Indochinese Americans

The Indochinese ethnic group in the US consists mostly of Vietnamese, but also of Cambodians and Laotians. They currently number about 1.5 million, but their heavy immigration in very recent years means that this number is changing rapidly.

The Indochinese are among the most recent immigrants to the United States. The collapse of the South Vietnamese government in 1975 and similar political upheavals in Cambodia and Laos led to the admission to the US of nearly one million Indochinese refugees since 1975, more than 800, 000 of whom were Vietnamese. Prior to this influx, very few Indochinese had immigrated to the US.

Japanese Americans

In 2000 there were an estimated 800,000 persons of Japanese origin in the United States. Japanese Americans are currently the fourth-largest Asian group in the United States. They live mostly in the states of Hawaii and California.

Between 1850 (when the US and Japan first made formal contract) and 1890, 12,000 Japanese came to Hawaii. A much greater immigration followed. In the next 30 years or so, almost 300,000 Japanese immigrated to Hawaii and California.

During World War II, on mainland US, Japanese Americans were forcibly evacuated from the west coast areas considered to be vulnerable to Japanese.

Korean Americans

Koreans are now one of the largest and fastest – growing Asian groups in the United States. In 2000, about 1.1 million people of Korean origin lived in the US.

Koreans are a very recent immigrant group. Ninety percent of the Koreans now living in the US have been here for less than 20 years. Many of the Korean immigrants left Korea (North and South) because they opposed the prevailing governments or because they wanted to avoid the conflict they believed would break out again between North and South Korea.

Mexican American

The modern history of Mexican –US relations begins in the 1820 s, after Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Large parts of what is now the US were part of Mexico until the 1830s and 1840 s.

Today, Mexican immigration continues very strongly. Mexico is one of the largest sources of immigrants to the United States, accounting for a total of 1.6 million new arrivals in the 1980 s. In fact, the 2000-mile-long border between Mexico and the US is the most heavily border in the world.

Today, most Mexican Americans live in the Southwestern states of Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona and Colorado. This area was originally part of Mexico, so Spanish influence has always been strong. Their language and culture provide the entire region with much of its distinctiveness.