 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,347,344 (2023)[1] (ancestry or ethnic origin) 1,365,841 (2023)[2] (born in Vietnam) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| |
| Languages | |
| Vietnamese,English | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism (37%) • Christianity (36%)^ Unaffiliated (23%)[4] • Vietnamese folk religion • Caodaism • Hòa Hảo | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Vietnamese people,Overseas Vietnamese,Vietnamese Canadians,Vietnamese Australians,Asian Americans,Chinese Americans,Hmong Americans | |
^ IncludesRoman Catholic (29%),Evangelicalism (4%) and other Protestant denominations (3%) |
Vietnamese Americans (Vietnamese:Người Mỹ gốc Việt,Vietnamese pronunciation:[ŋɯəj˨˩mi˦ˀ˥ɣŏk˧˦viət̚˧˨ʔ~ziət̚˧˨ʔ]) areAmericans ofVietnamese ancestry.[5] They constitute a major part of alloverseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in theUnited States, making them the fourth largest Asian American ethnic group.[6][7] The majority (60%) are immigrants, while 40% were born in the United States.[8] The number includes people of other ethnicities such asMontagnards,Tais,Chams, orHoa Chinese.[citation needed]
The Vietnamese American population grew significantly after 1975, when a large wave ofSouth Vietnamese refugees arrived in the U.S. following the end of theVietnam War.[9] Today, over half of Vietnamese-Americans reside inCalifornia andTexas, particularly in metropolitan areas likeLos Angeles,Houston, andSan Jose.[10][11]
The history of Vietnamese Americans is relatively recent. Early arrivals included both laborers and elites. Among them wasHo Chi Minh, who later became a Vietnamese communist leader. He arrived in 1912 as a ship’s cook, although parts of his American experience may have been embellished.[12][13]
According to theU.S. Department of Homeland Security'sOffice of Immigration Statistics, the earliest recorded instances of Vietnamese individuals obtaininglawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States occurred between 1951 and 1959, when 290 Vietnamese were granted residency.[14] These numbers began to grow during theVietnam War, with around 2,949 Vietnamese obtaining LPR status between 1960 and 1969.[14] Between 1955 and 1974, about 18,000 immigrants from Vietnam were admitted to the U.S.[15]
TheFall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, which marked the end of the Vietnam War, triggered the first major wave of Vietnamese immigration, as many with ties to the United States or theSouth Vietnam government feared reprisals from the communist regime.[16]
In the week leading up to the Fall of Saigon, between 10,000 and 15,000 people departed on scheduled flights, followed by an additional 80,000 who were evacuated by air.[17][18] The final group was transported aboard U.S. Navy ships.[17][19] Altogether, approximately 125,000 to 130,000 Vietnamese refugees were evacuated and resettled in the United States during the first wave.[20][21][22]
After leaving Vietnam, the refugees first arrived at reception camps in thePhilippines andGuam before being transferred to temporary housing at U.S. military bases, includingCamp Pendleton (California),Fort Chaffee (Arkansas),Eglin Air Force Base (Florida), andFort Indiantown Gap (Pennsylvania).[23] Following resettlement preparations, they were assigned to voluntary agencies (VOLAGs), which provided assistance in securing financial and personal support from sponsors in the U.S.[24][25]
Most first-wave refugees were better educated, wealthier, and more proficient in English than those in subsequent waves.[26][24] According to 1975U.S. State Department data, over 30% of first-wave household heads weremedical professionals or technical managers, 16.9% worked in transportation, and 11.7% held clerical or sales jobs in Vietnam. Less than 5% were fishermen or farmers.[27]
The resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees in the U.S. initially faced mixed reception, fueled by fears of job competition, welfare strain, and cultural concerns.[28] According to a 1975 Gallup poll, only 36% of Americans approved of the resettlement, while 54% disapproved.[28]
Despite initial public reluctance, PresidentGerald Ford emphasized a "profound moral obligation" to assist the refugees,[29] calling it a "great human tragedy."[30] In response, Congress passed theIndochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, providing special entry status and $455 million in resettlement aid.[31]
To prevent the refugees from formingethnic enclaves and minimize impact on local communities, they were initially dispersed across the country.[32][24] However, within a few years, many relocated toCalifornia andTexas.[32]
Between 1978 to the mid-1980s, a second major wave of refugees from former South Vietnam fled, primarily by sea on fishing boats, becoming known as "boat people."[33] This group represented a diverse range of backgrounds, including South Vietnamese elites, formerSouth Vietnam military and government officials, Chinese minorities, religious minorities, farmers, fishermen, and merchants.[33][34]
Many fled persecution following thefall of Saigon, where many South Vietnamese, particularly former South Vietnamese military officers and government employees, were detained inre-education camps for political indoctrination, forced labor, and torture.[35][36][37] A significant number of boat people included ethnic Chinese,Hmong, and other minority groups, many of whom were Vietnamese citizens.[38] Notably, ethnic Chinese were specifically targeted for expulsion and accounted for 50% to 80% of the over 50,000 monthly refugee arrivals at Southeast Asian camps in 1979.[39][38][40]
The boat people were often rescued up by foreign ships and transported to asylum camps inHong Kong and Southeast Asia such asThailand,Malaysia,Singapore,Indonesia, and thePhilippines. From these camps, many were resettled in countries that agreed to accept them, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and others.[24][27][25]
Between 1975 and 1979, limitations in existing refugee admission laws required U.S. presidential actions to admit approximately 300,000 Southeast Asian refugees, including many from Vietnam.[41] In response to the plight of Vietnamese boat people, Congress passed theRefugee Act of 1980 to ease restrictions on refugee admissions.[41][42]
In 1979, theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) established theOrderly Departure Program (ODP) to facilitate legal emigration from Vietnam to the U.S. and other countries.[43] The ODP initially succeeded in relocating an average of 16,500 individuals annually—over 115,000 people by 1986, including 50,000 to the United States.[44] However, progress eventually stalled due to disagreements over priorities, as the U.S. focused on specific groups such asAmerasian children andre-education camp prisoners, while Vietnam prioritized the exodus of ethnic Chinese.[44]
Vietnamese refugees in theGulf Coast faced discrimination as they arrived throughout the 1970s and 1980s. White fishermen complained about unfair competition from their Vietnamese American counterparts. "Non-Vietnamese docks refused to allow Vietnamese American boats to dock, [and] wholesalers refused to buy shrimp from Vietnamese Americans." TheKu Klux Klan attempted to intimidate Vietnamese American shrimp fishermen, at one time having plans to burn Vietnamese shrimp boats.[45] The Vietnamese Fishermen's Association, with the aid of theSouthern Poverty Law Center, won a 1981 antitrust suit against the Klan, disbanding the "private army of white supremacists."[46]
While Vietnamese immigration has remained relatively steady since the 1980s, the pathways for Vietnamese immigrants to obtainlawful permanent resident (LPR) status have changed dramatically.
Prior to 1998, the majority of Vietnamesegreen card holders were granted LPR status on humanitarian grounds, such as through refugee or asylum programs.[47] In 1982, for example, 99% of Vietnamese immigrants received green cards via these channels.[47]
By 2022, this figure had fallen to less than 1%, or fewer than 100 Vietnamese. Instead, the majority of Vietnamese immigrants (87%) gained green cards throughfamily reunification, a rate much higher than the overall figure of 58%.[47] About 12% secured LPR status via employment sponsorship.[47]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 261,729 | — |
| 1990 | 614,517 | +134.8% |
| 2000 | 1,122,528 | +82.7% |
| 2010 | 1,548,449 | +37.9% |
| 2023 | 2,347,344 | +51.6% |
As of 2023, nearly 2.4 million Vietnamese Americans lived in the United States, according to theU.S. Census Bureau,[50][51] with approximately 60% being immigrants ("foreign-born") and 40% born in the U.S.[52][53]
Vietnamese Americans have the highest naturalization rate among all immigrant groups.[54] By 2023, 78% of eligible Vietnamese immigrants in the United States had become U.S. citizens, surpassing the 53% naturalization rate of the overall foreign-born population.[55] In fiscal year 2024, Vietnam ranked among the top five countries of origin for new U.S. citizens, accounting for 4.1% of all naturalizations.[56]
Geographically, Vietnamese Americans are predominantly concentrated inCalifornia (38%),Texas (14%), andWashington State (5%).[57]Florida,Virginia,Georgia, andMassachusetts each accounted for about 3% to 4% of the Vietnamese American population.[57] Major hubs includeOrange,Santa Clara, andLos Angeles counties in California, andHarris County in Texas, together making up 31% of Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S.[57]
The largest and oldest Vietnamese-Americanenclave in the United States,Little Saigon, is located inWestminster andGarden Grove.[58] According to the 2023 United States CensusAmerican Community Survey (ACS), Vietnamese Americans account for 43.8% and 32.6% of the population, respectively.[59][60]
| Rank | County | State | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange County | California | 152,500 |
| 2 | Santa Clara County | California | 99,000 |
| 3 | Los Angeles County | California | 97,100 |
| 4 | Harris County | Texas | 75,400 |
| 5 | San Diego County | California | 34,500 |
| 6 | King County | Washington | 34,000 |
| 7 | Sacramento County | California | 27,500 |
| 8 | Alameda County | California | 27,000 |
| 9 | Dallas County | Texas | 23,400 |
| 10 | Fairfax County | Virginia | 23,200 |
Coming from different waves of immigration, Vietnamese Americans have a lower educational attainment than overall Asian American population but it is higher than other Southeast Asian groups and is also trending upward, with each generation more likely to attain higher degrees and/or qualifications overall than the generation prior.[61]
As of 2019, 32% of Vietnamese Americans held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 54% of Asian Americans overall and 33% of the total U.S. population.[62] Educational attainment varies notably between U.S.-born and foreign-born Vietnamese Americans. Among those born in the U.S., 55% have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, while 27% of those born abroad have achieved the same level of education.[63]
In 2023, Vietnamese Americans had a median household income of $88,467, which was 9.7% higher than the national median of $80,610.[64][65]
As of 2022, around 11% Vietnamese Americans lived below the poverty line, a rate similar to the 11.5% rate for the general U.S. population.[66][67] This poverty rate has shown a gradual decline over recent years. In 2015, about 14.3% of Vietnamese Americans were living in poverty,[68] which decreased to 12% by 2019.[69]
In 2023, theemployment rate for Vietnamese Americans was 61.4%, surpassing the overall U.S. employment rate of 60.3% during the same period.[70] The unemployment rate was 2.8%, notably lower than the national average of 3.6%.[70]
Vietnamese Americans work in a wide array of occupations, with employment distributed as follows:[71]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019American Community Survey, approximately 1.5 million people aged five and older speakVietnamese at home, making it the fifth most commonly spoken language in the U.S., afterEnglish,Spanish,Chinese, andTagalog.[72]
Additionally, the survey indicates that 57% of Vietnamese speakers reported speaking English "less than very well."[72] This percentage is higher than that of Spanish (39%) and Tagalog (30%) speakers, and comparable to Chinese speakers (52%).[72]
English proficiency varies significantly between U.S.-born and foreign-born Vietnamese Americans. While 90% of U.S.-born Vietnamese Americans are fluent in English, only 35% of the foreign-born counterparts report the same level of proficiency.[62]
English relies on tonal inflection sparingly, primarily to convey questions, whereasVietnamese is atonal language in which the tone of a word determines its meaning. For example, thesyllablema can have different meanings depending on its tone, as marked bydiacritics:
Another key difference between Vietnamese and English is the extensive use of relationship-specificpronouns in Vietnamese. English employs "you" as a universal second-person singular pronoun, regardless of age, gender, or relationship. In contrast, Vietnamese employs different pronouns depending on factors like the person's age, gender (anh orchị), and relationship (bạn,cậu, ormày).[27]
According to the Pew Research Center, 37% of Vietnamese Americans identify asBuddhist, 36% asChristian, and 23% have no religious affiliation, while smaller proportions adhere to other faiths (2%), identify asMuslim (<1%), or did not provide an answer (3%).[74][75]
In 2024, Vietnamese Americans are more likely to identify asChristian compared to those in Vietnam. While Christians, primarilyRoman Catholics, make up about 10% of Vietnam's population,[76] they make up approximately 36% of the Vietnamese American population.[75] Due to hostility between Communists and Catholics in Vietnam, many Catholics fled the country after the Communist takeover, and many Catholic Churches had sponsored them to the United States.[77]
Many practiceMahayana Buddhism,[24][27]Taoism,Confucianism andanimist practices (includingancestor veneration) influenced byChinese folk religion.[78] Vietnamese are a major ethnic group notable among AsianAmerican Catholics.[79]Hòa Hảo andCaodaism are two of the other religions of Vietnamese Americans.
There are 150 to 165 Vietnamese Buddhist temples in the United States, with most observing a mixture ofPure Land (Tịnh Độ Tông) andZen (Thiền) doctrines and practices.[80][81] Most temples are small, consisting of a converted house with one or two resident monks or nuns.[80] Two of the most prominent figures in Vietnamese American Buddhism areThich Thien-An andThich Nhat Hanh.[81] There are also Theravada-based Vietnamese temples likeChua Buu Mon in Port Arthur, Texas.
.jpg)
Vietnamese immigration to the United States post-Vietnam War (1975) profoundly influenced American cuisine.[82] Vietnamese Americans opened restaurants to preserve traditions and support families, introducing iconic dishes likephở,bánh mì, andgỏi cuốn, which have since become widely popular and embraced across the country.[82][83]
Alongside traditional dishes, Vietnamese Americans have introduced notable fusion creations.Garlic noodles, introduced in the 1970s, blend Vietnamese flavors with Italian pasta.[84][85]Huy Fong sriracha sauce, created in 1980 by a Vietnamese refugee, was originally made for the Vietnamese and other Asian immigrant communities but has since gained nationwide popularity, becoming a staple in U.S. kitchens.[86][87]
Viet-Cajun cuisine is another prominent example of fusion, which has flourished inGulf Coast regions like Louisiana and Texas.[82] Vietnamese Americans in these areas integrated Vietnamese and Cajun culinary elements, creating dishes such as crawfish boils infused with lemongrass, garlic, and other Vietnamese seasonings.[88][89]
Vietnamese Americans continue to celebrateVietnamese lunar calendar holidays, withTết (Vietnamese New Year) being the most significant.[90] Festivities include activities likebầu cua tôm cá (dice games),múa lân (lion dances), the exchange oflì xì (red envelopes), and sharing festive meals featuring dishes such asbánh chưng,bánh tét, andmứt (candied fruit).[91][92][93]
In recent years,Lunar New Year, which includesTết, has gained recognition in the U.S.California (2022),Colorado (2023), andWashington State (2024) have officially designated it as a state holiday, whileNew York declared it a school holiday in 2023.[94][95][96]
Tết Trung Thu, or theMid-Autumn Festival, is also widely celebrated by Vietnamese Americans. Much likeTết, cities with sizable Vietnamese communities often organize large-scaleTết Trung Thu festivities that include lion dances, traditional performances, and community-centered activities.[97][98][99] The festival is known for its iconicmooncakes and colorfullanterns.[100][101]
Vietnamese Americans, shaped by a history of fleeingcommunism as refugees, tend to leanRepublican (51%) more than any other Asian American group.[102][103] However, in the 2020s, younger Vietnamese Americans are increasingly shifting toward theDemocratic Party.[102] Among voters aged 50 and older, 68% identified with or leaned Republican, while 58% of younger voters identified with or leaned Democratic.[102] The younger generation's political preferences are shaped by exposure to diverse viewpoints, including those on economic policy, healthcare, and social justice, which encourage a shift towardprogressive values.[102][104]
Many older, first-generation Vietnamese American refugees who fled communist rule after theVietnam War exhibit strongpatriotism toward the United States, support for the military, andanti-communist views that often align with theRepublican Party.[105][104][106] The party's vocal anti-communism appealed to those who resettled during theReagan administration and continued to resonate with many during the2016 presidential election, particularly due toDonald Trump's anti-China rhetoric.[107][108] This support persisted despite Trump’s plans to deport some Vietnamese refugees.[109][110]
Exit polls during the2004 presidential election indicated that 72 percent of Vietnamese American voters in eight eastern states polled voted for Republican incumbentGeorge W. Bush, compared to the 28 percent voting for Democratic challengerJohn Kerry.[111] According to the 2008National Asian American Survey, 22 percent identified with the Democratic Party and 29 percent with the Republican Party.[112] In a poll conducted before the2008 presidential election, two-thirds of Vietnamese Americans who had decided said that they would vote for Republican candidateJohn McCain.[112]
Polling data underscores this generational divide. A survey by theAsian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) revealed that Vietnamese Americans aged 18–29 favored DemocratBarack Obama by 60 percentage points during the 2008 presidential election.[113] According to a 2012Pew Research Center survey, 47% of registered Vietnamese American voters leaned Republican and 32% Democratic. Among Vietnamese Americans overall (including non-registered voters), 36% leaned Democratic and 35% Republican.[114]
Several Vietnamese Americans took part in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, with some reportedly waving theSouth Vietnamese flag and marching alongsideneo-Nazi andwhite nationalist groups.[115][116] Of the seven Asian individuals charged in connection with the event, five were of Vietnamese descent.[117]
The flag's display during the Capitol riot disappointed many Vietnamese Americans, particularly younger generations, who denounced its association "with hate, with racism, with supremacy."[118] They[who?] argued that "the ideas of authoritarianism, of overturning the people's will, are not the principles that this flag stands for,"[119] and expressed feeling embarrassed by the incident, saying it made them "looked like clowns."[118] The event also prompted many young people to question "their elders' unyielding loyalty to and interpretation of the banner's values."[119][120]
CongresswomanStephanie Murphy, the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, served on theJanuary 6th Committee, where she co-led a public hearing and contributed to the investigation of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.[121]
According to a 1995 study, the relationship between Vietnam and the United States has been the most important issue for most Vietnamese Americans.[27] As many are refugees from South Vietnam, many are strongly opposed to communism; this attitude could also take root during and after theVietnam War, injustice in communist reeducation camps as well as other issues with the communist government.[131] In a 2000Orange County Register poll, 71 percent of respondents ranked fighting communism as a "top priority" or "very important."[132] Vietnamese Americans stage protests against the Vietnamese government's policies.[133]
In 1999, opposition to a video-store owner inWestminster, California who displayed theflag of Vietnam and a photo of Ho Chi Minh peaked when 15,000 people held a nighttime vigil in front of the store;[134] this raisedfree speech issues. Although few Vietnamese Americans enrolled in theDemocratic Party because it was seen as more sympathetic to communism than theRepublican Party, Republican support has eroded in the second generation and among newer, poorer refugees.[135] However, the Republican Party still has strong support; in 2007, in Orange County, Vietnamese Americans registered as Republicans outnumbered registered Democrats (55 and 22 percent, respectively).[136]
Theflag of South Vietnam, also known as the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag, carries significant cultural and historical significance for Vietnamese Americans in the United States, particularly among refugees impacted by theVietnam War.[137][138][139] It serves as a "potent symbol of struggle and pride for Vietnamese Americans."[140] Community leaders describe it embodying "the longing for one’s lost homeland that is felt by so many Vietnamese in the diaspora."[140][141]
Over the years, the Vietnamese have poured a great deal of resources into getting recognition for the flag across the U.S. By 2023, resolutions recognizing the South Vietnamese flag as the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag had been adopted by 20 states, 15 counties, and 85 cities.[142][143][144]
During the months followingHurricane Katrina, the Vietnamese American community inNew Orleans (among the first to return to the city) rallied against a landfill used to dump debris near their community.[145] After months of legal wrangling, the landfill was closed.[146][147]
Since the onset ofHong Kong protests in June 2019, Vietnamese Americans have been the most activeAsian Americans rallying in favor of thepro-democracy (pro-Labor Union)Hongkongers, organizing vocal marches inCalifornia, where their largest community exists. They clashed withpro-communistMainland Chinese immigrants.[148][149][150]Trúc Hồ, a famed Vietnamese American singer, wrote a song inJuly 2019 to praise the Hong Kong protesters. The song went viral among Vietnamese and Hong Kong citizens.[151]
Although census data counts those who identify asethnically Vietnamese, how Vietnamese ethnic groups view themselves may affect that reporting.
TheHoa people areHan Chinese who migrated to Vietnam. In 2013, they made up 11.5 percent of the Vietnamese American population, and in majority, identified itself as Vietnamese.[152] Some Hoa Vietnamese Americans also speak a dialect ofYue Chinese, generallycode-switching between Cantonese and Vietnamese to speak to both Hoa immigrants from Vietnam andethnic Vietnamese.Teochew, a variety ofSouthern Min which had virtually no speakers in the US before the 1980s, is spoken by another group of Hoa immigrants. A small number of Vietnamese Americans may also speakMandarin as a third (or fourth) language in business and other interaction.
Some Vietnamese Americans are Eurasians: people of European and Asian descent. They are descendants of ethnic Vietnamese andFrench settlers and soldiers (and sometimes Hoa) during the French colonial period (1883–1945) or theFirst Indochina War (1946–1954).
Amerasians are descendants of an ethnic Vietnamese (or Hoa) parent and an American parent, most commonly white or black. The first substantial generation of Amerasian Vietnamese Americans were born to American personnel, primarily military men, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1975. Many Amerasians were ignored by their American parent; in Vietnam, the fatherless children of foreign men were calledcon lai ("mixed race") or the pejorativebụi đời ("dust of life").[153] Since 1982, Amerasians and their families have come to the United States under theOrderly Departure Program. Many could not be reunited with their fathers, and commonly arrived with their mothers. In some cases, they were part of false families that were created to escape from Vietnam.[25] Many of the first-generation Amerasians and their mothers experienced significant social and institutional discrimination in Vietnam, where they were denied the right to education; discrimination worsening after the 1973 American withdrawal, and by the U.S. government, which discouraged American military personnel from marrying Vietnamese nationals and frequently refused claims of U.S. citizenship that were lodged by Amerasians born in Vietnam if their mothers were not married to their American fathers.[154][155][156]
Discrimination was even greater for children of black servicemen than for children of white fathers.[157] Subsequent generations of Amerasians (children born in the United States) and Vietnamese-born Amerasians whose American paternity was documented by their parents' marriage or their subsequent legitimization have had an arguably more favorable outlook.[158]
The 1988American Homecoming Act helped over 25,000 Amerasians and their 67,000 relatives in Vietnam, to emigrate to the United States. Although they received permanent-resident status, many have been unable to obtain citizenship and express a lack of belonging or acceptance in the US because of differences in culture, language and citizenship status.[159][160]
TheThái peoples, including theLaotians,Nungs and other Tai ethnicities who migrated to the United States were majority from Northern Vietnam. The community, overall, do not develop a separate ethnic identity sentiment due to long friendly relations with the Vietnamese rulers, thus the community don't regard itselfThai Americans orLaotian Americans, and see itself part of Vietnamese American diaspora.[161][162][163]
Cham are an ethnic minority of Vietnam and Cambodia, and a small number of them came to the United States as refugees fleeing theCambodian genocide. The main Cham populations in the United States are located inOrange County, California,Portland, andSeattle.[164][165]
In 1975, thousands ofMontagnards fled to Cambodia after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army, fearing that the new government would launch reprisals against them because they had aided the U.S. Army. The U.S. military resettled some Montagnards in the United States, primarily in North Carolina, but these evacuees numbered less than 2,000.
Outside of southeast Asia, the largest community of Montagnards in the world is located inGreensboro, North Carolina, US.[166] Greensboro is also the home of several community and lobbying organizations, such as theMontagnard Foundation, Inc.
The estimated number of people of Chinese (except Taiwanese) descent in the United States in 2021. The Chinese (except Taiwanese) population was the largest Asian group, followed by Indian (4.8 million), Filipino (4.4 million), Vietnamese (2.3 million), Korean (2.0 million), and Japanese (1.6 million). These estimates represent individuals who reported a specific detailed Asian group alone as well as those who reported that detailed Asian group in combination with one or more other detailed Asian groups or another race(s).
A majority of Vietnamese Americans are immigrants (60%) and 40% are U.S. born. California is home to the largest share of Vietnamese Americans (35%), with 16% living in the Los Angeles metropolitan area alone.
Immigrants from Vietnam were highly concentrated in California (38 percent), followed distantly by Texas (14 percent) and Washington State (5 percent) in the 2017-21 period. Florida, Virginia, Georgia, and Massachusetts were each home to about 3 percent or 4 percent of the Vietnamese population. The top four counties for Vietnamese immigrants were three in California (Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles counties) and Harris County, Texas. Together these four counties accounted for 31 percent of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States.
The accounts of Nguyễn Tất Thành, known more widely as Hồ Chí Minh, of his early travels to the United States, recounted in official communist publications and to sympathetic American interlocutors during the 1960s, are inextricable from the charged politics and propaganda of the Vietnam War. In fact, other than the letter that he sent from New York, which may be the first documented presence of a Vietnamese in the United States, nothing about his claims can be corroborated, and core elements of his stories — notably his sense of solidarity with progressive forces in American society and politics — were likely embellished or even fabricated as part of communist efforts to cultivate political sympathy in the United States.
The history of immigration from Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea to the United States is brief compared with immigration from other Asian nations. Through the 1940s, only a few immigrants born in these three countries had appeared in Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) statistics since record keeping began in 1819. Annual immigrant admissions totaled no more than 55 during the 1950s, increased gradually during the 1960s from 100 to 1,000 by the end of the decade, and ranged from 1,500 to 4,700 during 1970-1974. Vietnamese comprised 97 percent of this flow. From 1955 through 1974, fewer than 300 immigrants were admitted from Laos, a similar number from Kampuchea, and roughly 18,000 from Vietnam (see Table 7.1).
The first major wave of emigration from Vietnam consisted of those who left South Vietnam at the time of its collapse in April 1975. This group included the governing elite, those who had worked for the U.S. government, and the high-ranking military with their families. Some ten to fifteen thousand people left in the week before the collapse of the South Vietnamese government. In the beginning this was an orderly departure by scheduled flights... An additional eighty thousand were evacuated, mainly by aircraft, during the last part of April. The last group in this wave consisted of those who were picked up by U.S. Navy ships offshore. Altogether some 125,000 arrived in the United States from Vietnam in 1975.
The end of the Vietnam War and the rapid U.S. military pullout in 1975 marked the beginning of large-scale migration from Vietnam to the United States. The U.S. government evacuated about 125,000 Vietnamese that year, most of whom had close ties to the U.S. military and could have been persecuted by the new Communist government.
By the end of 1975, around 130,000 Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian refugees (of which 125,000 were Vietnamese) were accepted and resettled throughout the country...
Following the fall of Saigon, the first wave of Vietnamese refugees, estimated at approximately 132,000 people, left Vietnam seeking haven principally within the United States.
After departure from Vietnam, planned resettlement was mediated through reception camps, mainly in the Philippines. In 1975, this was followed by temporary housing at U.S. Army camps in Arkansas, California, Florida, and Pennsylvania. The refugees were then dispersed throughout the United States with sponsorship by individuals frequently associated with church or other voluntary charitable groups.
The characteristics of this first wave would prove to be distinctly different from subsequent waves of Vietnamese refugees. They were, by comparison, better educated, wealthier, and had political connections within the U.S. government. Many spoke English or at least had a working familiarity with the language. They included high-ranking soldiers, professional people who had worked with American personnel or companies in Vietnam, ethnic Vietnamese who had been educated within the United States educational system, and individuals who had family ties to America.
I must, of course, as I think each of you would, consider the safety of nearly 6,000 Americans who remain in South Vietnam and tens of thousands of South Vietnamese employees of the United States Government, of news agencies, of contractors and businesses for many years whose lives, with their dependents, are in very grave peril. There are tens of thousands of other South Vietnamese intellectuals, professors, teachers, editors, and opinion leaders who have supported the South Vietnamese cause and the alliance with the United States to whom we have a profound moral obligation.
We are seeing a great human tragedy as untold numbers of Vietnamese flee the North Vietnamese onslaught. The United States has been doing and will continue to do its utmost to assist these people. I have directed all available naval ships to stand off Indochina to do whatever is necessary to assist. We have appealed to the United Nations to use its moral influence to permit these innocent people to leave, and we call on North Vietnam to permit the movement of refugees to the area of their choice.
In order to prevent 'ghettoism' by concentrating resettled Vietnamese in one geographic area, refugees were initially dispersed across the country. This deliberate scattering of the first influx of refugees did not last, as most eventually moved to California and Texas.
Following the first wave of refugee, which had started in the mid of 1975, the second large-scale wave of refugee began in 1978 and lasted until the mid 1980s. The migrants mostly fled by sea on fishing boats which gave rise to their name 'The Boat People'. They were wide-ranging in social background, including members of the South Vietnamese elite, Chinese minorities, religious groups, non-partisan individuals and fishers.
Unlike the well-educated and highly skilled first group, this second wave was more diverse in terms of class origin. Many were semiliterate farmers, fishermen, and small-town merchants with little or no familiarity with large cities. There were also former military and government officials included in this wave. Many were genuine political refugees, but others also saw economic opportunity in leaving an impoverished Vietnam. They put to sea in available boats capable of carrying at least a few dozen people.
Following the fall of Saigon, the Vietnamese government began a strategy of reconstruction which involved reeducation camps, new economic zones, and the nationalization of private enterprises. The reeducation camps were subtly disguised places of indoctrination and torture. Any refugee fleeing these camps was certainly understood to be a political refugee.
South Vietnamese intellectuals and other potential enemies of the revolution were rounded up and shipped off to 'reeducation' camps, which were really forced labor camps designed to break the will of the South Vietnamese and indoctrinate them with communist ideologies. Many residents of Saigon, the former South Vietnamese capital, were forced to move to the countryside to labor on collective farms.
As a result of internal conflict, and renewed pressure by the Vietnamese government to expel ethnic Chinese peoples, including those who were citizens of Vietnam, thousands of persons fled to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Ethnic Chinese, Hmong, and other groups who had small representative numbers in the first wave, suddenly began to emerge in overwhelming numbers.
Among those defined as boat people were a large percent-age of ethnic Chinese. In 1979, when camps throughout the Southeast Asian region were handling more than 50,000 arrivals a month, fifty to eighty percent of the arrivals were ethnic Chinese fleeing Vietnam.
In 1977, about 15,000 Vietnamese sought asylum in Southeast Asian countries. By the end of 1978, the numbers fleeing by boat had quadrupled and 70 per cent of these asylum seekers were Vietnamese of Chinese origin.
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the need for a change in American policy concerning refugees became apparent as hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodians fled political chaos and physical danger in their homelands. Between 1975 and 1979, some 300,000 of these refugees were able to come to the United States through Presidential action, as the law at the time restricted refugee admissions. Seeing this, many members of Congress wanted to establish a more regular system of immigration and resettlement that would establish a clear and flexible policy.
In 1979, the plight of the boat people made international news when the United Nations called a conference to address the situation. The U.N. persuaded the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and France to allow more Vietnamese refugees into their countries... In the United States, Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, allowing Vietnamese refugees to come directly to America if they had family in the U.S.
In May 1979, UNHCR and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a program for legal emigration from Vietnam, known as the Orderly Departure Program, or ODP. The ODP was intended to make it possible for persons wishing to leave Vietnam to do so in a safe and orderly manner, rather than having to join the ranks of the Vietnamese boat people. It is the only time UNHCR has extended its assistance on a large scale to help persons to leave their country of origin. Well over half a million people emigrated from Vietnam under the auspices of the program. The existence of the ODP made it possible for the international community to reach consensus on how to tackle problems relating to Vietnamese refugees and asylum-seekers at two major conferences, once in 1979 and another in 1987.
Although ODP succeeded in moving an average of about 16,500 people peryear in its first seven years (by mid-1986, more than 115,000 Vietnamese hadtravelled safely, legally and directly to receiving countries, including 50,000 to theUnited States) its full potential was thwarted by continued mistrust between theVietnamese and American sides. By late 1985 (and throughout 1986 and most of1987) the ODP was in decline as Vietnam halted new interviews until the USagreed to clear up a growing backlog of cases already interviewed by USprogramme officials and awaiting exit visas. Put simply, the United States wanted more people of higher priority: immediate family members of US citizens, former employees, Amerasian children, and, perhaps most significantly, current and former prisoners from re-education camps. The Vietnamese had other priorities, among them the continued exodus of Sino-Vietnamese.
The Vietnamese diaspora in the United States was comprised of nearly 2.4 million individuals who were either born in Vietnam or reported Vietnamese ancestry or race, according to tabulations from the 2021 ACS. People born in the United States accounted for 43 percent of the overall U.S.-based Vietnamese diaspora. This diaspora represented the 20th largest such group in the United States.
Vietnamese are much more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens than immigrants overall. In 2022, 78 percent of Vietnamese were naturalized citizens, compared to 53 percent of the total foreign-born population.
In addition, 64% of Asian immigrant adults were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2021. The naturalization rate varies among different origin groups, with Vietnamese adults having the highest percentage of naturalized citizens among the largest six at 78%. Filipino and Korean adults also have relatively high naturalization rates, at 76% and 69% respectively. A smaller share of Chinese immigrant adults (61%) are citizens. Meanwhile, Indian and Japanese immigrant adults have the lowest naturalization rates, at 53% and 35% respectively.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Among the top five countries of birth for people naturalizing in FY 2024, Mexico was the lead country, with 13.1% of all naturalizations, followed by India (6.1%), the Philippines (5.0%), the Dominican Republic (4.9%), and Vietnam (4.1%). The top five countries of birth comprised 33% of the naturalized citizens in FY 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Ryan Đoan-Nguyễn, a Vietnamese American, said Tết, or Vietnamese New Year, is the most important time of year for his family. Đoan-Nguyễn, who is working at an immigration and refugee legal clinic at Harvard Law School, said he plans his work commitments around the holiday, guaranteeing that he will be able to go home to join the festivities.
Washington now joins Colorado and California, which mark Lunar New Year as an official, but unpaid, holiday. In recent years, New York state and Philadelphia began recognizing it as a public school holiday...
Vietnamese Americans who are registered to vote are somewhat more likely to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. About half (51%) are Republicans or lean Republican, while 42% are Democrats or lean Democratic.
As first wave Vietnamese Americans 'came here either as refugees or something that had to do with the [Vietnam] War, and most people were affiliated with the South [Vietnamese] government,' words and phrases involving communism, China, or patriotism 'immediately create certain kinds of emotional reactions' (Focus Group 3)... A common pattern among first-generation Vietnamese Americans, as identified by their children, is a high level of patriotism toward the US, strong support for the military and police, and alignment with the Republican Party for anti-communist rhetoric.
While Vietnamese Americans tend to identify as and vote Republican because 'Reagan established himself as the leading authority on anti-communism,' many more have come out to embrace Trump since 2016 (Focus Group 4). His anti-China, American exceptionalism rhetoric struck a chord with anti-communist Vietnamese Americans who believe 'Trump will help Vietnam fight China' or that Trump will 'destroy the Chinese Communist regime' (Focus Group 1).
Those charged were overwhelmingly white (659 of 716, 92%) but also included Hispanics (39, 5.4%), Blacks (10, 1.4%), Asians (7.1% , 5 of the 7 were of Vietnamese ancestry) and one Native American.
'This is what represents us as Vietnamese people,' he says of what is officially known as the Vietnamese American Freedom and Heritage Flag, with its three horizontal stripes paying homage to the three regions of Vietnam. 'We are proud of who we are, and no one can take away our beliefs.'
That loyalty to a vanished homeland is born of a permanent, collective grief, a sorrow and pride branded onto the souls of people who left everything behind in desperate bids for safety and new lives.
Activists have lobbied local officials to recognize the flag representing the displaced overseas Vietnamese community. In the United States, the flag has been formally recognized by 20 states and 85 cities as of 2023, according to a resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last year that seeks to recognize the flag as a symbol of the Vietnamese immigrant community.
Whereas the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam has been formally recognized by 20 States, 15 counties, and 85 cities...
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| Central Asian |  | |
|---|---|---|
| East Asian | ||
| South Asian | ||
| Southeast Asian | ||
| Other | ||
| History | ||
| Topics | ||
| Regions | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
