Asians to Surpass Latinos As Largest US Minority

Asians are likely to surpass Latinos as the nation’s largest immigrant group shortly after the middle of the century as the wave of new arrivals from Latin America slows but trans-Pacific migration continues apace, according to a new census data study reported today.

The surge of immigration that has reshaped the American population over the last half century will transform the country for several decades to come, the projections indicate, according to the Los Angeles Times. Immigrants and their children are likely to make up 88 percent of the country’s population growth over the next 50 years, according to a Pew Research Center study cited by The Times. The Pew Center has tracked the effects of immigration on the country’s population for the last several decades.

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The foreign-born, who made up just 5 percent of the nation’s population in 1965, when Congress completely rewrote the country’s immigration laws, make up 14 percent today, the study found, according to The Times. They are projected to be 18 percent of the population by 2065.

Increasingly, that population growth will involve Asians. Unlike the Latino population, which mostly shares a common language, Spanish, and many cultural traits, the census category of Asian takes in a vast array of ethnic and language groups, including Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Indians and Pakistanis.

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Already, Asian Americans make up about 6 percent of the nation’s population. By the middle of the century they will total 14 percent, say the projections cited by The Times.

Asians are expected to constitute 36 percent of the immigrant population by 2055, surpassing Latinos, who by then will be 34 percent of immigrants, the study indicates. Since many Latinos are third- or fourth-generation Americans, they will remain a larger share of the total population, close to one-quarter of all Americans by midcentury.

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Americans have a more positive view of Asian immigrants than of Latinos, according to a survey Pew did along with the population projections, The Times reported.

Nearly half of American adults, 47 percent, said immigrants from Asia have had a mostly positive effect on American society. Only 26 percent said the same about immigrants from Latin America, with 37 percent saying they thought the effects of Latin American immigration had been mostly negative, according to the study. Immigrants from the Middle East fared worse in public opinion, with just 20 percent saying their effect on the country has been mostly positive, and 39 percent saying their impact has been mostly negative.

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The survey found that 59 percent of Americans said immigrants, overall, were not learning English in a reasonable amount of time, The Times reported.

--City News Service; Image via Shutterstock