New Report on Diversity
& Complexity of Asian and Pacific Islander Community
Washington, DC: The National
Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and its affiliates
the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the Asian Law
Caucus have announced the release of a new demographic profile
report, The Diverse Face of Asians and Pacific Islanders in
California. This report dispels the myth that the Asian and
Pacific Islander community is a monolithic and unreservedly
successful ethnic group. In fact, the report shows that the
Asian American community is composed of many different groups
with many different characteristics.
The Diverse Face of Asian and Pacific Islanders in California
is the first report using Census 2000 and other data providing
detailed information on the characteristics of more than 20
API ethnic groups statewide and regionally. APALC was the
principal researcher for this report. Social and economic
indicators often show APIs doing better collectively than
Latinos and African Americans. However, data on individual
API ethnic groups reveal that many, especially Southeast Asians
and Pacific Islanders, are faring worse. The report’s key
findings include: · Data broken down for more than 20 API
ethnic groups find some to be among the most poverty stricken
in the state. Hmong, Cambodians, and Laotians make up some
of the poorest communities in California.
Asian households suffer from the highest levels of linguistic
isolation in the state. · A disproportionate number of Asians
and Pacific Islanders live in overcrowded housing. Statewide,
one out of four APIs in California live in overcrowded housing
and 14% live in severely crowded housing. “The Asian and Pacific
Islanders of California make up one-third of the nation’s
total Asian and Pacific Islander population, and are among
the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups,” said Karen
K. Narasaki, President and Executive Director of the NAPALC.
“This report is indicative about what is going on in the Asian
and Pacific Islander community nation-wide. Business institutions
and government agencies on the federal, state and local level
will be able to use this report to better serve the needs
of our community.” “While we’ve seen progress over the past
decade, our community continues to face challenges,” said
Stewart Kwoh, President and Executive Director of the APALC.
“This research is critical if government and community institutions
are to truly understand and help APIs respond to those challenges.”
“Many Californians remain unaware that Southeast Asians and
Pacific Islanders are among the state’s poorest communities,
or that a hospital’s failure to provide interpretation in
Asian languages denies critical emergency care to limited
English proficient seniors,” said Philip Y. Ting, Executive
Director of the ALC. “It is particularly important that policy
makers, both locally and in Sacramento, understand our community
and its needs.”
