LibGuides: Celebration of Asian Americans: Snapshots of Migrations to America

Asian American History Time Line

1763
- First recorded settlement of Filipinos in America. To escape imprisonment aboard Spanish galleons they jump ship in New Orleans and flee into the bayous of Louisiana.

1790
- First recorded arrival of Asian Indians in the United States.

1830s
- Chinese "sugar masters" working in Hawaii; Chinese sailors and peddlers in New York.

1848
- Gold discovered in California. Chinese miners begin to arrive.

1847
- Three Chinese students arrive in New York City for schooling. One of them, Yung Wing, graduates from Yale in 1854 and becomes the first Chinese to graduate from a U.S. college.

1852
- First group of 195 Chinese contract laborers land in Hawaii.
- Over 20,000 Chinese enter California.

1858
- California passes a law to bar entry of Chinese and "Mongolians."

1860
- Japan sends its first diplomatic mission to U.S.

1868
- U.S. and China sign Burlingame - Seward Treaty recognizing right of their citizens to emigrate.

1878
-In re Ah Yup rules Chinese ineligible for naturalized citizenship.

1880
- U.S. and China sign treaty giving the U.S. the right to limit but "not absolutely prohibit" Chinese immigration.

1884

- 1882 Chinese Exclusion Law amended to require a certificate as the only permissible evidence for reentry.

1888
- Scott Act renders 20,000 Chinese reentry certificates null and void.

1889
- First Nishi Hongwanji priest from Japan arrives in Hawaii.

1894
- Saito, a Japanese man, applies for U.S. citizenship, but U.S. Circuit Courts refuse because he is neither white nor black.
- Japanese immigration to Hawaii under Irwin Convention ends and emigration companies take over.

1900

- Japanese Hawaiian plantation workers begin migrating to the mainland.

1903
- First group of 7,000 Korean workers arrives in Hawaii to work as strikebreakers against Japanese workers.

- Filipino students (pensionados) arrive in the U.S. for higher education.

1905

- Korean emigration ends.

1906

- Major earthquake in San Francisco destroys all municipal records, including immigration records, so Chinese immigrants are able to claim they are U.S. citizens and have the right to bring wives and children to America.

1907
- Japan and the U.S. reach "Gentlemen's Agreement" whereby Japan stops issuing passports to laborers desiring to emigrate to the U.S.
- President Theodore Roosevelt signs Executive Order 589 prohibiting Japanese with passports for Hawaii, Mexico, or Canada to reemigrate to the U.S.
- First group of Filipino laborers arrives in Hawaii.

1910
- Administrative measures used to restrict influx of Asian Indians into California.
- Angel Island Immigration Station opens to process and deport Asian immigrants.

1917
- 1917 Immigration Law defines a geographic "barred zone" (including India) from which no immigrants can come.

1918
- Servicemen of Asian ancestry who had served in World War I receive right of naturalization.

1924
- Immigration Act denies entry to virtually all Asians.

1946
- Luce- Celler bill grants right of naturalization and small immigration quotas to Asian Indians and Filipinos.
- Philippines become independent. U.S. citizenship offered to all Filipinos living in the United States, not just servicemen.

1947
- Amendment to 1945 War Brides Act allows Chinese American veterans to bring brides into the U.S.

1949
- 5,000 highly educated Chinese in the U.S. granted refugee status after China institutes a Communist government.

1952
- Clause in the McCarran - Walter Act grants the right of naturalization and a small immigration quota to Japanese.

1965
- Immigration Law abolishes "national origins" as basis for allocating immigration quotas to various countries -- Asian countries now on an equal footing with others for the first time in U.S. history.

1975
- More than 130,000 refugees enter the U.S. from Vietnam, Kampuchea, and Laos as Communist governments are established there following the end of the Indochina War.
1978
- Massive exodus of "boat people" from Vietnam.

1980
- The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees set up an Orderly Departure Program to enable Vietnamese to emigrate legally.

1988
- American Homecoming Act allows children in Vietnam born of American fathers to immigrate to the U.S.

1989
- U.S. reaches agreement with Vietnam to allow political prisoners to emigrate to the U.S.

Images of Migration

Early Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.

A 1952 banquet at the clubhouse of the Pakistan League of America on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The league was established in New York in 1947, with a membership that consisted predominantly of former ship workers from East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), along with their African American and Puerto Rican wives and multiracial children.Courtesy of the family of Ibrahim Chowdry

Makeshift shelter for Indian farm laborers (referred to as a "Hindu bed") in California.

A dormitory at the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, California, where immigrants coming from China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and South Asia were monitored, interrogated, and detained.

North, Hart Hyatt, 1871- - U.S. Immigration Station, Angel Island, San Francisco Bay; http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flipomatic/cic/images@ViewImage?img=brk00001197_16a

Asian Immigrants Arriving at Angel Island, 1911
U.S. Public Health Services photo, National Archives #90-G-2038 (ARTstor Slide Gallery)

Angel Island (1910-1940) interrogration of immigrants from China

Chinese graduate students (circa 1930s)

U.S. Public Health Service physician Inspets Asian immigrants for trachoma at the Angel Island Immigration Station, California 1910s- Courtsy of U.s. Nationa Library of Medicine

Woman and children held in a detention pen with a social worker at Angel Island Immigration Stations, San Francisco, early 20th century- Courtes U.S. National Library of Medicine

Another Picture from Angel Island.

Southeast Asian Refugees (Publications for helping refugees from Indochina settle in the United States in the '80s - from the Southeast Asia Collection, Northern Illinois University Libraries)

The Constitution of the United States translated into Lao

Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States

Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States
Large-scale immigration from Vietnam to the United States began at the end of the Vietnam War, when the fall of Saigon in 1975 led to the U.S.-sponsored evacuation of an estimated 125,000 Vietnamese refugees. As the humanitarian crisis and displacement of people in the Indochina region (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) intensified, more refugees and their families were admitted to the United States. The Vietnamese immigrant population has grown significantly since then, roughly doubling every decade between 1980 and 2000, and then increasing 26 percent in the 2000s. In 2017, more than 1.3 million Vietnamese resided in the United States, accounting for 3 percent of the nation’s 44.5 million immigrants and representing the sixth-largest foreign-born group in the country.

Korean Immigrants in the United States

History of Korean Immigration to America, from 1903 to Present
The immigration of Koreans can be largely divided into three periods: the first wave from 1903 to 1949, the second wave from 1950 to 1964, and the contemporary period. Although a few students and politicians came to the United States around 1884 after the diplomatic relations between the United States and Korea were established, they were a small minority—Yu Kil Chun (1856-1914), the first Korean student in the United States, was one of the prominent immigrants during the 1880s. Beginning in 1884, American Presbyterian and Methodists missionaries successfully converted many Koreans to Christianity, and also provided avenues for the Koreans to immigrate to America—almost half of the first group of Korean immigrants were Christians.

Chinese Immigrants in the United States

Chinese Immigrants in the United States
The population of Chinese immigrants in the United States has grown nearly seven-fold since 1980, reaching almost 2.5 million in 2018, or 5.5 percent of the overall foreign-born population. Whereas in 1980 Chinese immigrants did not appear among the ten largest foreign-born groups in the United States, China in 2018 replaced Mexico as the top sending country. After immigrants from Mexico and India, the Chinese represented the third largest group in the U.S. foreign-born population of nearly 45 million in 2018.

Palumbo, F., photographer. (1964) Miss April Lou, teacher at PS 1, Manhattan, with six Chinese children, recent arrivals from Hong Kong and Formosa, who are holding up placards giving his or her Chinese name both in ideographs and in transliteration and the name to be entered upon the official school records / World Telegram & Sun photo by Fred Palumbo. New York, 1964. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/94512334/.

South Asian Immigrants in the United States

An Introduction to South Asian American History
According to the 2010 census, more than 3.4 million people in the United States trace their heritage to South Asia, making South Asian Americans one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the U.S. Yet, despite their growing presence and their history in the U.S. since the late 19th century, South Asian Americans have often been relegated to a footnote in American history. This section is intended as a brief introduction to this overlooked history and the archive, giving you information of key dates, legislation, and people that have helped shape South Asian American history.

Kaur, R. (July 2016). "South Asian Americans Want to Be Accepted — Not Merely Tolerated." HuffPost. huffpost.com.

An Introduction to South Asian American History
According to the 2010 census, more than 3.4 million people in the United States trace their heritage to South Asia, making South Asian Americans one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the U.S. Yet, despite their growing presence and their history in the U.S. since the late 19th century, South Asian Americans have often been relegated to a footnote in American history. This section is intended as a brief introduction to this overlooked history and the archive, giving you information of key dates, legislation, and people that have helped shape South Asian American history.
First Days: South Asian Americans Share Stories of Their First Days in America
A project in Philadelphia is documenting the memories South Asian immigrants have of their first few days in the United States.

Immigrants from Asia in the United States

Immigrants from Asia in the United States
Migration from Asia to the United States has risen sharply since the mid-1960s, following the end of exclusionary immigration laws enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that severely limited arrivals from countries across the Asian continent. With the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, the number of immigrants from Asian countries in the United States grew considerably. As of 2019, there were 14.1 million immigrants from Asia residing in the United States, representing a 29-fold increase from 1960. Today, people born on the continent of Asia account for 31 percent of the 44.9 million immigrants in the United States. This number refers to national origin, not race or ethnicity; while most immigrants from Asian countries identify as Asian, others describe themselves as White or as members of other racial groups.

The Hmong Village Market in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2013.Marlin Levison / Star Tribune via Getty Images

Thai Town, Los Angeles, California.

Laotians in the United States
Laotian immigration to the United States started shortly after the Vietnam War. Refugees began arriving in the U.S. after a Communist government came to power in Laos in 1975. In 2019, it is estimated that the number of Laotian Americans is 254,000. Included are the Hmong, a mountainous tribe from that country. (Photo by Raynette J. A Lao Buddhist Temple in Elgin, Illinois)
Indian Immigrants in the United States
Immigration to the United States from India started in the early 19th century when Indian immigrants began settling in communities along the West Coast. Although they originally arrived in small numbers, new opportunities arose in middle of the 20th century, and the population grew larger in following decades. As of 2019, about 2.7 million Indian immigrants resided in the United States. Today, Indian immigrants account for approximately 6 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population, making them the second-largest immigrant group in the country, after Mexicans and ahead of immigrants from China and the Philippines. (Photo: The Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple, built in 1986 in Aurora, Illinois - Courtesy of City of Aurora)
Burmese in the United States
The first major wave of immigration from Myanmar occurred in the 1960s, after Ne Win established military rule in 1962, to the late 1970s. Most who immigrated were primarily those with Chinese origins, who arrived in increasing numbers following the 1967 anti-Chinese riots. The Burmese Chinese were the first major group of Theravada Buddhists to immigrate to the United States and were largely educated professionals, business entrepreneurs and technically skilled workers. A minority were of Anglo-Burmese and Indian descent. A second wave occurred during the 1980s to the early 1990s after the national uprising in 1988. This wave consisted of many different ethnic groups, including Bamars (the majority ethnic of Myanmar), Karens, and those from other ethnic minorities, particularly in search of better opportunities. Among this wave are political refugees numbering a few thousand, who were involved in the 8888 Uprising and are concentrated in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A third wave of immigration, from 2006 to date, has been primarily of ethnic minorities in Myanmar, in particular Karen refugees from the Thai-Burmese border. The number of Burmese Americans is about 339,000 in 2019. (Photo: Elaisa Vahnie. Burmese in Indianapolis, Indiana, protest against the military coup in Myanmar.)
Cambodians in the United States
"The first major influx of Cambodian immigrants who began arriving in the United States during the late 1970’s was part of a large group of refugees from Southeast Asia fleeing political instability in their homelands. The most unstable Southeast Asian nation may have been Cambodia. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge came to power in that country and implemented an extreme version of agricultural-based communism. The new government may have killed as many as two million Cambodians in its attempt to reshape society. As a result, thousands of Cambodians fled the country. Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia in 1979 intensified the exodus." (https://immigrationtounitedstates.org/400-cambodian-immigrants.html). The number of Cambodian Americans is about 339,000 in 2019, with most of the population concentrated in California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. (Photo by Luce D: A Cambodian Community Center in Long Beach, California)

Filipinos in the United States

Filipino Immigrants in the United States
Migration from the Philippines to the United States began in the late 19th century and has been driven in large part by longstanding political, military, and educational ties between the two countries, including a decades-long period of U.S. colonization. There have been several waves of immigration, but the pace escalated towards the end of the 20th century. In 2018, just over 2 million Filipinos lived in the United States, accounting for 4.5 percent of the country’s 44.7 million immigrants. This was a quadrupling since 1980, when there were 501,000 Filipino immigrants in the United States. The Philippines was the second-largest origin country for immigrants in 1990 and throughout the first decade of the 21st century but was overtaken by India and China in 2010. Today, Filipino immigrants represent the fourth-largest origin group after the foreign born from Mexico, India, and China. (Photo by Loreta G. Trinidad: Nurses from the Philippines, working in Philadelphia, visit Washington, D.C. in May of 1968).

Photo: The Philippine Reporter. Filipino-American veterans of World War II

Articles on Immigration & AAPI Populations

Photo: Chinese Passengers on Deck, 1900–15. Hawaii State Archives.

Zong, J., and Batalova, J. (January 2016). "Asian Immigrants in the United States." Migrationpolicy.org.
Piper, N., and Charbit, Y. (2019). "Editorial: Migration in Asia and the Pacific." Revue européenne des migrations internationales, 30(2): .https://doi.org/10.4000/remi.12439.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. "Liners to America" from On the Water: Stories from Maritime America.
Chen, A. (October 2015). "The Making of Asian America." JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/making-asian-america/
Pew Research Center (April 2013). "The Rise of Asian Americans." Pewresearch.org.
Budiman, A. (April 2021). "Indians in the U.S. Fact Sheet." Pewresearch.org.
Smith, L. N. (September 2018). "Asian-Americans Make Up Most of the New U.S. Immigrant Population." National Geographic. NationalGeographic.com.
US Library of Congress. "Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History: Chinese Immigrants." Presentation. Loc.gov.
Hanna, M., and Batalova, J. (October 2020). "Indian Immigrants in the United States." Migrationpolicy.org.
Sheth, M.(2006). "Asian Indian Americans.” In Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues, edited by Pyong Gap Min. 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.