Sunday, May 17, 2015

Relatively speaking, the Chinese do not become American citizens, how come?

According to official government statistics from the Department of Homeland Security, 2013 Yearbook (the latest available), for the decade from 2004 to 2013, the number granted legal permanent residence was 10,763,477 and the number that became naturalized citizens was 7,146,220.

The largest countries of origin, i.e., where these people came from, were Mexico and 5 Asian countries, namely China, India, Philippines, Vietnam and South Korea. Here is where it gets interesting as shown by the table below.

Permanent Residents and Naturalized Citizens in the U.S. from 2004 to 2013
Country of origin % of total permanent residents % of total naturalized citizens
Mexico 14.66 14.75
China, PR   6.92   4.74
India   6.27   6.82
Philippines   5.63   5.76
Vietnam   2.83   3.88
S. Korea   2.18   2.32
Source: 2013 Yearbook, DHS

Four of the six major sources of immigrants maintain more or less the same ratio between permanent residents and those that went on to become naturalized citizens except Vietnam and China. Around 70% go on to become naturalized citizens but over 90% for Vietnamese and around 45% for Chinese.

In the case of Vietnam, more relatively speaking became naturalized citizens than one would predict from pro rata of number of permanent residents. Since most of the Vietnamese came to the U.S. as refugees after the end of the Vietnam war and return to their homeland is not a viable option, this is understandable.

What's notable is the significantly lower number of Chinese that elected to proceed and become American citizens. There are two non-mutually exclusive explanations that could account for the apparent lack of interest in becoming citizens. 

Because of China's rapid economic development, certain portion find opportunities in their country of origin and may find keeping a green card convenient but not necessary to convert to American citizenship.

The other reason is that they feel like perpetual foreigners when they are in the U.S. and they face the threat of being racially profiled by the FBI and become another hapless victim of government harassment a la Wen Ho Lee.

The other note of interest is that judging by the relatively higher number of Indians that opt to become naturalized citizens, one may conclude the anticipated rise of India is not yet appealing enough to convince Indian nationals to go back.


Ivy Lee said...

Anyone who doubts Dr. Koo's trenchant observation that Chinese and Chinese Americans face constant threat of being racially profiled by the government should read articles like the following, the latest of many such charges:

Pyman said...

My parents came to the U.S. for studies after the Second WW, and like many educated Chinese were targeted during the McCarthy era. Some went back to China, and others like my parents decided to stay. Most of the educated Chinese from that period eventually distinguished themselves in many fields. My parents who settled in Boston counted among their fellow sojourners and friends leaders in the academia who became profs at Harvard, MIT, and other Boston institutions, architecture, music, art, and business. They helped each other survive because there were relatively few highly educated Chinese living in the U.S. during that time. They also had no alternative since many of them were unable to be in touch with their family for almost 39 years due to the bamboo curtain. I would say that although there is some discrimination in the U.S., it is still a land of opportunity. All of them who became U.S. citizens were glad that they did so even if their circumstances gave them little opportunity to do otherwise as many of their colleagues who did return back to China suffered greatly upon return or later during the Cultural Revolution. It is never easy to become a naturalised citizen, even in a relatively open and tolerant society as the U.S. I think language and cultural barriers have to be overcome, and obviously overt and unintentional discrimination needs to be overcome. As a second generation Chinese, I have felt very comfortable in the U.S. and have not felt the need to assimilate like my parents. Moreover, I have enjoyed significant advantages in education and professional advancement as I learned to navigate the system as a native rather than a foreigner. Obviously cultural values such as emphasis on education, self reliance, and hard work were passed down by my parents. My parents, now deceased, later returned to China to work-the wanted to give something back to China and to build a new China-which was their youthful dream when they went to the U.S. after the Second WW. Although, they lived and worked at a major university and developed a new life there at a late stage of their career, they never once contemplated renouncing their U.S. citizenship for a Chinese one. I think many second or third generation Chinese, like me, also feel the same. Although I identify with being Chinese, and enjoy interacting with those from China, I still am an American. Although America is an imperfect country, I honestly say that my family members or my parents friends' children who grew up in the U.S., felt little discrimination educationally as many of us attended the most elite universities or professionally as many U.S. companies started to recognise that racial and ethnic diversity was a positive attribute to strive for. However, over the years, starting with Taiwanese, then HK, and then a large influx of mainland Chinese immigration, it is possible that some who have arrived to the U.S. more recently, may sense discrimination. It also may be that there is some fear of Asian competition within the U.S. and abroad.