JUNE 2026 ISSUE

-- The experiences of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) families are heavily shaped by the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. The Trump Administration’s immigration agenda, including expansion of immigration enforcement operations, directly harms communities. Significant increases in federal funds to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will only escalate violent enforcement practices.

About AAPI Communities

*Today, there are over 14 million Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants in the U.S., representing an estimated 31% of the total immigration population. (Migration Policy Institute)

“Immigrants from Asia in the United States

April 17, 2025 Spotlight--By Alejandro Urbina-Bernal and Jeanne Batalova

Asia is the second largest region of origin for immigration to the United States, after Latin America, accounting for 31 percent (or 14.6 million) of all 47.8 million foreign-born residents as of 2023. After Mexico, the next three largest countries of origin for U.S. immigrants were in Asia: India (2.9 million), China (2.4 million), and the Philippines (2.1 million). U.S. immigration from Asia has a long and complex history. Starting in the mid-19th century, immigrants from Asia came primarily from China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines for agricultural and construction work. However, after a series of restrictions targeting first Chinese immigration (the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act) and then immigration from everywhere but Northern and Western Europe (the National Origins Acts of 1921 and 1924), immigration from Asia quickly ground to a halt. It did not rebound until the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act removed national-origin quotas. Unlike those who immigrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, post-1965 arrivals from Asia have been more diverse in terms of their reasons for moving, as well as their skills, education, origin countries, and languages. While people from Asia accounted for just 6 percent of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, which the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimated stood at 13.7 million as of mid-2023, the number is on the rise. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, close to 236,000 migrants from China, India, Myanmar (also known as Burma), the Philippines, and Turkey were encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol, nearly 40 percent more than in FY 2022, and placing these five countries among the top 21 origins for migrants encountered at the border. This Spotlight provides information on the immigrant population from Asia in the United States, focusing on its size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics. "

*Asian Americans are the only racial group that is majority foreign-born (65%). ( AAPI Data)

*More than 18 million children are from families with an immigrant parent in the U.S., and of these families, 3.2 million are children of Asian descent. (Urban Institute)

*Following the arrest, detention, and deportation of a family member, household income drops drastically leading to both short- and long-term financial strains. ( American Immigration Council)

*Following the deportation of a family member, further risks of food insecurity and housing instability, and an increased likelihood of depression and anxiety in children occur. ( KFF) Polling and Survey Data

• Nearly two-thirds of AAPIs think that the Trump Administration has gone too far on immigration enforcement. (AAPI Data) • Immigration policy has increasingly become a priority for the AAPI community. In 2025, 42% of AAPI adults identified immigration as one of their top policy issues, a jump from the 29% in 2023. No other issue saw a gain of this magnitude, underscoring the growing importance of immigration to our communities. (AAPI Data)

• More than 7 in 10 AAPIs oppose allowing immigration agents to wear full face masks and refuse to provide identification. (AAPI Data)

The Impact of DHS

In 2002, DHS was created in response to September 11 and has been responsible for enforcing immigration laws, controlling the border, and responding to natural disasters. Within DHS is the CBP which is primarily responsible for border security. ICE was also established within DHS and now has over 20,000 law enforcement employees across more than 400 offices throughout the U.S. and around the world. CBP and ICE have continued to target, discriminate, and threaten immigrant communities, including AAPIs, as the agencies’ enforcement tactics have grown increasingly violent.

Since the second Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign, an estimated 40,000 individuals are held in detention each day. (American Immigration Council) The agency continues its rampant raids against vulnerable communities including an increase in the number of arrests of AAPIs who are Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Lao, and Nepalese. (UCLA Asian American Studies Center) The same reporting shows that 96% of Asians who were arrested were subsequently placed in detention. From Chicago to Los Angeles, to Minneapolis and beyond, people have faced violence and even death at the hands of ICE agents. (Vera Institute for Justice)

Administrative Actions Since 2025

• Subsequent to the President’s Executive Order 14159 requiring the registration of noncitizens, new rules were issued warning that noncompliance would result in criminal penalties. (American Oversight) Non-citizens 14 years of age and older are required to register or re-register with USCIS. (USCIS)

• Expanded immigration enforcement results in increased arrests, detentions, deportations, and the involvement of local police through ICE’s 287(g) program. The engagement of local law enforcement in immigration leads to further racial profiling and discrimination. (The Southern Poverty Law Center)

• DHS has been directed to detain as many noncitizens as possible with ICE arrests increasing by over 2,400% of individuals with no criminal record since the beginning of the Administration. (American Immigration Council)

Federal Funding Levels

H.R. 1 provided ICE with an additional $75 billion (Brennan Center) as ICE has now become the highest-funded law enforcement entity in the U.S. with over $85 billion. (NPR) As a result of increases in federal funds, ICE will continue to expand its scope and operations and be able to:

• build more facilities and transport individuals for detentions (Brennan Center)

• hold up to 100,000 people in custody each day (Migration Policy Center)

• employ more than 12,000 new enforcement officers (DHS)

• strengthen its work with state and local law enforcement through more than 1,300 287(g) agreements across 40 states (ICE)

• utilize updated technology for surveillance (PBS)

​Based in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is a coalition of 46 national Asian Pacific American organizations. We represent the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and provide a national voice for our communities’ concerns.