Disparity in the Asian American Community

Immigrants have come to this country with dreams of prospering under our democratic government and free market, knowing that the key to doing so is education. Our nation after all, boasts the world’s top universities and in no other place in the world are opportunities so abundant.

Perhaps, no other minority group has learned to take advantage of these opportunities as well as Asian Americans have. For example in 1994, 41 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders 25 years and older had at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 22 percent of the total population.

As a result, we have thrived. According to Census statistics, in 1993 37 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander men 25 years and older worked in professional and executive occupations. In these economic boom times, almost all of us have heard stories of the stockbroker who just bought a loft in SOMA, the “dot-com” entrepreneur whose net worth reaches far beyond the six-figure mark, and the Silicon Valley middle manager whose lifestyle is anything but middle class.

It’s easy to forget those who are struggling. Most often they immigrated to this country as adults. Many lack the English literacy necessary to get into a university and therefore, have to settle for whatever job they can land. And for elderly immigrants, the dream of prosperity, which brought countless of immigrants to this country, remains forever a bitter fantasy.

And though most of us recall stories about how our parents, grandparents and even great-grandparent fought to make it in this country, that struggle may becoming more arduous.

As the nation’s economy moves from one that is labor-intensive to one that is more information-intensive, immigrants with limited English proficiency are finding that it is more difficult to earn a decent living. And while immigrants from Asia are famous for their relatively high level of education, that cannot make up for years of living and working in this country.

Moreover, not all Asian immigrants are equally educated. According to the 1990 Census, 60 percent of the Southeast Asian immigrants surveyed in 1990 had only a high school education or less, compared to 32 percent for all Asian immigrants.

Though some may argue that sacrifices must be made in order to come to this country or that the period of economic depression tends to last only a generation, that does not make the suffering of current immigrants any less valid.