Ciana David
Post 1965 Filipino Immigration
The
passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 played a very important role in Filipino
immigration. Due to the act, there
was a dramatic increase in the United States Filipino population. The
Immigration Act of 1965 made this change in demographics possible because it
had abolished national-origin quotas that had previously hindered migration
from foreign countries such as the Philippines. The act had enabled Filipinos to be an emerging Asian ethnic
group in the United States, because Filipinos are now the second most populous
Asian group in America next to the Chinese. Marcela Duff, was just one of many Filipino immigrants who
decided to leave the Philippines as soon as the act had come into play in 1965.
Although there are many more Filipinos in the United States today than there
was before the act, the Filipinos that made the journey to America had to deal
with the problematic issue of racial discrimination. Filipinos also dealt with trying to stay true to their
cultural background, while having a sense of belonging, were other factors that
troubled many immigrant families.
Some Filipinos even undergone discrimination within their own ethnic
group, because of tension between first and second generation Filipinos.
However, in areas with dense Filipino populations, immigrants did not
experience the discrimination, and the identity crisis to the extent of the
Filipinos that had moved to areas with very few Filipinos. Filipinos like Marcela Duff that live
in areas such as the Bay Area specifically Daly City, encountered a homeland
away from the homeland, because they could still connect with many other
Filipinos. The Immigration
Act of 1965 opened the doors for many Filipinos to migrate to the United States
and make new lives for themselves, but it had also opened the doors for
Filipinos to experience the true reality of life in America.
The
Immigration Act of 1965 enabled millions of Filipinos to make the United States
their new home. In the height of
the Civil Rights Movement, President Lyndon B. Johnson had signed a bill that
drastically changed the admittance laws for immigrants. The act also known as the Hart-Cellar
Act abolished the national-origins
quota system that had regulated the ethnic composition of immigration in fair
proportion to each groupsÕ existing presence in the population. With the act, priority was given to
families, so that immigrants could sponsor family members under certain
conditions. Priority was now given
to family members to U.S. citizens, and permanent residents so they could
sponsor the following types of immigrants in this order of these preferences:
Preferences such
as these made migration to the United States far less difficult than it had
been in previous years. With new provisions set in place, many immigrants from
Latin American and Asia took advantage of these new laws and came to the U.S.
in record numbers. Many of these
new immigrants were from the Philippines.
From the Philippines alone there were 1, 456, 800 immigrants that had
arrived in America since the act had been approved. In 1965 Marcela Duff and
many other Filipinos left their homelands as soon as they could for a life in
California. She made the move to
America as soon as she was sponsored by her husband, and when she had the means
to do so, she was able to sponsor all five of her children to make the journey
across the Pacific (Duff). Like
most Asians, Filipinos primarily chose to migrate to one of five states in
America. The most popular states
for Asians were California, New York, Hawaii, Texas, and Illinois. The 1965 Immigration Act changed the
lives many Filipinos, because it allowed them to make lives for themselves in
the United States.
After
making the move to the United States Filipinos had to adjust to life in a new
world. Many immigrant Filipinos have to deal with being different from the rest
of society. Living in a white
dominated country left many immigrants and different ethnic groups to feel a
sense of exclusion, because they were now a minority. Making the move from a country where everyone shares the
same language and traditions, to a place diverse in cultures made many Filipino
feel out of place. Being non-white
in the United States, many Filipinos experienced racial discrimination by
people who were not of their race. Filipinos often dealt with non-Filipinos
calling them racist names such as Òchinks, gooks,
or japs.Ó Often times, non-Asian groups would lump all Asians as being one in
the same. However, it is not only immigrant Filipinos who find it difficult to
blend into a American culture, second generation Filipinos struggle with it as
well. According to the author Yen Le Espiritu of Home Bound: Filipino
American Lives Across Cultures, Communities, and Countries say that:
Filipino immigrant children thus live with paradoxes. They feel strong symbolic loyalty to
the Philippines, but they know very little about it and have little contact
with their parents and other adults who might educate them about it. They feel pressured to become like ÒAmericans,Ó
but their experiences as racialized subjects leave them with an uneasy
relationship with both Filipino and U.S. culture. They display the visible markers of assimilation yet remain
ferociously nationalist. Their
case thus demonstrates the impossibility both of complete assimilation within
U.S. society and of a return to the Philippines for these youths. In the end, for many second-generation
Filipino Americans, here is home-at least for now. They have claimed this space is theirs. (Espiritu 204)
Like many
other Filipinos, Marcela and her family had to deal with how they are perceived
by non-Filipinos. Her family tried
to walk the line of being up to date on American fashions and events at work
and school, while keeping to their ethnic traditions in the presence of people
of their background. Filipino-Americans
and immigrants have a constant struggle in America with trying to assimilate to
American culture, and staying true to their own roots.
Filipinos
not only find it difficult to fit in with the American society but, they often
times find it difficult fitting in their own ethnic group. There are often
clashes between first and second generation Filipinos. When first arriving to the United
States many Filipinos feel as though they would be welcomed by other Filipinos
with open arms. However, that is not always the case. Newly immigrated Filipinos often experience discrimination
from other Filipinos that have been in the U.S. longer. Many Filipinos experience Òovert racism,Ó which is a term used to
explain how there is racism amongst individuals of the same ethnicity (Espiritu
183). Second generation Filipinos deemed the newly immigrated as ÒFresh Off the BoatÓ because their style
of dress, and accents. Many second generation Filipinos are very territorial,
and look down upon other Filipinos who are not ÒAmericanÓ as they are.
They had the unfortunate belief that they were better than the new
immigrants, and they would often harass newcomers to help them fit in with
their American friends. Filipino
immigrants who moved to America perhaps knew that they would experience racism
from people of different racial backgrounds but, they probably did not expect
discrimination from people of their own race.
Although
Filipino immigrants had gone through many hardships in the United States many
Filipinos were able to find a home away from home. In densely Filipino populated communities such as the Bay
Area, Filipinos are living comfortably.
Daly City has the highest concentrated Filipino population outside of
the Philippines. The mayor Mike
Guingona himself is a Filipino-American who is proud of his Philippine
background.
In most Philippine towns, people go to the plaza to chat and get
caught up with the news. Whether it is to eat, shop, meet friends, or simply
gripe, Serramonte Center is where Filipinos in Daly City, Calif., congregate.
For Filipino Americans, the Serramonte Center is that plaza in a city that is
now home to the largest concentration of Filipinos outside of Manila? Over the
past two decades, Filipino immigrants have flocked to Daly City, transforming
the bedroom community into a mini-metropolis with a distinctly Pacific flavor.
About eight miles from San Francisco's downtown, Filipino restaurants dot the
city's shopping strips. Bagoong, tinapa, daing, kamote, and kamoteng
kahoy-staple foods in rural Philippines-are readily available in dozens of
Oriental stores. Pilipino songs blare from music stores (Eljera 1996).
In this area Filipino immigrants did
not have to give up many familiar aspects of home. The Bay Area is a place where Filipinos can openly speak
their language, and express themselves to others. There are many grocery stores, restaurants, and churches
where Filipinos can still connect to their homeland roots. Unlike other areas Filipinos are not
likely to feel a sense of exclusion because they are a minority.
According to the
recent Census update, Asian and Pacific Islanders make up 51.6 percent of the
population. This number makes Daly City one of the first cities in Northern
California where Asian Americans are the majority (Lim).
For Marcela Duff, migrating to the
United States was a very positive experience. She recalls that residing in the Bay Area enabled her to
support her five children and give them the luxuries of America, while keeping
them grounded to their Filipino roots.
Living in the Bay Area allowed for her children to be around people who
were just like them, because many of their classmates were also newcomers from
the Philippines (Duff). The area
had so many other Filipinos that Marcela did not feel like a minority, because
she was able to find comfort in those who were like her. Places such as the Bay Area make it
possible for Filipinos to have the best of both worlds, because they can have
the advantages of American life, while feeling comfortable in their own skin.
The
Immigration Act of 1965 made it possible for many Filipinos to migrate to the
United States, and experience the ups and downs of living life in a new
country. The Act of 1965 created
many new provisions for immigration that many Filipinos were able to use to
their advantage. After the act was
passed, Filipinos had arrived to America in record numbers. Living in the United States, Filipino
immigrants experienced racial discrimination from others, as well as
themselves. They had also
had to find out how they fit in to American society, and keep their own
cultural identity. Many newcomers
had to live life as a minority by being one of few Filipinos in their area. For some, making the move over to the
United States opened them up to many negative experiences, because
discrimination and loneliness, and exclusion clouded their daily lives. On the other hand, many Filipinos in
that migrated to highly populated Filipino areas such as Daly City were able to
have the benefits of life in the United States, while having access to familiar
facets of home. Filipinos who move
to areas rich in their culture are not as homesick as those who move to areas
where they are truly a minority. Marcela Duff is a prime example of a Filipinos
immigrant, her move to the United States was made possible by the Act of 1965,
she experienced the negative and positive aspects of being an immigrant, and
she was able to live in an area rich in her culture. Many Filipinos in the Philippines have the belief that
life in the United States is perfect, that money, wealth, and happiness is
readily available to anyone.
However, those who do make the journey to America find that there is
trouble in paradise. Once Filipino
immigrants arrive in the States they find out first-hand about realities of
Life in America. So
Filipino-Americans are learning to adapt to life in the United States and find
an identity that is enables them to fit in to society, while staying true to
their cultural roots.
Works Cited
Duff, Marcela.
Personal Interview. November 2004
Eljera, Bert.
"Filipino Find Home in Daly City" Asian Week May 3-9 1996 http://www.asianweek.com/050396/dalycity.html
Espiritu, Yen
Le. Home Bound: Filipino American Lives Across Cultures,
Communities, and Countries London, England. 2003
Le, C.N. "The
1965 Immigration Act" Asian-Nation the Landscape of Asian America. 2001
http://www.asian-nation.org/1965-immigration-act.shtml
Lim, Ji Hyun
"Finding Comfort in Daly City" Asian Week April 20-26 ,2001
http://www.asianweek.com/2001_04_20/feature_dalycity.html