Updated 07:25 PM EDT, Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Asians Expected to Surpass Latinos as America's Largest Immigrant Group

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A new study census data indicated that Asians may overtake Latinos as the largest immigrant group in the United States.

The projections of the Pew Research Center released on Monday said that the expected changes will "transform the country for several decades to come," LA Times wrote. Immigrants and their children are prone to make up 88% of America's population growth over the next 50 years.

The nearly 130-page report titled "Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065" presents non-partisan analysis that explores trends and projections of the future, CNN noted.

The study found that foreigners only made up about 5% of the country's population in 1965, when Congress revised the nation's immigration laws. Now, the foreign-born living in the U.S. make up 14% of the population and is projected to surge up to 18% by 2065, with Asians leading the charge, LA Times further reported.

According to the news outlet, Asians are made of various ethnic and language groups, including Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Indians, and Pakistanis. The Latino community, on the other hand, has Spanish as their common language and shares many cultural traits.

Asian Americans currently fill about 6% of America's population from occupying 1% in 1965. A total 14% is expected from Asians by the middle of the century. Furthermore, Asians are projected to "constitute 36% of the immigrant population by 2055, surpassing Latinos, who by then will be 34% of immigrants," LA Times added.

The report comes after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which eliminated a quota system that favored European immigrants and replaced it with a ruling that catered more to family reunification of immigrants and those who are seeking employment in the U.S., CNN wrote.

Asian immigrants also have a more positive impact on Americans than their Latino and Middle Eastern counterparts. 47% of those surveyed said that Asians have contributed well to American society, while 37% thought that Latino immigrants have a negative impact. 38% of those surveyed regarded immigrants from the Middle East as negative contributors to America, LA Times added.

Mark Lopez, the director of Hispanic research for the Pew Research Center, said that immigration from Latin America got lower starting in 2007, especially from Mexico, because of the Great Recession. But Lopez also blames the difficulty of crossing the border and the changing demographic in Mexico, where there are less and less young people wanting to head to the U.S., CNN wrote.

Lopez said that the rise of Asian immigrants in the U.S. is partly due to the Chinese citizens seeking graduate school. There's also the Indians who wish to work in high tech, like in Silicon Valley, the news outlet added.

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