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Asian & Pacific Islander Americans
are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the country...
 ...but many APIAs who were born outside the US still remain ineligible to vote because they are unable to meet the citizenship requirement for voter registration.
Did you know?
- More than 80% of APIA immigrants become citizens
- Once APIAs actually become registered to vote, they are the most likely voters to go to the polls on Election Day!
Immigrants make up an increasing portion of the Asian Pacific Islander American community. Of the 14 million APIAs in the U.S., 8.3 million are foreign-born residents, coming from nations on the Pacific Rim, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. APIA immigrants constitute a quarter of the nation’s total immigrant population.
The five largest contributors to the nation's foreign-born population from Asia are China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Korea, while relatively few Pacific Islanders are foreign-born. 48 percent of APIA immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens. The corresponding rate for the foreign-born population as a whole is 37%. 88 percent of APIAs are either immigrants themselves or have at least one immigrant parent.
APIA Vote is proud to be part of the
Immigrant Vote 2004 Campaign
Immigrant Vote 2004 is a nonpartisan project of the New American Opportunity Campaign, which brings together immigrant champions to help empower more than 2 million immigrant voters. Together, we are making the immigrant voice heard on issues of concern to the immigrant community.
DREAM ACT
One such issue of interest to APIA immigrants is the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S. 1545). It will allow access to higher education for undocumented immigrant youth by allowing them to apply to become lawful permanent residents once they graduate from high school or get an equivalent degree. To qualify, the child will have to (1) file an application before reaching the age of 21; (2) have earned a high school diploma or GED; (3) have been physically present in the United States for at least 5 years immediately preceding the date of enactment; (4) be a person of good moral character; and (5) not be inadmissible or deportable under most criminal or security grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill also allows states to determine state residency for higher education purposes.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Another immigration bill with potential for far-reaching impact is comprehensive immigration reform, which avoids the traditionally piecemeal approach to drafting immigration legislation. A comprehensive immigration reform bill would update an unworkable and outdated system to make immigration safe, legal and orderly. There are 1.5 million-plus Asians overseas caught in the family immigration backlog and the many undocumented Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) living in the United States. However, our nation’s immigration laws are needlessly complex and antiquated.
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