Asian Americans have historically been minor players in US presidential elections, but that’s changing fast as the community grows. In a campaign fraught with controversy and conflict, an increasing Asian American influence is helping to shape the political landscape in the US.
Judy Chu is a political pioneer she’s the first Chinese American woman elected to the US Congress. Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States between 2000 and 2019. According to a Pew Research Center analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau population, the Asian population in the U.S. grew 81% during that span, from roughly 10.5 million to a record 18.9 million. Furthermore, by 2060, the number of U.S. Asians is projected to rise to 35.8 million, more than triple their 2000 population. I have never been a US citizen but was very surprised to hear it was 2016 that the first Chinese American was elected to Congress. I know that the U.S. has a diverse race, so I thought that the American government and the election system were fully and equally open to all races for a long time, but in reality, Asian Americans have a history to have been considered “outsiders” and not had their voices reflected in the political process enough. I am not familiar with immigration issues in the U.S., as I grew up in Japan with very few immigrants, but I would guess that it is not easy to change the system of government quickly enough to keep up with rapid population changes. However, we can see the U.S. race becoming even more diverse in the future. Therefore, I would say that the challenge for American politics in the future is to question the existing ideology and political system and change its character flexibly without sticking too closely to it.
- If you are an immigrant and feel inequitable about U.S. government policies or voting rights, how would you act?
- How do you feel about the increace in immgration in the U.S.?
- From a political perspective, should the U.S. accept more immigrants?
- What do you think is the biggest problem with the US political system regarding immigration?
- What do you see as the advantages or disadvantages of having a racially diverse Congress?
This assighment was a little bit difficult for me, but through this, I could learn American Goverment more.