Indian Immigration

Indian migrants situated themselves in America around 1820. Since the population surge in the 1990’s Indian Immigrants have become the second-largest immigrant group in America after Mexicans. Indian Immigrants numbers are largest in cities such as New York City, Chicago, and San Jose. As of 2013 there are over 2 million Indian-born immigrants live in the United States (Zong and Batalova).

The Indians that began arriving in the United States in the 19th century were mainly uneducated farmers that came to find work in agriculture in California (Zong and Batalova). Others came for economic reasons, and eventually returned to India after saving a decent amount of money. Some even came to seek protection, such as the small group of Indian Immigrants

When agriculture in California became more abundant and well-paying between 1910 and 1920, and since many of them had originated from the villages in rural India, a large number of Indian immigrants decided to choose the fields and orchards as a form of employment (Pavri). Euro-American workers saw them as a threat to jobs and were the ones to organize for the removal of Indians (Lei and Arguelles). In 1907, in Bellington, Washington; a mob of about of around 500 men forced about 300 Indians to flee after attacking their boarding houses and mills. The organization known as the Asiatic Exclusion League was also founded in 1907

Immigration Since !965”). This led to the second significant wave of Indian immigration. The first occurred in July of 1946, when Congress passed a bill allowing for the naturalization of Indians. Between 1965 and 1974, Indian immigration to the United States increased at a rate greater than that from almost any other country. Unlike the earliest Indian migrants, most of the arrivals from India after 1965 were young educated urban dwellers, who had strong English language skills. Almost all had already been exposed to Western society, making their transition to America smooth and quickly gained employment. 40 percent of Indian immigrants that arrived in the United States after 1965 had arrived on student or exchange visitor visas. These students eventually were able to find promising jobs and become permanent residents and later on became citizens