Many Asian American and Pacific Islander adults believe the U.S. is no longer a great country for immigrants, according to a recent poll highlighting the impact of immigration policies.
Many Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults have reported experiencing significant upheaval due to the Trump administration’s stringent immigration policies, according to a new poll conducted by AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey reveals that a majority of AAPI adults feel the United States is no longer the land of opportunity for immigrants.
Released on Monday, the poll indicates that nearly half of AAPI adults either personally know someone who has been detained or deported in the past year or have altered their own behaviors—such as carrying proof of immigration status or U.S. citizenship—due to concerns about their immigration status. Additionally, many have changed travel plans or routines as a precaution.
The findings come in the wake of more than a year of intensified immigration crackdowns, which have sparked numerous protests and confrontations between demonstrators and enforcement officers. This aggressive approach has contributed to a shift in perception among immigrant-heavy communities regarding the U.S. as a welcoming nation.
According to the poll, approximately 60% of AAPI adults believe that the U.S. was once a great country for immigrants, but that sentiment has diminished significantly. Only about 30% of respondents currently view America as a great place for immigrants, while a mere 5% believe it has never been a great destination for newcomers.
AAPI adults, who represent one of the fastest-growing demographics in the country, were predominantly born outside the U.S. The survey highlights that they are more likely than the general American population to view the blending of cultures and values from around the world as central to the national identity.
“America’s success story has depended critically on the role of Asian Americans, but also immigrants in general,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data. “When you have people who have been here for decades expressing uncertainty about the country’s status as a land of opportunity, that’s a warning sign.”
The impact of the Trump administration’s policies has even reached immigrants with legal status. Recently, a federal court blocked a proposed increase in fees for certain visa types, while another ruling overturned a policy that barred immigrants from 39 countries from receiving final decisions on asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship applications.
Khoa Tran, a 27-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, who immigrated from Vietnam in 2015, shared his experience of adapting to the current climate. After gaining citizenship four years later, he sponsored his wife from Vietnam. However, he became increasingly concerned when social media posts emphasized the importance of carrying documentation, prompting him and his wife to always have her green card on hand.
“It seemed like we needed to do it. It’s literally become like a second form of identification in addition to the driver’s license,” Tran explained.
He also noted that international students in his community have postponed trips to visit family abroad due to fears surrounding student visa regulations. “They’re just scared. They don’t know the law around that,” Tran said. “Better safe than sorry.”
The survey found that about half of South Asian adults know someone who has begun carrying proof of legal status or citizenship in the past year, a higher percentage than the overall AAPI demographic. Many of these individuals may hold green cards or be naturalized citizens, yet they still feel their presence and status in the U.S. are under scrutiny.
When it comes to personal identity, AAPI adults place significant importance on their family’s ancestry or country of origin, often more so than their American identity. Just over half of AAPI respondents indicated that their heritage is crucial to their sense of self, while 44% expressed similar sentiments about being American. This trend extends to U.S.-born AAPI adults, with 59% valuing their family’s heritage and 47% identifying strongly with being American.
In contrast, a separate AP-NORC survey conducted in April found that 55% of U.S. adults consider being American important to their identity, while only 37% prioritize their family’s ancestry.
Abigail Jeyaraj, a 22-year-old from South Hadley, Massachusetts, emphasized the significance of her Indian heritage in shaping her identity. “Especially as a South Asian woman, I’m very sensitive to the fact that I have opportunities that my mother and my grandmother didn’t,” she said. “I really try to honor that culture and maintain strong connections to my family in India.”
Similarly, Soonho Kwon, a 30-year-old from La Mirada, California, who immigrated from Korea, expressed a strong connection to his roots. “I think I still feel more Korean. I came right around the age where I had very solid memories from growing up in Korea,” he noted. “I’m a naturalized citizen. I’m committed to living here, but identity is a different question.”
As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, many AAPI adults feel ambivalent about the celebration. A significant 73% believe that the mixing of cultures and values is essential to the U.S. identity, compared to only 55% of U.S. adults in the earlier survey.
Jeyaraj, who grew up in Texas, reflected on her diverse upbringing and the empathy it fostered in her. However, she expressed concern over current immigration restrictions and diversity initiatives, which leave her conflicted about celebrating the anniversary. “I’m proud we made it this far as a country,” she said. “But recent actions seem to be undoing that progress.”
Tran, a math teacher, shared a more philosophical view on the anniversary. “I don’t think this country is ‘founded’ at some point in time. It just changes from one form to another,” he remarked. “Even the Native Americans have been here for a long time. I’m pretty sure that was more than 250 years.”
The poll, which surveyed 1,075 U.S. adults who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander, was conducted from April 20 to 28. The sample was drawn from NORC’s probability-based Amplify AAPI Panel, designed to represent the AAPI population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. This survey is part of an ongoing project aimed at exploring the views of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, who are often underrepresented in other surveys due to small sample sizes and lack of linguistic representation, according to AAPI Data.