec

more-comprehensive daa on he Asian American communiy. Asian Americansdeserve o be beter represened and undersood as policymakers consider how

bes o address economic inequaliy.


24/29


Conclusion

Achieving he American Dream requires creaing equal opporuniies or all

U.S. residens o succeed. Ofen, he governmen mus inervene o ensure ha

amilies have equal opporuniies o access many hings, including educaion, he

workplace, and healh care. However, hese governmen inervenions are mos

efficien i policymakers acually know who has and who does no have necessary

economic, poliical, and social opporuniies.

o know his requires good daa, bu daa are ofen limied. Tis is especially rueor Asian Americanshe larges and one o he ases-growing racial groups

in he counry. Furhermore, compared o daa on whies, here is remendous

diversiy among Asian Americansa ac ha is requenly masked, as he diver-

siy wihin his populaion is no ofen considered. Unemploymen raes or Asian

Americans, or insance, end o be lower han or abou he same as hose or

whies, and heir median earnings end o be higher. Bu heir povery raes end

o be much higher as well, suggesing ha large groups wihin he Asian American

communiy ace subsanial obsacles o make ends mee, even as op-line numbers

indicae ha hey are doing beter han whies. Where daa are available, i is clear

ha some subpopulaions are doing very well while ohers are barely surviving.

Because o inadequae daa, researchers and policymakers ofen do no know

exacly who makes up he Asian American subgroups ha ace hese obsacles.

By basing policies on inadequae daa, we sand o coninue creaing policies ha

do no address inequaliy or all bu only or some. Tis is he primary reason

we need o pay more atenion o improving he quaniy and qualiy o daa

on Asian Americans. Only wih robus daa can we creae a rue pahway o he

American Dream or all.


25/29


About the authors

Farah Z. Ahmadis a Policy Analys or Progress 2050 a he Cener or American

Progress. Previously, she served on he 2013 Presidenial Inaugural Commitee

and he 2012 Obama campaign in Iowa. Beore he 2012 campaign, she obained

her masers degree in public affairs rom he Woodrow Wilson School o Publicand Inernaional Affairs a Princeon Universiy, where she sudied public policy

and perormed policy analysis or governmens and inernaional organizaions.

Beore graduae school, Farah worked or a number o years in policy, poliics,

communiy oureach, and legislaive affairs.

Christian E. Welleris a Senior Fellow a American Progress and a proessor o

public policy a he McCormack Graduae School o Policy and Global Sudies

a he Universiy o Massachusets, Boson. His areas o experise include

reiremen income securiy, macroeconomics, money and banking, and inerna-

ional finance. He is also a research scholar a he Universiy o MassachusetsAmherss Poliical Economy Research Insiue and an insiue ellow a he

Universiy o Massachusets Bosons Geronology Insiue. Prior o joining he

Cener, he was on he research saff a he Economic Policy Insiue, where he

remains a research associae.

Acknowledgments

Te auhors would like o hank Karhick Ramakrishnan or reviewing he repor

and providing valuable inpu.


26/29


Endnotes

1 Christian E. Weller and Farah Ahmad, The State ofCommunities of Color in the U.S. Economy: Still Feel-ing the Pain 4 Years into the Recovery (Washington:Center for American Progress, 2013), available athttp://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/10/29/78318/the-state-of-communities-

of-color-in-the-u-s-economy-2.

2 Public-sector efficiency is not the only public policydesign criterion, but even the pursuit of other publicpolicy goals such as equity will be more successful ifpolicies are more efficiently designed.

3 Office of Management and Budget, Revisions to theStandards for the Classification of Federal Data on Raceand Ethnicity, October 30, 1997, available athttp://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards.

4 This 46 percent statistic was observed for the popula-tion who reported both Asian alone or in combinationwith another race. For the population who reportedAsian alone, the increase was 43 percent for the sametime period, from 2000 to 2010. See Elizabeth M.Hoeffel and others, The Asian Population: 2010 (Wash-ington: Bureau of the Census, 2012), available at http://

www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf.

5 Bureau of the Census, Asians Fastest-Growing Race orEthnic Group in 2012, Census Bureau R eports, Pressrelease, June 13, 2013, available at http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb13-112.html.

6 Vanessa Crdenas and Sarah Treuhaft, eds.,All-In Na-tion: An America that Works for All (Washington: Centerfor American Progress and PolicyLink, 2013), availableat http://allinnation.org.

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 National Commission on Asian American and PacificIslander Research in Education, iCount: A Data QualityMovement for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders inHigher Education (2013), available athttp://www.nyu.edu/projects/care/docs/2013_iCount_Report.pdf.

11 Crdenas and Treuhaft,All-In Nation.

12 Michael James, Race. In Edward N. Zalta, ed., TheStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Stanford, CA: Stan-ford University Center for the Study of Language andInformation, 2012), available athttp:// plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/race.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 National Center for Education Statistics, Definitions forNew Race and Ethnicity Categories, available at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/definitions.asp(last accessedJanuary 2014).

17 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Racial Categorizationin the 2010 Census (2006), available athttp://www.usccr.gov/pubs/RC2010Web_Version.pdf.

18 Federal Register, Standards for Maintaining, Collecting,and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,October 30, 1997, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/information_and_regulatory_affairs/re_app-a-update.pdf.

19 Ibid.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

22 Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Formation inthe United States(New York: Routledge, 1994), pp. 3 13,available at http://homepage.smc.edu/delpiccolo_gui-do/Soc34/Soc34readings/omiandwinant.pdf.

23 Federal Register, Standards for Maintaining, Collecting,and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.

24 Authors calculations based on Bureau of the Census,ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2012 Ameri-can Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, availableathttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/

jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_1YR_

DP05&prodType=table (last accessed December 2013).

25 Bureau of the Census, Asians Fastest-Growing Race orEthnic Group in 2012.

26 This 46 percent statistic was observed for the popula-tion who reported both Asian alone or in combinationwith another race. For the population who reportedAsian alone, the increase was 43 percent for the sametime period, from 2000 to 2010. See Hoeffel and others,The Asian Population: 2010.

27 Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, A Com-munity of Contrasts: Asian Americans in the UnitedStates (2011), available at http://www.advancingjus-tice.org/sites/default/files/CoC%20National%202011.pdf.

28 We should note that these challenges are not unique

to Asian Americans but apply to all large populationgroups in the United States. Asian Americans, though,are the fastest-growing racial group in the UnitedStates, and their economic experience is often morevaried than that of other racial and ethnic groups. Theavailable aggregate data consequently can mask theeconomic struggles of sizeable Asian subpopulationsbecause most Asian Americans do relatively well in keyeconomic indicators such as employment and earnings.

29 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,Explanation of Data Standards for Race, Ethnicity,Sex, Primary Lang uage, and Disability, available athttp://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=9228#1 (last accessed December 2013).

30 Office of Management and Budget, OMB Bulletin No.00-02 - Guidance on Aggregation and Allocation ofData on Race for Use in Civil Rights Monitoring and

Enforcement, March 9, 2000, available athttp://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins_b00-02.

31 Bureau of the Census, Definition of race alone or incombination, available at http://factfinder2.census.gov/help/en/glossary/r/race_alone_or_in_combina-tion.htm(last accessed December 2013).
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-u-s-economy-2http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/10/29/78318/the-state-of-communities-of-color-in-the-u-s-economy-2http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/10/29/78318/the-state-of-communities-of-color-in-the-u-s-economy-2


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32 Rachel Rubin, Organizing Principles: Who is AsianAmerican?, available at http://www.modelminority.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=445:organizing-principles-who-is-asian-american&catid=41:identity&Itemid=56(last accessedDecember 2013).

33 Ibid.

34 Janelle Wong and others,Asian American PoliticalParticipation: Emerging Constituents and Their PoliticalIdentities(New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011).

35 Pew Research Center, The Rise of Asian Americans:Overview, June 19, 2012, available at http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/the-rise-of-asian-americans.

36 Wong and others,Asian American Political Participation.

37 Rubin, Organizing Principles: Who is Asian American?

38 Karthick Ramakrishnan and Taeku Lee, The PolicyPriorities and Issue Preferences of Asian Americansand Pacific Islanders (National Asian American Survey,2012), available athttp://www.naasurvey.com/resourc-es/Home/NAAS12-sep25-issues.pdf.

39 Ibid.

40 Camille Ryan, Language Use in the United States: 2011

(Washington: Bureau of the Census, 2013), available athttp://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf.

41 Ibid.

42 Ibid.

43 For examples of specific languages within the otherAsian languages group, see Bureau of the Census,American Community Survey and Puerto Rico CommunitySurvey: 2011 Subject Definitions(U.S. Department ofCommerce, 2011), Appendix A, available at www.cen-sus.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/SubjectDefinitions/2011_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf.

44 Ryan, Language Use in the United States: 2011.

45 An LEP individual is someone whose primary languageis not English and has a limited ability to read, speak,

write, or understand English. See LEP.gov, CommonlyAsked Questions and Answers Regarding LimitedEnglish Proficient (LEP) Individuals, available at http://www.lep.gov/faqs/faqs.html#One_LEP_FAQ (last ac-cessed December 2013).

46 Asian American Justice Center, Asian and PacificIslander American Vote, and National Asian AmericanSurvey, Behind the Numbers: Post-Election Surveyof Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters in 2012(2013), available athttp://naasurvey.com/resources/Presentations/2012-aapipes-national.pdf.

47 Fred Dews, What Percentage of U.S. Population IsForeign Born?, The Brookings I nstitution, October 3,2013, available at http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/brookings-now/posts/2013/09/what-percentage-us-population-foreign-born.

48 Karthick Ramakrishnan and Taeku Lee, Opinions ofAsian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Federal Immigra-tion Policy (National Asian American Survey, 2013),available at http://naasurvey.com/resources/Home/NAAS12-immigration-jan2013.pdf.

49 Ibid.

50 Pew Research Center, The Rise of Asian Americans.

51 Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, Statistical Portrait ofHispanics in the United States, 2011 (Washington:Pew Research Center, 2013), available athttp://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/02/15/statistical-portrait-of-hispanics-in-the-united-states-2011.

52 Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, A Com-munity of Contrasts.

53 Ibid.

54 Padmananda Rama, U.S. Census Show Asians Are

Fastest Growing Racial Group, NPR, March 23, 2012,available at http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/03/23/149244806/u-s-census-show-asians-are-fastest-growing-racial-group.

55 Jeanne Batalova, Asian Immigrants in the UnitedStates, Migration Policy Institute, May 24, 2011, avail-able at http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=841.

56 Office of Immigration Statistics, Yearbook of Immigra-tion Statistics(U.S. Department of Homeland Security,2012), Table 10, available athttps://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-legal-perma-nent-residents.

57 Ibid.

58 Bureau of Consular Affairs,Annual Report of Immigrant

Visa Applicants in the Family-sponsored and Employ-ment-based preferences Registered at the National VisaCenter(U.S. Department of State, 2013), available athttp://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/WaitingListItem.pdf.

59 Diego Laje and Corinna Liu, Why Asians want to moveto the U.S., CNN, July 19, 2012, available at http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/business/asia-u-s-immigrants.

60 Ibid.

61 Elizabeth M. Grieco and others, The Foreign-BornPopulation in the United States: 2010 (Washington:Bureau of the Census, 2012), available at https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-19.pdf.


63 Ibid.

64 Monica Whatley and Jeanne Batalova, Indian Immi-grants in the United States, Migration Policy Institute,August 21, 2013, available at http://www.migrationin-formation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=962.

65 Ibid.

66 Ibid.


68 Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, A Com-munity of Contrasts.

69 U.S. Immigration Fund, U.S. Immigration ReportReleased: Rise in Asian I mmigration, Educated Im-migrants, available athttp://visaeb5.flywheelsites.

com/u-s-immigration-report-released-rise-in-asian-immigration-educated-immigrants(last accessedDecember 2013).

70 Benjamin Carlson, Why Chinese immigrants chooseAmerica, Global Post, December 21, 2012, available athttp://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/121220/chinese-immigrants-ameri-ca-united-states-schools-education.
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71 Laje and Liu, Why Asians want to move to the U.S.

72 Ibid.

73 Batalova, Asian Immigrants in the United States.

74 Ibid.

75 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table A-2. Employmentstatus of the civilian population by race, sex, and age,available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm(last accessed December 2013).

76 Algernon Austin, Asian Americans Continued to Sufferthe Most From Long-Term Unemployment in 2011(Washington: Economic Policy Institute, 2012) , availableat http://s2.epi.org/files/2012/ib323s-asian-american-unemployment-update.pdf.

77 Ibid.

78 Mary Dorinda Allard, Asians in the U.S. labor force:profile of a diverse population (Washington: Bureau ofLabor Statistics, 2011), available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/11/art1full.pdf.

79 Ibid.

80 Austin, Asian Americans Continued to Suffer the MostFrom Long-Term Unemployment in 2011.

81 Ramakrishnan and Lee, The Policy Priorities and IssuePreferences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

82 Ibid.


84 Ibid.

85 Ibid.

86 Authors calculations based on Weller and Ahmad, TheState of Communities of Color in the U.S. Economy.

87 Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jes-sica C. Smith, Income, Poverty, and Health InsuranceCoverage in the United States: 2012 (Washington:Bureau of the Census, 2013), available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-245.pdf.

88 It is common to combine data for several years tostudy economic trends for relevant subpopulationswith some accuracy. The combination of several yearsworth of data increases the sample size and thus givessufficient observations to study subpopulations withsome granularity. See Josh Ishimatsu, Spotlight: AsianAmerican & Pacific Islander Poverty (Washington: Na-tional Coalition for Asian Pacific American CommunityDevelopment, 2013), available at http://nationalcapacd.org/sites/default/files/u12/aapi_poverty_report-web_compressed.pdf.

89 Algernon Austin, The impact of geography on AsianAmerican poverty, Economic Policy Ins titute, May 2,2013, available at http://www.epi.org/publication/impact-geography-asian-american-poverty.

90 Ishimatsu, Spotlight: Asian American & Pacific IslanderPoverty.

91 Austin, The impact of geography on Asian Americanpoverty.

92 Data reflect annual averages. Bureau of the Census,Table H-5. Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder-- Households by Median and Mean Income: 1967 to2012(U.S. Department of Commerce, 2013), availableat http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/household.

93 Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, A Com-

munity of Contrasts.

94 Ibid.

95 Weller and Ahmad, The State of Communities of Colorin the U.S. Economy.

96 Ramakrishnan and Lee, The Policy Priorities and IssuePreferences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
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