“In a country where possessions counted for everything, we had no belongings except our stories.”
― Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Refugees
The stories of migration and immigration include themes of conquest, violence, exploration, and growth. Asian American and Pacific Islanders are part of the American migration story, from Chinese laborers in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the Caribbean to the revolving doors of Asian migration to the Hawaiian sugar plantations.
For Pacific Islanders, stories of migration predate the founding of the United States and speak to legacies of ship faring in the Pacific Ocean and beyond. For more recent migrants and refugees, American involvement in the War in Vietnam led to Southeast Asian, primarily Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong, and Cambodian refugees to settle across the Midwest and the American South.
Every day there are immigrants from Asia, like Filipino nurses and South Asian international students, who come to the United States to seek work and education for a new life.
This movement changed the fabric of the country as America is a mosaic of the migration stories of the people here today.
Imperialism and Migration
Come learn about how imperialism and colonialism are tied to Asian and Pacific Islander migration to the United States.
Asian Immigrants and Refugees
Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in the nation – learn about the causes and results of this migration.
A Sea of Islands
Why are Pacific Islanders often grouped together with Asian Americans? Learn early histories of Pacific Islander migration and politics.
Philip Vera Cruz
Philip Vera Cruz was a Filipino American labor organizer, farmworker, and leader in the Asian American and civil rights movement.
AAPI Stories of Migration and Immigration
Last updated: June 7, 2024