Immigration drove Asian population growth in the U.S. last year
Immigration drove Asian population growth in the U.S. last year
Texas Gov. Abbott signs law shutting diversity offices at public universities
“Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, study finds.”
While this statistic may seem optimistic, there’s more to the story. The growth of the Asian American population in the U.S. has occurred in tandem with increased reports of discrimination and violence since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
As our community grows, we are getting louder, we are telling our authentic stories…and we are making news headlines.
📰 The Headlines
Immigration drove white and Asian population growth in the U.S. last year — The Asian population saw a 2.4% bump, the largest of any race or ethnic group in the U.S. last year.
Immigration propelled the expansion of the Asian population, which was the fastest-growing race or ethnic group last year in the U.S., while births outpacing deaths helped propel growth in Hispanic, Black, tribal and Hawaiian populations.
Population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show what drove changes in different race, ethnic and age groups last year, as well as since the start of Covid-19′s spread in the U.S. in April 2020. The country had grown to 333.2 million people by the middle of last year, a 0.4% increase over the previous year, according to the 2022 population estimates.
Immigration also drove Asian growth last year, accounting for two-thirds of the 577,000-person increase in people who identify as Asian, including those who identify with more than one race. That 2.4% bump was the largest of any race or ethnic group, and there were 24.6 million Asians in the U.S. last year.
Texas Gov. Abbott signs law shutting diversity offices at public universities — The law comes as the Supreme Court later this month is widely expected to ban colleges and universities from considering race as a factor in their admissions decisions.
All state-funded colleges and universities in Texas will have to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices under a measure signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The law, which one of its sponsors in the Texas state Senate called the most significant ban on diversity offices in higher education in the country, comes as the U.S. Supreme Court later this month is widely expected to ban colleges and universities from considering race as a factor in their admissions decisions.
Under the Texas law, signed by Abbott on Wednesday, any public college or university that does not certify it is in compliance with the measure would not be able to spend state funds allocated to it.
It also mandates that state officials every two years through 2029 conduct studies to gauge the impact of the law on students broken down by race. It will look at the rates of application, acceptance, matriculations, retention and graduation, along with grade point averages. The law does not explain the reasoning for conducting these studies.
First Muslim woman confirmed as a federal judge — Nusrat Choudhury, who spent her career as a civil rights attorney, will also be the first Bangladeshi American federal judge.
The U.S. will have its first Bangladeshi American and first Muslim female federal judge after the Senate confirmed Nusrat Choudhury on Thursday.
President Joe Biden nominated Choudhury, a civil rights attorney, to the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York in January, and she was confirmed to the life-tenured position with a narrow margin of 50-49 votes.
Most recently, Choudhury was the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, and, according to her online bio, she has a track record of advancing criminal justice reform, immigrants' rights and access t reproductive care. She was previously the deputy director of the ACLU's Racial Justice program.
🗽 From New York
A teen win — Natasha Kulviwat, a 16-year-old school student from New York, won an award and a $50,000 cash prize for her research studying the brain tissues of people who died by suicide in the hopes that it could one day be used for prevention.
A Chinatown fire — Four people died in a fire caused by batteries in an e-bike shop near Chinatown. The blaze, which left two others in critical condition, began on the first floor of a building at 80 Madison Street shortly after midnight.
📺 Screentime
‘Elemental’ — Leah Lewis, star of Pixar’s latest animated film, shares why she loves working with fellow AAPI creatives.
‘America’s Got Talent’ — Filipino fisherman Roland Abante earned a standing ovation and the coveted four ‘yes’ votes at his audition for America’s Got Talent on Tuesday night.
📽️ What We’re Watching
✍️, Lea @ Crushing the Myth