Vietnamese Immigration to California: 1975

Vietnamese Immigration to California: 1975 to 1995

The United States is a country of immigrants, and except for the Native Americans who were already here, everyone in the nation can trace their roots to another country. Indeed, wave after wave of European and Asian immigrants arrived on the shores of America during the 19th and 20th centuries, and millions of people from other countries continue to seek a better life in the United States today. While most people who emigrate to the United States share a common goal of seeking a better life for themselves and their families, there are also other and vastly different reasons that compelled them to make this life-changing decision and this was certainly the case with the large numbers of Vietnamese people who arrived in two waves during the late 20th century following America's failed military efforts in their homeland. To determine what factors fueled their decision, where they settled in the State of California and their experiences following their arrival, this paper provides a review of the relevant primary and secondary peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning Vietnamese immigration to California from 1975 to 1995, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Based on the 2000 census data, it is estimated that by 1995, there were slightly more than 440,000 Vietnamese people living in the State of California, accounting for just over one percent of the population.

According to Yang (1995), California was a highly desirable destination for Vietnamese immigrants because of its geographic proximity compared to the rest of the country as well as the large cities that offered them employment opportunities as well as a relatively safe haven because of the significant numbers of their countrymen who had already settled there. In this regard, Yang reports that Los Angeles has been one of the most popular destinations for newly arrived Vietnamese seeking a better life in the United States since 1975. As Yang point out, "The most important reason is economic opportunities in these metropolitan areas. For instance, Los Angeles, which has been the most favorite destination in the recent decades, underwent rapid economic growth in about the same period, which generated job opportunities for manual laborers, professionals, and entrepreneurs."

This is not to say that all newly arrived Vietnamese in California enjoyed immediate prosperity, though. In fact, depending on their ultimate destination in the state, newly arrived Vietnamese immigrants in California before 1995 were faced with a number of obstacles besides the numerous obvious ones including a dissimilar culture and language differences. According to Menjivar, some regions of the state have provided better opportunities for newly arrived Vietnamese depending on how many of their countrymen had already settled there thereby creating a cultural enclave in which they could better assimilate with the larger American society as well as providing job opportunities where they might not otherwise exist. For instance, Menjivar notes that, "Vietnamese in California, such as in Orange County or San Jose, have been able to establish a wide range of businesses, thus providing a broad base for ethnic employment, especially for recent arrivals who are unfamiliar with the language and the culture of the new country."

By sharp contrast, the Vietnamese who made their way to other major cities in California were faced with an entirely different environment upon their arrival, especially depending on whether they were part of the first or second waves of immigrants. The vast majority of the first wave of Vietnamese immigrants to California were highly educated, spoke some English and had marketable job skills; by contrast, the second wave was largely comprised of so-called "boat people" who did not possess these advantages.

In this regard, Menjivar emphasizes that for the second wave, "The Vietnamese in Sacramento faced a different situation because there is not yet a well-developed Vietnamese enclave in this city, and recently arrived Vietnamese have scant opportunities for employment in the shrinking job market there."

The wave of Vietnamese immigration to California after 1975 was driven in large part by U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. As the war drew to a bloody and unsuccessful climax in the 1970s, tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees took advantage of the humanitarian provisions of the U.S. immigration laws at the time and made their way to California in one fashion or another. In this regard, Yang points out that, "U.S. military interventions may create conditions for emigration. The most prominent example is U.S. intervention in the Vietnam War and the subsequent influx of Vietnamese refugees."

One of the outcomes of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War has been for the U.S. Immigration Service to more readily assign legal resident status to newly arrived Vietnamese immigrants that might not be available to the massive numbers of immigrants arriving from other countries, particularly Mexico in the first wave of Vietnamese immigrants to California.

According to one Vietnamese refugee who made his way to America, "The first wave of refugees, involving some ten to fifteen thousand people, began at least a week to ten days before the collapse of the government. The second wave, and probably the largest in numbers, involved some eighty thousand who were evacuated by aircraft during the last days of April 1975."

An account of the desperate and harrowing experience of escaping from the North Vietnamese is provided by Kim-Phuong, who was attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, at the time of her interview with Do:

We came during the summer. I remember my mom telling us to pack all our stuff and we were supposed to meet our father at the beach outside of Saigon. Our dad . . . had access to a boat so he met us there. I was only five but I remember it took a long time to get to where we wanted to go. I think we walked for a day. . . . I just remember rushing and rushing. . . . We got on a boat and we just went out to the water, we didn't know where we were going, we were just going out toward the ocean. We were finally picked up by an American ship.

While the Vietnamese immigrants to California in the first wave from 1975 to 1979 tended to settle in the larger cities such as Los Angeles as noted above, there were personal reasons for their ultimate destinations that transcended other factors such as employment opportunities with the vast majority settling where their family members had settled prior to their arrival. According to Menjivar, "Interviews with Vietnamese showed that the most important factor in the transition of these immigrants to the society at large is their family. Family-based resources provide the Vietnamese with a sense of continuity that in many ways helps them deal with the instabilities of a traumatic migration experience."

Excerpts from these interviews are illustrative of the powerful cultural forces at work in the preferences of Vietnamese immigrants to settle in one area of California over another:

1. Mai, who came to the U.S. To join her husband: "There are more opportunities here, you can work, go to school, this is an excellent place for education."

2. Don, a 63-year-old woman: "The good thing in this country is that you can do many things; it's very convenient. You can receive help, you can get financial aid to go to school. With all this help, if one doesn't strive and succeed in America, one should be ashamed."

3. Hanh, a single woman: "So far, I am in school. I think that I am very lucky that I get welfare and financial aid to help me through school. And I think it's the best system Americans have. You have many resources helping you get through."