230: Mixed Asians and Immigration: It’s Not A Simple Story

You heard us talking with Alex Chester-Iwata the other week on the show, who is third-generationJapanese American, and was the first family member in decades to visit Japan.  So, maybe like some of you listening, she has no direct experience with immigration – your family feels like it’s “always been here” in America.

That experience that Alex has of being mixed Asian is really different than what Misasha and Sara grew up with, as daughters of Japanese immigrant parents - we grew up visiting our parents’ extended families in Japan and feeling kind of at home in a different country.

It got us wondering… what IS the impact of immigration on the Asian American experience?  Can we explore how the psychological impact of immigration may be a missing part of the discussion when it comes to deconstructing common stereotypes that folks have here of Asians?  And how might that impact the mixed Asians in America today?

What to listen for: 

Immigration stats – Asians now represent 6% of the total U.S. population and are the fastest-growing population segment, with 103% growth between 2000-2023.  

Immigration history – and how the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 (so recent!) finally opened the doors to immigration from Asian countries.

Undocumented immigrant misperceptions – there are 1,734,600 undocumented immigrants from Asia and the Pacific Islands,17 percent of the total undocumented population living in the United States.  Yet we focus on those from our southern borders.

The psychological pressures to know that may impact the perception of Asians in America.  Assimilation, language, food, and more.

New vocabulary to know – “ethno-racialization” 

To give us input on what you want from our newsletter, and/or share your Asian immigration stories, reach us via email at [email protected].