Between 2000 and 2010, the number of census respondents identifying themselves as Indonesian (either alone or in combination with other responses) grew by 51% from 63,073 to 95,270.[3][4] Come 2015, this number has augmented again to 113,000 persons according to the Pew Research Center.[9]
Chinese Indonesian asylum seekers
Active lobbying of politicians by Chinese American groups contributed to an unusually high number of successful Chinese Indonesian applicants for political asylum to the United States in 1998 as an impact of the May 1998 riots in Indonesia. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 7,359 applicants were granted asylee status and 5,848 were denied in the decade up to 2007. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly difficult for applicants to prove to immigration officials that they would face targeted violence if returned to Indonesia.[10]
In 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Sael v. Ashcroft that a Chinese Indonesian couple was eligible for political asylum after citing the existence of anti-Chinese violence and of laws that prohibit Chinese schools and institutions.[11][12] The same court in the following year granted Marjorie Lolong eligibility for asylum after finding that she is "a member of [women and Christian] sub-groups that are at a substantially greater risk of persecution than the [ethnic Chinese] group as a whole."[13] However, the court reversed its findings through an en banc decision and stated that it understood the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) "decision to preclude a general grant of asylum to Indonesian Chinese Christians." The dissenting opinion criticized the BIA's rejection of testimony regarding the Indonesian government's inability to control persecution despite its intentions.[14]
Demography
According to estimates from the American Community Survey for 2015–2019, the total population of Indonesian immigrants in the USA was 96,200. Of that number, the top 15 counties of residence were:[15]
Indonesian Americans are members of various ethnic subcategories such as Malays, Minangkabau,[16]Minahasans, Javanese, Batak, or Tionghoa.[6] The first Indonesians to move to Southern California were Indos (Indonesians of mixed Native Indonesian and European descent).[17] However, the majority of Indonesians who came in the 1960s were of Chinese descent.[18] Unofficial estimates suggest that as many as 60% of the Indonesians in Southern California are of Chinese descent.[19] Interracial marriage is not uncommon, especially among the young, though the elderly often prefer that their children marry other Indonesian or Chinese.[20]
Many second-generation Indonesian Americans still feel a connection to their Indonesian identity through their ancestry despite often not having a complete grasp on the Indonesian language.[21]
While Islam gains its popularity among Indonesian Americans due to Indonesia being one of the largest Islamic countries in the world, Christianity is the mostly rapidly growing religious tradition among these communities.[22] The first Indonesian church in the U.S. was a Seventh-day Adventist Church established in Glendale, California in 1972 with a predominantly Indo congregation (now located in Azusa, CA); however, as more pribumi migrants joined the church, racial tensions arose, and the Indos withdrew to other churches. The second Indonesian church to be founded in the U.S. was a Baptist church, started by an ethnic Chinese pastor and with a predominantly ethnic Chinese congregation.[23] By 1988, there were 14 Indonesian Protestant congregations; ten years later, that number had grown to 41, with two Indonesian Catholic congregations as well.[24] Catholicism is most present within Indonesian American communities in states like California, Georgia, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania where mass is offered weekly or monthly in the Indonesian language.[6] Many of the Chinese-Indonesian immigrants of the late 1990s were Christian, and chose to flee their mainland due to fear of persecution.[22]
Indonesian Muslims constituted around 15% of the Indonesian American population in the 1990s.[25] The first Indonesian Mosque in the U.S. was the Al-Hikmah Mosque founded in Astoria, New York, which is currently headed by Shamsi Ali.[26][27] In 2017, the Indonesian Muslim community in Los Angeles purchased a former church at 1200 Kenmore Avenue and converted it into At-Thohir Mosque.[28][29] There is also an Indonesian mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland named the IMAAM Center.[30] This mosque is very active today through its regular services and community outreach, as it is an important hub for Indonesian Muslim life in America.[25] Many upper class Indonesians have chosen to assimilate more into American culture due to economic and cultural comforts. From the perspective of those within this community, this can be seen as a divergence from the Indonesian Muslim identity.[25]
Workforce
Roughly one of every eight Indonesian Americans worked as a cook, waiter, or waitress.[31] Restaurants owned by Indonesian Americans are sites for cultural unity over shared meals and traditions.[6]
According to Pew Research in 2019, households headed by an Indonesian immigrant had a median income of $80,000, compared to $64,000 and $66,000 for all immigrant and U.S.-born households, respectively.[32]
Media
Indonesians have founded a number of publications in California. The earliest was the Indonesian Journal, founded in 1988, and published primarily in the Indonesian language.[8] Others include the Loma Linda-based Actual Indonesia News (founded 1996, also in Indonesian), and the Glendora-based Indonesia Media (founded 1998).[8]Los Angeles-based monthly The Indonesia Letter has the largest circulation.[33]
Coco Lee, international artist, Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter, actress, (father was an ethnic Chinese from Indonesia while mother was from Hong Kong, China)
Xenophobia is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression which is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-group and an out-group and it may manifest itself in suspicion of one group's activities by members of the other group, a desire to eliminate the presence of the group which is the target of suspicion, and fear of losing a national, ethnic, or racial identity.
The United States had an official estimated resident population of 334,914,895 on July 1, 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure includes the 50 states and the Washington, D.C. but excludes the population of five unincorporated U.S. territories as well as several minor island possessions. The United States is the third most populous country in the world, and the most populous in the Americas and the Western Hemisphere. The Census Bureau showed a population increase of 0.4% for the twelve-month period ending in July 2022, below the world average annual rate of 0.9%. The total fertility rate in the United States estimated for 2022 is 1.665 children per woman, which is below the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.1. By several metrics, including racial and ethnic background, religious affiliation, and percentage of rural and urban divide, Illinois is the most representative of the larger demography of the United States.
Vietnamese Americans are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They comprise approximately half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group following Chinese Americans, Indian Americans, and Filipino Americans. There are approximately 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent residing in the U.S. as of 2023.
Islam is the second largest religion in the Netherlands, after Christianity, and is practised by 5% of the population according to 2018 estimates. The majority of Muslims in the Netherlands belong to the Sunni denomination. Many reside in the country's four major cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
In non-Asian countries, an Asian supermarket largely describes a category of grocery stores that focuses and stocks items and products imported from countries located in the Far East.
Pakistani Americans are citizens of the United States who have full or partial ancestry from Pakistan, or more simply, Pakistanis in America. They can be from different ethnic groups in Pakistan like Punjabi or Baloch. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-American diaspora compared to the U.S. population at large. In 2019, there were an estimated 554,202 self-identified Pakistani Americans, representing about 0.187% of the U.S. population, and about 2.50% of Asian Americans; more specifically, around 8% of South Asian Americans.
Bangladeshi Americans are Americans of Bangladeshi descent. Most Bangladeshi Americans are also Bengali Americans. Bangladeshi Americans are usually Muslims with roots in Bangladesh in which Bengali is the majority language. Since the early 1970s, Bangladeshi immigrants have arrived in significant numbers to become one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S. New York City is home to two-thirds of the Bangladeshi American population. Meanwhile, Paterson, New Jersey and Atlantic City, New Jersey are also home to notable Bangladeshi communities. An estimated 400,000 people leave Bangladesh annually with the sole goal of finding employment in other countries.
California is the most populated U.S. state, with an estimated population of 38.9 million as of 2023. It has people from a wide variety of ethnic, racial, national, and religious backgrounds.
The majority of the population of East Timor is Christian, and the Catholic Church is the dominant religious institution, although it is not formally the state religion. There are also small Protestant and Sunni Muslim communities.
Algerians in the United Kingdom are residents of the UK with ancestry from Algeria. They include Algerian-born immigrants and their British-born descendants.
Moroccan Americans are Americans citizens who are of Moroccan descent, either fully or partially. It is also applied to Americans who hold dual citizenship in America and Morocco.
Islam is a minority religion in all of the countries and territories of the Americas, around 1% of North America population are Muslims, and 0.1% of Latin America and Caribbean population are Muslims.
The Indo people are Eurasian people living in or connected with Indonesia. In its narrowest sense, the term refers to people in the former Dutch East Indies who held European legal status but were of mixed Dutch and indigenous Indonesian descent as well as their descendants today.
Hong Kong Americans, include Americans who are also Hong Kong residents who identify themselves as Hong Kongers, Americans of Hong Kong ancestry, and also Americans who have Hong Kong parents.
Eritrean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans who are of full or partial Eritrean national origin, heritage and/or ancestry.
Asian Californians are residents of the state of California who are of Asian ancestry. California has the largest Asian American population in the U.S., and second highest proportion of Asian American residents, after Hawaii. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, there were over 6 million Asian-Americans in California; 15.5% of the state's population. If including those with partial Asian ancestry, this figure is around 17%. This is a jump from 13.8% recorded in 2010.
Hokkien, Hoklo (Holo), and Minnan people are found in the United States. The Hoklo people are a Han Chinese subgroup with ancestral roots in Southern Fujian and Eastern Guangdong, particularly around the modern prefecture-level cities of Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Xiamen and Chaoshan area. They are also known by various endonyms, or other related terms such as Hoklo people (河洛儂), Banlam (Minnan) people, Hokkien people or Teochew people (潮州人;Tiê-tsiu-lâng). These people usually also have roots in the Hokkien diaspora in Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
↑ Halen, Van (February 5, 2012). "VH Interviews". Vimeo.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2017– via Vimeo.
Sources
Lee, Jonathan H. X.; Nadeau, Kathleen M. (2011). Encyclopedia of Asian American folklore and folklife. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN978-0-313-35067-2. OCLC701335337. pp 515–566.
Budiman, Abby. "Indonesians in the U.S. Fact Sheet." Pew Research Center. 2021. online
Yang, Eveline (2001), "Indonesian Americans", in Lehman, Jeffrey (ed.), Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, vol.2 (seconded.), Gale Group, pp.897–905, ISBN978-0-7876-3986-0
Barnes, Jessica S.; Bennett, Claudette E. (February 2002), The Asian Population: 2000(PDF), U.S. Census 2000, U.S. Department of Commerce, retrieved September 30, 2009
Cunningham, Clark E. (2009), "Unity and Diversity among Indonesian Migrants to the United States", in Ling, Huping (ed.), Emerging Voices: Experiences of Underrepresented Asian Americans, Rutgers University Press, pp.90–125, ISBN978-0-8135-4342-0
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