Filipino Immigration

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Abstract
Many Filipinos who have migrated to the U.S had an opportunity to explore a different type of life. Living in America there are so many opportunities for each Filipino to live, work and to have a better type of lifestyle. Migrating from a third world country is a huge transition from the way life is in the U.S. Coming from a country of seven thousand plus islands and a culture where “…women were considered equal to men,”(1) according to Linda A. Revilla in her article entitled, “Filipino Americans: Historical Review,” Filipino Americans have presently become the second largest immigrant group to enter the US annually.

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The Spanish colonization of the islands now known as the Philippines, started in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan set foot on soil and claimed the land for Spain. The Spaniards succeed in the colonization of the Philippines in many ways. Catholicism was integrated into the lives of the majority of the population. A strong education system was also established in the Philippines.
Filipinos are one of the largest groups of immigrant in the United States. According to the Asian Population: 2000, “Filipinos and Asian Indians were the next two largest specified Asian groups. There were 1.9 million people who reported Filipino alone and an additional 0.5 million who reported Filipino in combination with one or more other races or Asian groups. This gives a total of 2.4 million people who reported Filipino alone or in combination with at least one other race or Asian group” (Asian Population: 2000). They migrate to different parts of the world but most of them tend to migrate and stay permanently here in America. “American Dreams” this is one of the main reasons as to why Filipinos and other races migrate here in America. Before anything else, let us define “American Dreams,”- it is a belief where the United States is considered a place where, as long as a person worked hard, he or she will have a better chance to live well and could even get rich. It is not a bad idea at all because it gives the newly migrate person hope to reach his or her goal, besides America is really a great country. It gives us freedom to pursue a better life and good career, especially for our children. For some immigrants, success and achievement are their main goal, but some of them just wanted a better life. Many Filipinos migrate to America not because they were attracted to the unlimited mobility or promise job but because of the big in earnings in the United States compared to the Philippines. Many were unlucky to find it in their homeland; maybe by migrating to another country like the United States many might find their luck. Filipino Immigration 4
Many Filipinos migrated to the United States to claim for themselves the promises of the “land of opportunity” (Espiritu). Many migrated to the U.S for two reasons the occupational immigration and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. I’ve asked many Filipinos who came to the U.S what was the motivation for them coming here to the states. Most Filipinos replied that the life in the Philippines is very hard and they wanted to bring their children to America because they’ll have a better life here not like in the Philippines.
With the end of organized Filipino labor importation, the increase in the number of Filipinos migrating to the U.S. in the 1950s was as a result of petitioned spouses and children. But the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allowed for a new and different wave of Filipino migration. The law allowed for a "dual chain" system of immigration consisting of the "relative-selective" and "occupational" migration. Under "relative-selective immigration," Filipinos came as petitioned relatives of previous migrants who have become U.S. citizens. As a result of this dual chain of immigration, the number of Filipinos in the U.S. multiplied. Steffi San Buenaventura claims that in 1970 there were 343,060 Filipinos in the U.S; in 1980, it rose to 782,895; and in 1990, it was 1,406,770. She notes that this post-1965 immigration had few links with the pre-1965 immigration experience. In the 1990s, California and Hawaii continue to host the largest number of Filipinos in the U.S. This is followed by Illinois, New York, and New Jersey which absorbed much of the post-1965 immigration. But, by and large, Filipinos can be found all over the fifty states of the U.S., making them the fastest growing Asian community in the U.S. (Philippine History Site).

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References
Wikepedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Filipino American. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_American.
Yeo, et.al. Filipino American Elders. Cohort Analysis as a Tool in Ethnogeriatrics: Historical Profiles of Elders from Eight Ethnic Populations In the United States. http://www.gasi.org/diversity/cohort/filipino_am_cohort.htm
Philippines Historical Site. Filipino Migration to U.S., http://opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/1965.html.

References: Wikepedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Filipino American. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_American. Yeo, et.al. Filipino American Elders. Cohort Analysis as a Tool in Ethnogeriatrics: Historical Profiles of Elders from Eight Ethnic Populations In the United States. http://www.gasi.org/diversity/cohort/filipino_am_cohort.htm Philippines Historical Site. Filipino Migration to U.S., http://opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/1965.html.