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[LA Times] Asians to surpass Latinos as largest immigrant group in US

September 28, 2015

(Korea Times file)

[LOS ANGELES TIMES]

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 study of census data.

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. Immigrants and their children are likely to make up 88% of the country’s population growth over the next 50 years, according to the study by the Pew Research Center, which has tracked the effects of immigration on the country’s population for the last several decades.

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

Already, Asian Americans make up about 6% of the nation’s population, up from just 1% in 1965. By the middle of the century they will total 14%, the projections say.

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