Asian Immigrants

Asian Americans are now the nation's fastest-growing racial group, overtaking Latinos in recent years as the largest stream of new immigrants arriving annually in the United States. In an economy that increasingly depends on highly skilled workers, Asian Americans are also the country's best educated and highest-income racial or ethnic group, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center . In fact, U.S. Asians, who trace their roots to dozens of countries in the Far East, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, are arguably the most highly educated immigrant group in U.S. history, the study shows.

Some staggering new figures about Asian American consumers are out this month: Their buying power is up 523% since 1990, reaching $718.4 billion this year. If the demographic were a nation, it'd be the 18th-largest economy in the world. Within five years, Asian American buying power will surge over $1 trillion, according to a report this month from Nielsen. At the moment, 28% of households in the group have annual incomes greater than $100,000, compared with 18% of all Americans.

Asian attorneys in the county are sponsoring a Law Day on Saturday for Asian immigrants and refugees who may need free legal assistance. It will be held at St. Anselm's Episcopal Church in Garden Grove. "I just see so many cases where new Asian immigrants are victimized because they are not involved in the legal system," said Central Municipal Judge B. Tam Nomoto, who originated the idea. "Because I'm an Asian, I want to do what I can to help them." Aided by the staff at St.

Brutal, burning images inspired Sukhee Kang to jump into politics. In 1992, as he watched televised footage of immigrant shops and dreams crumble to the ground during the Los Angeles riots, he knew he "had to do something - to make connections - to people, with people, across different groups. " The father of two and owner of three shoe stores started simply. He raised money for scholarships. He signed up with the Korean American Coalition, pushing those like him to get involved in civic life and civil rights.

Volunteers from the East/West Community Partnership will conduct a door-to-door survey in the Chinatown and Lincoln Heights areas this weekend to assess the needs of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants in those neighborhoods. "We are collecting data in regards to the Asian community, mainly to fill in the gap," said Shirley Wong, a community organizer representing Chinatown for the partnership. "There really hasn't been an assessment of needs of the Asian community."

Orange County's vast and rapidly growing Asian community, which lacked a political voice during the 1980s even as its ranks nearly tripled, achieved a bit of history on Election Day as three immigrant candidates captured city council seats and another won a seat in Congress. Among them are Westminster's Tony Lam, who could become the nation's first Vietnamese-American elected to political office if his slim 43-vote lead in the council race holds up after absentee ballots are tallied.

When a 34-year-old Chinese immigrant from Sepulveda drowned herself and her four young children in Los Angeles Harbor in January, the lack of counseling services for those who don't speak English became sadly apparent. There were no mental health or family service programs for non-English-speaking Asians in the San Fernando Valley, although psychologists and therapists say immigrants are typically at great risk for a wide range of problems and stress.

Some staggering new figures about Asian American consumers are out this month: Their buying power is up 523% since 1990, reaching $718.4 billion this year. If the demographic were a nation, it'd be the 18th-largest economy in the world. Within five years, Asian American buying power will surge over $1 trillion, according to a report this month from Nielsen. At the moment, 28% of households in the group have annual incomes greater than $100,000, compared with 18% of all Americans.

Hills are good--so long as there is no earthquake danger. Standing water is bad. Lofty 9-foot-tall front doors are good. Sliding glass doors and entryway staircases are bad. Such preferences in home buying are being taken very seriously by developers and Realtors dealing with the lucrative Asian immigrant market in the eastern San Gabriel Valley.

Occasionally they would knock on a neighbor's door to borrow tools or ask for help with a maintenance issue. But for the most part, the Buddhist nuns on Marcon Drive in Walnut kept to the ranch-style house where they lived and worshiped. For 10 years, the young women with the shaved heads and long robes were accepted as part of an eclectic neighborhood of single-family homes, a middle school, a spacious public park and four churches — one Mormon, one Lutheran and two catering to Korean American Christians.

Republicans seem befuddled by President Obama's decision to halt deportation of young people brought into the United States illegally by their undocumented parents. Mitt Romney is gobsmacked, Speaker of the House John A. Boehner is exasperated and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is totally bummed out. They say their quarrel is with the way the president made an end run around Congress. Rubio claims Obama's move has forced him to drop his own bill that proposed granting work visas to those who illegally entered the country as little kids, grew up in the U.S.A.

Asian Americans are now the nation's fastest-growing racial group, overtaking Latinos in recent years as the largest stream of new immigrants arriving annually in the United States. In an economy that increasingly depends on highly skilled workers, Asian Americans are also the country's best educated and highest-income racial or ethnic group, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center . In fact, U.S. Asians, who trace their roots to dozens of countries in the Far East, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, are arguably the most highly educated immigrant group in U.S. history, the study shows.

The nation's Asian population grew faster than any other racial or ethnic group over the last decade, surging almost 46% between 2000 and 2010, says a new Census Bureau report. The number of Americans who identify as Asian, either alone or in combination with another race, rose to more than 17 million during the decade, the report showed. That was more than four times the rate of growth for the U.S. population as a whole, which increased about 10% over that period. By comparison, the Latino population rose 43%. Other groups grew much more slowly.

Occasionally they would knock on a neighbor's door to borrow tools or ask for help with a maintenance issue. But for the most part, the Buddhist nuns on Marcon Drive in Walnut kept to the ranch-style house where they lived and worshiped. For 10 years, the young women with the shaved heads and long robes were accepted as part of an eclectic neighborhood of single-family homes, a middle school, a spacious public park and four churches — one Mormon, one Lutheran and two catering to Korean American Christians.

Judge Jacqueline Nguyen had never met a lawyer before attending law school at UCLA. She fled Vietnam during the fall of Saigon with her parents and five siblings all younger than 11 and started life in the U.S. living in a tent city with other refugees at Camp Pendleton. Now President Obama has nominated Nguyen, who two years ago became the first Vietnamese American woman to serve as a federal judge, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. “Judge Nguyen has been a trailblazer, displaying an outstanding commitment to public service throughout her career,” Obama said.

Daniel Douma, co-founder of the Writers Store in L.A. Daniel Douma, 63, who co-founded the Writers Store in Los Angeles to provide software and computer help to screenwriters, died of cancer June 1 in Florence, Ore., said Gabriele Meiringer, his life partner of 32 years. Douma and Meiringer opened what they called the Writers' Computer Store in Los Angeles in 1982. They transcribed scripts, sold personal computers and expanded into creating software that would allow scriptwriters to use early word-processing systems.

The nation's Asian population grew faster than any other racial or ethnic group over the last decade, surging almost 46% between 2000 and 2010, says a new Census Bureau report. The number of Americans who identify as Asian, either alone or in combination with another race, rose to more than 17 million during the decade, the report showed. That was more than four times the rate of growth for the U.S. population as a whole, which increased about 10% over that period. By comparison, the Latino population rose 43%. Other groups grew much more slowly.

Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo and California Highway Patrol officials announced a new program Friday to improve the driving habits of Asian immigrant motorists forced to contend with unfamiliar laws, signs and traffic conditions on Los Angeles County roadways. "As our population grows, it's important to reach out to our many drivers, among them immigrants from Asia who don't fully understand our driving system," Woo said during a City Hall press conference.

Artesia's Pioneer Boulevard bustles with sari stores, jewelry boutiques and Indian restaurants that cater to the thousands of South Asian immigrants who have settled into the neighborhood. Though many of those immigrants are seniors, few have ever ventured to the nearby Artesia Senior Center, popular among native-born residents and earlier generations of Portuguese and Dutch immigrants. Language barriers and vegetarian diets have kept some Indian seniors away, while others simply didn't know about the center and the meals and activities offered there.

One hundred years ago today, the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay opened its doors. From 1910 to 1940, the "Ellis Island of the West" was the gateway into America for more than half a million immigrants from 80 countries, all seeking the opportunity, freedom and fortune of the American dream. Among them was a Chinese immigrant who carved the following poem into the barrack walls while detained on Angel Island: I clasped my hands in parting with my brothers and classmates.