Asians now represent about a third of the foreign-born population in America—equal with the Mexican foreign-born population. The Asian countries with the largest growth are India (306 percent), South Korea (249 percent), and China (148 percent). They also represent 14 percent of the unauthorized population. That number, according to analysts, will grow in the coming decade. According to reports, if one were to compare with that of 1990, India’s unauthorized U.S. immigration growth far outpaces any other country’s, reaching 914 percent.
In the 1990s, the unauthorized population in America doubled from 3.5 to 7 million. It reached its apogee in 2007 at 12.2 million. Then the recession hit. For example, in 1990, there were an estimated 28,000 unauthorized immigrants from India in the U.S. There’s now more than 284,000. Those numbers mirror the rising share of legal Indian immigrants coming to the U.S., and also America’s growing Indian-American population.
On Thursday, June 16th, The United Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court, declined to authorize the deportation-relief programs that had been proposed by President Barack Obama. In the immigration case, the court blocked Obama’s executive decision that permitted about four million illegal immigrants whose children were born in the US to remain in the country and be exempt from deportation.
Texas led 26 states in challenging Obama’s decision to bypass the US Congress to launch the first phase of his immigration reform aimed at eventually allowing as many as 11 million people who are living here illegally to stay on.
The 4-4 Supreme Court ruling continues an injunction that started 16 months ago against the implementation of Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program and an expanded version of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The court’s liberals and conservatives deadlocked, leaving in place a lower court’s decision that the president exceeded his powers in issuing the directive.
The verdict is going to affect the large illegal Indian Americans, just as the way they will impact millions of other illegals living in this country.
For millions of the affected families, the Supreme Court deadlock means continued uncertainty about building a stable life in the United States. “Unauthorized immigrant parents have a lot of problems with autonomy at work, their working conditions, not being paid,” Randy Capps, director of U.S. research for the Migration Policy Institute, said. “One would assume that, under the DAPA program, these things would improve.”
In a region filled with immigrants from around the world, the Supreme Court action also affects families from other parts of Latin America, Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and Europe. For instance, a little town, Flushing in Queens, NY is estimated to have around 40,000 undocumented people live in her district. The nation is home to more than 11.1 million undocumented immigrants as per the Pew Hispanic Center in a latest report. This is roughly the equivalent of the entire population of Ohio, the seventh-most populous state in the U.S.
A report released last November by Detention Watch Network, a national coalition working for the reform of the U.S. deportation system, lists the Hudson County Jail in New Jersey as one of the ten worst detention centers in the country. People reported waiting up to months for medical care. They complained about inedible food, the use of solitary confinement as punishment, and denied access to legal assistance
Asian undocumented immigrants have traditionally been less visible and vocal than their Hispanic counterparts. Most of the undocumented immigrants who have gone public in the media about their status are Hispanic. In contrast, one rarely sees Asians talking about the issue on television. Asian undocumented immigrants are usually more economically solvent and upwardly mobile than their Latino counterparts.
According to SAALT, there are about 4.3 million South Asians in the US. Since 2000 the South Asian community as a whole grew 81% over a ten year period. The four largest South Asian groups in America are the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan communities.
South Asians live primarily in metropolitan areas on the East and West coasts. The metropolitan areas with the largest South Asian population are: New York/New Jersey, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Los Angeles and the Washington DC Metro Area.
In New York City, the Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities are among the six largest Asian American groups. South Asians were also the fastest growing Asian group in California in 2000.
There are sizable emerging populations in various parts of the United States, including Houston, Atlanta, and Seattle. 30% of South Asians are naturalized, while 45% of South Asians are not naturalized. Indians are reportedly, the fastest growing undocumented community in the United States between 2000 and 2006.
According to the 2000 US Census, 1/3 of South Asians living between 50%-125% of the poverty line are children. Nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshi seniors live below 200% of the poverty line. Since 2000, unauthorized immigration from Asia has grown at rates much faster than from Mexico and Central America. That’s according to a new report by the Migration Policy Institute. So Trump will need to amend his ideas for “securing our nation’s borders.”
At 6 million, Mexicans still represent the majority of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the country. But the percentage of those arriving has slowed since the recession. During that time, however, Asian unauthorized immigration has increased considerably. From 2000 to 2013, it increased 202 percent, according to the report.
The court ruling on illegal immigration has left undocumented immigrants and their advocates despondent. “It’s absolutely crushing,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, legal director of the Center for Legal Justice. “For so many people, this has been their chance at stability.”
Randy Capps said the deferred action programs carried more than just the promise of temporary protections against being deported. It would significantly expand economic and educational opportunities for people who are in the country illegally, and ultimately could positively benefit up to 10 million people, including undocumented immigrants and their relatives, according to a study done by Capps’s organization and the Washington-based Urban Institute.