Some 85 percent of Asian Americans in college are either immigrants or children of immigrants, reports Inside Higher Education.
The new figures are part of a larger trend which has seen a surge in enrollment from immigrants among college students. 28 percent are from immigrant families. That’s up from 20 percent in 2000.
The Hill reports the surge is higher than increase of enrollment by U.S.-born students of parents who were also born in the United States.
“In higher education, we are producing and training the future workforce. That future workforce has more students from immigrant families than previously understood,” Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, told the NY Times.
According to Migration Policy, the top three countries immigrants students come from are all Asian countries-India, China/Hong Kong and the Philippines. In fact, Asian American Pacific Islander immigrants accounted for 47% of the total college educated.
The report says higher education immigrants are more likely to be clustered in the fields of high tech, engineering and science.
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