Asians Lead U.S. Immigrants in Naturalization

Three decades after America eased long-standing restrictions on Asian immigration, Asians are not only the nation’s fastest-growing minority, they also have the highest rate of naturalization, according to a new study being released in Washington today.

Dispelling a common public perception, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center report says that Asians are as likely as immigrants of European ancestry to become citizens. Their naturalization rate--81%--is higher than that of immigrants of Latino or African ancestry.

“Asians are not permanent aliens but forming deep roots and a stake in the future of this country,” said Paul Ong, a demographer and economist who coauthored the 305-page study.

Because more naturalized Europeans return to their homelands than Asians, Asian immigrants in effect have a higher naturalization rate than Europeans, the report contends.

As with Latinos and blacks, the percentage of Asian voter registration is lower than that of whites. But once Asians register, their record of voting surpasses all the other groups, the study found.

Among registered voters, 76% of Asian Americans cast ballots in 1994, compared with 73% of whites, 64% of Latinos and 63% of blacks.

If the trend continues, Asian Americans could become a significant voting bloc in California within 10 years, says political scientist Don T. Nakanishi, an authority on Asian voting patterns and another coauthor.

“Like American Jews, the Asian electorate could become an influential swing vote in key local, state and presidential elections,” Nakanishi said.

The reason, he said, is that most Asians live in the nation’s four most populous states--California, New York, Texas, Illinois--and Hawaii. Asians, who make up 10% of California’s population, account for 40% of all Asian American voters in the country, according to the report.

With a population of about 9 million, Asians make up 3.1% of the U.S. population.

Intended to reach public policymakers, the study was reported and written by a team of Asian American researchers, most affiliated with UCLA, Stanford, USC, Sonoma State, Harvard and Ohio State University. The study was jointly sponsored by the Asian American Studies Center and the Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute.

The U.S. population of Asian Americans, which was 1.5 million in 1970, had nearly quadrupled by 1990. Census projections are that the Asian American population will reach 11 million by 2000 and 20 million by 2020.

The demographic changes, the report said, have spurred political activity, as borne out by the well-financed--though unsuccessful--mayoral candidacies of Asian Americans in recent years in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland.

But other political efforts by first-generation Asian Americans have been successful, the report said. Cited as examples were Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), the first Korean American in Congress; David Valderrama, the first Filipino American in the Maryland Legislature and Tony Lam, a Westminster city councilman, the first Vietnamese American elected to public office in the United States.

The number of Asian American elected and appointed officials nationally has increased from only several hundred in 1978 to more than 1,200 in 1995, the report said. In 1978, they were predominantly second- and third-generation Japanese Americans, but in 1995, the officials were a mix of American-born and immigrants.

Until now, Asians have given generously to politicians and political parties, but have received little in return, the report said. “Few attempts have been made by either the Democratic or Republic Party to finance voter registration and educational campaigns in the Asian Pacific American communities.”

Among immigrants who remain in the United States for 20 or more years, 81% of Asians and whites become naturalized.

Despite their relatively high current rates of naturalization, a majority of adult Asians in the country still cannot vote because they are not citizens.

In 1994, 55% of adult Asians were not citizens, compared with 44% of Latinos, 5% of blacks and 2% of whites, the report said.

Asian Americans differ from other minorities in that their loyalty--unlike predominantly Democratic blacks and Latinos--is not with one party. Democrats slightly outnumber Republicans among Asians, with a sizable number registering as independents.

That split can be to the community’s advantage, too, said the report’s coauthor Ong, a professor of public policy at UCLA.

“Unlike other minorities, Asian Americans are up for grabs,” he said. “It’s important for the two parties to realize that.”

The study also touched on diversity within the Asian community, educational attainments and business enterprises. Among the findings:

* Asian Indians, now the fourth-largest Asian group in the country, are the most educated, professionally successful and affluent group.

* Among U.S.-born Chinese, Filipinos and Japanese, about half choose spouses outside their ethnic group.

* Despite higher educational achievements and high median family income, the poverty rate for Asian American families in 1993 was 14%--compared with 8% for whites.

* Asian Americans over the age of 65 were more likely to use public assistance than the general population.

* Vietnamese own 20% of the nation’s nail salons and 80% of the salons in Los Angeles.

* Cambodian refugees dominate as owners or operators of California’s doughnut shops.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Asians’ Political Assimilation

Asians have as high a rate of naturalization as any immigrant group, according to a new study by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute. As with Latinos and blacks, the percentage of Asians registered to vote is lower than that of whites. But once Asians register, they vote at a higher rate than any other ethnic group.

NATURALIZATION RATES*

*--*

1970 1980 1990 Whites 92% 89% 81% Asians 68% 79% 81%

*--*

* Among people who have been in the United States more than 20 years.

****

VOTING PATTERNS

*--*

Registered to Vote Voted in ’94 Elections Asian Americans 53% 76% Latinos 53% 64% African Americans 61% 63% Whites 69% 73%

*--*