Asian Immigration And The United States - 2508 Words

Harmony Xu Asian Am 30W Final Paper Since immigration gates reopened in 1965 with the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act, Asian immigration has risen into the seven digits. Over the past few decades, Asians have established themselves amongst American society to the extent where Asian American Studies has become a subject of study amongst the most prestigious universities in the United States. Starting off as merely numbers, cheap numbers, that is, to plantation owners and railroad companies, the generations formed from these first migrants—the children and grandchildren of the first Asian settlers on American soil have fought for their rights in the Land Of The Free. These immigrants not only have achieved their right to be treated no†¦show more content†¦Liu grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York to Chinese immigrant parents from Taiwan. His Wikipedia page refers to him simply as an â€Å"American writer† as opposed to many Asian American figures who has their ethnic background noted before â€Å"Ame rican† in their description. Liu refers to himself as a â€Å"banana† where he is white by acclamation, and much like the claims of Takao Ozawa of the landmark court case in 1992—he does not physically look white. This clash would be the root of Liu’s struggle with his ethnic identity and race growing up. Liu did not grow up with a â€Å"tiger mom† in the likes of Amy Chua , but a relaxed father who spoke English better than typical Chinese immigrants and a mother who only wanted him to be a â€Å"good boy†. Eric Liu happily and completely assimilated into American culture, and it was not until after he was married in his late twenties did he begin to question his Chinese identity. For Eric Liu, his assimilation â€Å"began long before he was born†. For Eric Liu, he was completing his parents’ assimilation—parents whom immigrated to America with human and financial capital. In comparison to his peers, Eric Liu never knew how he was different aside from what he saw in the mirror because Eric Liu was raised in a middle class family. A mirror of the real life struggles of the Chinese fleeing China on the tail of a Japanese