America's Fastest Growing Racial Group

The Pew report, "The Rise of Asian Americans" may have been overshadowed by President Obama's recent executive decision to lift deportation of some illegal immigrants. The report shows how immigration to the U.S. has dramatically changed since 2007, and even more so when one considers that it was only in 1965 that the U.S. opened its doors to Asians after a century of exclusionary policies.

Kirk Semple reports on some of the major findings, most notably about income and education, in the 214-page study.

"Asians are the highest-earning and best-educated racial group in the country. Among Asians 25 or older, 49 percent hold a college degree, compared with 28 percent of all people in that age range in the United States. Median annual household income among Asians is $66,000 versus $49,800 among the general population."

Why Has Hispanic Immigration Declined?

Semple writes that, "Tougher enforcement measures have made a greater impact on the Hispanic immigrant population than on the Asian immigrant population because a much higher percentage of Hispanics are in the United States without immigration papers, experts said."

[For a detailed report on the largest Hispanic group, see Pew Hispanic Center: "Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero-and Perhaps Less" (May 3)].

"Under this pressure, Hispanic immigration dropped 31 percent from 2007 to 2010, while Asian immigration increased about 10 percent."

As for the Asian nations contributing the most to immigration, "83% hail from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, the Korean Peninsula or Japan - and demographic characteristics can vary widely from group to group."