28 Percent of US Immigrants Come from Asia

In operation until 1954, the immigration station processed over 12 million immigrant steamship passengers.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) reports that 28 percent of all immigrants in the United States – about 11 million – hail from Asia. Asians are the second largest immigrant group after Latinos, with nearly half coming from the Philippines, India and China and residing in California, New York and Texas.

Asian immigrants are perceived as “model minorities” who work hard, do well, and don’t complain. In the American imagination, they do not seem to share the challenges faced by other immigrant groups.

Nearly half of Asian immigrant adults have a college degree or higher. Among all immigrants, Asians are more concentrated in management, information technology, and science and engineering. A majority of immigrant doctors and nurses are from Asia.

MPI estimates that Asian immigrants accounted for 11 percent of all unauthorized immigrants in 2010. The Department of Homeland Security counts among the undocumented 280,000 Filipinos, 200,000 Indians, 170,000 Koreans and 130,000 Chinese.

Read more at WNYX New York Public Radio

Photo by wallyg at Flickr.com

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Filipino-American Victims to be Remembered at 9-11 Anniversary Memorial Services

Second plane strike at the World Trade Center on 9/11

Filipino-American organizations are commemorating and remembering the 20 victims of the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001, twenty people who had Filipino origins. Two of those were actually on board the planes that hit the twin towers. Their biographies will be read at the 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Vigil for Filipino American Families on Sept. 9, 2011, from 7pm to 9pm at the Asian American Writers Workshop, 110-112 West 27th Street, Sixth Floor, New York, NY. This event is open to the public.

The sponsors of the event are as follows:

• Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Metro New York Chapter;
• Filipino American Human Services, Inc. (FAHSI);
• Kalusugan Coalition, Inc.;
• Damayan Migrant Workers Association;
• Collaborative Opportunities for Raising Empowerment (CORE);
• Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE);
• UniPro, BaranGAY, NYU International Filipino Association (IFA);
• Outstanding Filipino Americans (TOFA) in New York Committee.

There was also one other Filipino-American who died in the plane crash in Pennsylvania.

The name-reading activity was suppose to be part of the upcoming memorial celebrations but Mayor Bloomberg decided to scrap this tradition. A lot of the family members were angered when this announcement was made, saying the reading should remain part of the ceremonies. Still, there are others who agree to discontinue it as a requirement.

Half-way around the world, Marie Rose Abad, a New York-born daughter from an Italian immigrant family and one of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, has her name emblazoned in a village in the Philippines called the Marie Rose Abad Village where her Philippine-born American husband, Rudy Abad, had a community of about 50 one-story houses built in 2004 in her memory. Marie Rose was a senior executive at the 89th-floor office of the investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods when the second plane slammed the building.

The 21 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans who died in the World Trade Center attacks and the Pennsylvania plane crash were the following:

• Grace Alegre Cua;
• Cesar A. Alviar;
• Marlyn C. Bautista;
• Cecile M. Caguicla;
• Jayceryll M. de Chavez;
• Benilda Pascua Domingo;
• Judy Hazel Fernandez;
• Ramon Grijalvo;
• Frederick Kuo Jr.;
• Arnold A. Lim;
• Manuel L. Lopez;
• Carl Allen Peralta;
• Maria Theresa Santillan;
• Rufino Conrado (Roy) F. Santos;
• David Marc Sullins;
• Hilario (Larry) S. Sumaya;
• Hector Tamayo;
• Cynthia Betita Motus Wilson;
• Ronald Gamboa (plane crash);
• Ruben Ornedo (plane crash);
• Manolito Kaur (plane crash).

Both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama are expected to attend the Ground Zero memorial services. The 9/11 attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people, including 246 victims on the four planes and 411 emergency workers from the FDNY, NYPD, PAPD and EMT.

Sources: Inquirer Global Nation | Filipino Reporter | Huffington Post | Wikipedia

Photo by stevenbaker at Flickr.com

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Where in Queens are the Pinoys?

There are 75,352 Filipinos in the city of New York (2005-2007 survey) of which 60% reside in the borough of Queens. Wow! This makes the migrant Filipinos the fourth largest group of Asians in the entire city. For “Filipino businesses,” you can find many congregated along Roosevelt Avenue at Woodside, Queens.

Read the article in Nomadic Pinoy and see the pictures for yourself.

Filipino Restaurant at New York’s Lower East Side

Located in the heart of New York’s Lower East Side, “Kuma Inn” is a cozy restaurant tucked away on the second floor, serving Filipino, Thai, and Southeast Asian cuisine. It is owned and operated by Executive Chef King Phojanakong. The restaurant offers an original menu consisting of a variety of meats, seafood and vegetables.

Call the restaurant at (212) 353-8866 for reservations or click here to go to its website.

A Filipino Hip-Hop Group from New York and New Jersey

“Deep Foundation” is a hip-hop group of five Filipinos from New York and New Jersey released their first album last year and have spent the first semester of 2009 touring the West Coast. A series of videos have also been released featuring music from their album. Founded in 2001, the album touches on the foundation of hip-hop that the group believes in plus a mix of their Filipino roots. The group includes the following members:

• Ryan Abugan, 23, known also as Hydroponikz;
• Mark Malacapay, 26, known as Ill Poetik;
• CJ Guiang, 27;
• Rosendo Pili, 24, known as Mugshot;
• Michael Capito, a 24, known as Suitkace.

Deep Foundation aims for a universal appeal. Much of their music hits on common themes of love, family and growing up in an urban setting. So far, it has struck a chord with fans. A growing number of Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike are attending live shows. “Children of the Sun (Remix),” the longest track on the album at close to eight minutes, samples the singing of Heber Bartolome from his 1978 song “Tayo’y Mga Pinoy.”

Click here to read their story in BrownNationCulture.com.