A report by a nonprofit organization says that since 2010 the South Asian population in the US grew by over 40 percent while the number of undocumented Indians jumped 70 percent.
In its demographic snapshot, Maryland-based SAALT or South Asian Americans Leading Together, said: “South Asian population in the U.S. grew a staggering 40% in seven years, from 3.5 million in 2010 to 5.4 million in 2017.”
SAALT estimates that as of 2017, there are over 630,000 undocumented Indians in the US, marking a 72 percent increase since 2010.
The South Asian community in the US includes individuals who trace their ancestry to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and members of the Diaspora from the Caribbean.
Nearly 5.4 million South Asians live in the US, with Indians comprising the largest segment at 80 percent of the total population, according to SAALT.
The organization defines South Asian Americans to include citizens, legal permanent residents, students, H-1B and H-4 visa holders, DACA recipients, and undocumented immigrants.
The organization used the 2010 U. Census and the 2017 American Community Survey to reach its conclusions.
By 2065, Asian Americans are on track to be the largest immigrant population in the U.S., SAALT noted in a press release.
Some of the key findings include:
- The Nepali community grew by 206.6% since 2010, followed by Indian (38%), Bhutanese (38%), Pakistani (33%), Bangladeshi (26%), and Sri Lankan populations (15%).
- There are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72% increase since 2010.
- There are currently at least 4,300 active South Asian DACA recipients.
- Income inequality has been reported to be the greatest among Asian Americans. Nearly 10% of the approximately five million South Asians in the U.S. live in poverty.
- There has been a rise in the number of South Asians seeking asylum in the U.S. over the last 10 years. ICE has detained 3,013 South Asians since 2017. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested 17,119 South Asians between October 2014 and April 2018 through border and interior enforcement.
“As we witness this unprecedented growth in our communities, it is more important than ever that the needs of the most vulnerable South Asian populations are met,” SAALT’s Interim Co-Executive Director Lakshmi Sridaran is quoted as saying in the press release. South Asians are impacted by the full spectrum of federal immigration policies, Sridaran said, “from detention and deportation to H-4 visa work authorization and denaturalization to the assault on public benefits.”
She made the argument that a 2020 Census would not record an accurate number if the citizenship status question was included in the form as that would “chill thousands of community members.”
If hundreds of thousands of South Asians are not counted it would ultimately result in fewer resources to help those in need, SAALT contends.
