Asian growth surpasses Hispanic

Asians have surpassed Hispanics as the United States' largest group of new immigrants.

The Pew Research Center found that the number of Asian immigrants grew from 19 percent of all new immigrants in 2000 to 36 percent in 2010.

Incoming Hispanic immigrants fell from 59 percent in 2000 to 31 percent.

About 430,000 Asians, or 36 percent of all new immigrants, arrived in the U.S. in 2010, according to the latest census data. That's compared to about 370,000, or 31 percent, who were Hispanic.

International students studying at U.S. colleges and universities also are now most likely to come from Asian countries, roughly 6 in 10, and some of them are able to live and work in the U.S. after graduation. Asian students, both foreign born and U.S. born, earned 45 percent of all engineering Ph.D.s in 2010, as well as 38 percent of doctorates in math and computer sciences and 33 percent of doctorates in the physical sciences.

The Pew analysis, released Tuesday, said the tipping point for Asian immigrants likely occurred during 2009 as illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico sharply declined due to increased immigration enforcement and a dwindling supply of low-wage work in the weak U.S. economy. Many Mexicans already in the U.S. have also been heading back to their country, putting recent net migration at a standstill.

President Barack Obama announced on Friday he was halting deportations for young illegals but the issue is in hot debates.

Experts said there was no single answer for why Asian immigrants surpassed Hispanics, but the sluggish US economy probably played a big role.

"Illegal immigration responds quickly to economic conditions" and the US recession was a likely damper, said Jeanne Batalova, a demographer at the Migration Policy Institute.

US immigration policy tends to favour skilled labour and students, something that works to the advantage of immigrants from Asian countries that have a deep focus on education, she and other immigration experts said.

Pew's report is valuable, Chin said, because "it points out that all undocumented, unauthorised migrants are not Mexican or Hispanic. There are plenty who are Asian or from other countries in the world."

By: Sahibzada Zaheen Iqbal