Pacific Islanders

Pacific Islanders in the United States

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community

The Asian American and Pacific Islander community is the fastest growing racial group in the country, growing over four times as rapidly as the total U.S. population and expected to double to over 47 million by 2060. Despite this tremendous growth, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community are one of the most understudied racial groups in the country.

It is critical to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to address masked needs within the Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups. Lack of data, including granular data on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, contributes to the model minority myth — the notion that virtually all the Asian American and Pacific Islander communitys are self-sufficient, well-educated, and upwardly mobile. Greater access to disaggregated data will support better policies that reflect AAPI community realities and needs.

Since 2009, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) has aimed to advance data collection, dissemination and disaggregation among federal agencies, state and local partners, researchers, and policy advocates, promoting best practices to generate more granular data on the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Objectives to improve data collection, analysis, and dissemination on the AAPI community are a major deliverable in WHIAAPI Agency Plans — strategic plans among 24 federal agencies and offices working to improve the quality of life for AAPIs.

Some data:

  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have the highest rates of reported incidents where drug use was made available to them on school property.
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth have the second highest rate of HIV infection diagnosis among persons ages 13-24.
  • Over 40% of all immigrants who obtained legal permanent residents in 2011 last resided in an Asian country.
  • Of the immigrant orphans adopted by U.S. citizens in 2010, 49% were of Asian descent.

White House Initiative and President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

The White House Initiative and President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is one of the White House Advisory Boards established to provide the President with independent information and advice from top experts in their fields. This Advisory Board was currently active at the end of the Obama Administration.

On October 14, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order that restores the White House Initiative and President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to address issues concerning the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.


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