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Issue Brief

Issue Brief Title - Overview

Goal Statement   one sentence that further defines the topic

Local/State/National Information    additional information on this topic at the local, state, national, global level

• Issue Brief Title - USA

• Issue Brief Title - State

• Issue Brief Title - Local, State

• Issue Brief Title - State 

• Issue Brief Title - Local, State

Policy Options / Model Programs   link to profiles of specific policies or program models, grouped by type 

• Category One

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• Category Two
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• Category Three 
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Glossary of Terms   key words or phrases that the layperson needs to know to understand this issue  

Contributor(s):

• Issue Overview:  

• goal statement — To empower Asian women, encourage their civic, community, and political engagement through community-based organizations.

• links to policy options or model program profiles
• Policy option 1
• Policy Option 2
• Policy Option 3
• links to the geographically-focused information — see below
• glossary of terms — key words or phrases that the layperson needs to know to understand this issue
• Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian."

• Policy Options / Model Programs:  These page(s) profile each policy option or model program listed on the issue overview page.  The content in these profile pages are as follows:

• Policy option 1

• Policy option 2

• Policy Option 3

• Policy Option 4

• Local/State/National Information:  These page(s) contain the geographically-focused content on the issue for the following sections:
• scope of the problem — factual statements on the extent of the problem in the past, current, or future

• Over the U.S, most immigrants in the early 1900s (85%) came from European countries, with only 1.3% from Latin America and 1.2% from Asia.  By the 1990s, only 22% came from European countries, with 42.5% from Latin America, and 25.2% from Asia.

  In 2007, Asians totaled 15.2 million; Between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Asians were the second fastest-growing minority group, with a 2.9 percent population increase during the period (after Hispanic group).

• The reasons behind immigration from Asia to America in general and to Maine in particular is:

  - Political unrest, People migrated due to political reasons, they sought asylums

  - Family reunion, because Asian communities share a strong ties

  - Furthermore, the Asian communities also emerge due to economic prosperities

• The most predominant groups placed in Maine in 2003 –2004 were the following:

  Nation of Origin	People
  Canada	239
  China	176
  Philippines	166
  Somali	144
  UK	115
  Russia	87
  Vietnam	78
  India	74
  Cambodia	63
  Sudan	63

• Distribution of Asian communities in big cities in Maine

  In the State of Maine in particular, Asian people accounts or 0.9% of the population in 2008. The number of Asian people in different cities is distributed as:

  1- Portland: 4215 or 3.1% (in 2000)

  2- Lewiston: 773 or 0.8% (in 2000)

  3- Bangor: 1166 or 1.2% (in 2000)

• Maine has experienced relatively little change in the racial and ethnic mix of it population. Whites constituted 97 percent of the population in 2002 and racial/ ethnic minorities made up a relatively small share of the total population (African- Americans, 0.5 percent; Hispanics, 0.7 percent; and Asians, 0.5 percent).

• Foreign born residents have contributed to significant population and labor force growth for the U.S. overall, but represented only 2.9 percent of Maine’s population in 2002 compared to 11 percent nationally. The lack of diversity in Maine’s population has contributed to slow population growth and an aging workforce. While the U.S. population grew by 13 percent between 1990 and 2000, Maine’s population increased 3.8 percent during the same period.”

• The outlook for the 2002 to 2012 period is largely for a continuation of trends that have been on-going for some time. Employment is expected to increase by about68,100 or 10 percent, down from growth of 74,700 between 1992 and 2002. Wage and salary employment is expected to increase 10 percent, while self-employment is forecast to increase nine percent.  

• Maine also has many opportunities for jobs, in both the mature industries and new emerging industries. The mature industries include forest products, marine-related activities, precision and niche manufacturing, and tourism. The emerging industry clusters include: biotech and biomedical research, financial services, and radio frequency identification.

• The trend in the economy is the emerging and development of small businesses. In Maine,  more Maine workers find themselves working in smaller establishments demanding a range of skill sets, including more self-management. The changing nature of work requires deeper knowledge and more advanced skills even for workers employed in lower wage jobs.

• past policy — key legislation and milestones including significant policy and funding shifts, major studies, etc.

• The 1956 Immigration Act

  - Many Asian war brides who married U.S. servicemen after World War II began using the family reunification preferences to bring over their siblings.

  - The first Asians to immigrate to the U.S. under the provisions of this Act were mainly professionals and political refugees. Once they arrived in the U.S., they applied for permanent resident status and eventually for U.S. citizenship. Then many took full advantage of the family reunification preferences of the 1965 Act to bring over spouses, children, siblings, and parents.

  - Thus began the cycle of chain immigration and sponsorship -- initial Asian immigrants (many of whom came as professionals or refugees) would attain permanent resident and later citizenship status and would sponsor family members and relatives. After these family member and relatives arrived in the U.S. and became permanent residents and citizens, they in turn would sponsor their family members and relatives, and so on.

• current policy — summary of current policies in the form of legislation, programs, and funding
• HR4437 makes it illegal for people, including family, and organizations, including churches and non-profits, to offer services or assistance to anyone who might be illegally in the US.

• key organizations/individuals — contacts for public and private organizations and key individuals
• MECEP  http://www.mecep.org/
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• bibliography — web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material
• http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_maine_census  
• http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/c&b/2009/summer/Antoniya_Owens_immigrants.pdf
• http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/08me.pdf

• http://www.asian-nation.org/1965-immigration-act.shtml

• http://maine.gov/dhhs/oma/MulticulturalResource/intro.html