In Lisa Ko’s book The Leavers we follow along with the story of Deming, a Chinese boy who is abandoned by his mother, Polly, in the United States. Some themes that come up throughout the first half of this book involve migration, deportation, and Chinese employment. Deming grew up in China with his grandfather while his mother worked in America to save up money. When his grandfather passed away, Deming arrived in America to live with his mother. At the beginning of the story, we learn that Polly wants to move to Florida because she found work at a restaurant. She gets into an argument with her boyfriend who does not want to move. The next day Polly goes to work at a nail salon and never returns. We eventually learn that she was deported back to China.
Labor exploitation in America is something many undocumented immigrants face, and this holds true for undocumented Asians. Many Americans hold the belief that undocumented Asians are successful, law-abiding people who don’t work the low wage “unskilled” jobs that Latinx immigrants face. However, this is a myth. Undocumented Asians do face unprotected workplace exploitation, typically in restaurants and nail salons. One of the largest economic exploitations that immigrants face is wage theft. Examples of wage theft include workers being paid less than minimum wage, not getting paid for overtime, not being allowed to take breaks, or employers taking tips from workers. Immigrants who live in America but are not permitted to work are taken advantage of by employers who know that they are in vulnerable situations. These undocumented Asians work the jobs that Americans typically don’t want to work because it reduces the risk of being discovered as undocumented.
In the United States, 40% of all immigrants come from Asia, and out of the 18 million Asian Americans, 1.7 million are undocumented. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up about 6% of the total population and are the fastest growing racial group in the US. However, these immigrants are deported at a rate three times more than that of all immigrants. Out of the 1.7 million, more than a quarter live below the poverty line. Undocumented Asian immigrants tend to remain in the shadows as researchers or policy makers focus on undocumented Latinx when talking border security. When they are brought up, the media applies the stereotype as them being the “model minority”.
Citations:
Akbar, Farah. “South Asian NYC Wrestles with Wage Theft.” City Limits, 1 Dec. 2015, https://citylimits.org/2015/12/01/south-asian-nyc-wrestles-with-wage-theft/.
“Addressing Labor Exploitation: An Examination of Undocumented Asian Americans in the Workplace.” Asian American Policy Review, 3 Sept. 2020, https://aapr.hkspublications.org/2020/06/02/addressing-labor-exploitation-an-examination-of-undocumented-asian-americans-in-the-workplace/.
Kim, Soo Mee. “Undocumented Asians, Left in the Shadows.” Contexts Undocumented Asians Left in the Shadows Comments, 1 Jan. 2019, https://contexts.org/articles/undocumented-asians-left-in-the-shadows/.
“Not Just a Latino Issue: Undocumented Asians in America.” Asia Society, https://asiasociety.org/northern-california/not-just-latino-issue-undocumented-asians-america.
Hello! I really liked your post. It accurately broke down a general outline of the story and some background to give us more insight inside what we are reading. I was very surprised to learn that Polly ended up being deported and did not actually run away to Florida. Deming is left in the dark about where his mother went and I could not imagine how he feels.
Hi thank you for posting.
It is very unfortunate that undocumented immigrants face hardships like the ones you mentioned. It is interesting how his mom mentioned she was privileged in china and was fortunate to be able to come to the US, but then she ended up in such an unfortunate social position. While in these financial positions, I can see how it would be hard to afford the paper work to become a citizen and restore their rights
Hello!
I think this is a really important topic to discuss. You bring up a good point that many people focus on Latinx when they think of undocumented people working in the United States; however, there are people from many different countries that struggle to obtain proper paperwork and cannot work very well-paying jobs. It is important to recognize that many, many people who come to the United States struggle when they arrive here, even if they were well off in their home country. Great job!
Hello, I first wanted to say that I found your context presentation to be quite informative. The statistic from your post, that stating that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing racial group in the US, is what I would like to focus on. You touch on the issues faced by undocumented workers, the exploitations they face, and the stat you provided reveals why addressing these issues is so important. These issues can’t continue as more people immigrate to the United States, and as of now, it doesn’t look as if those issues will stop. There are multiple levels needed to address these issues, and it is a long process, but it needs to be done.
Hi! Very interesting presentation! It is crazy to learn that 40% of immigrants in the US are from Asia. You bring up a very important issue that these undocumented Asian immigrants are taken advantage of in the work force.
Hello,
Great job! I learned a lot from your post. Your post describes the complex problems these undocumented immigrants face. As you said, they are facing economic exploitation. They are paid below the minimum wage, and they cannot get paid for overtime, cannot take breaks or tips. They are poor and miserable due to their identity. However, this is not a small number. You pointed out that there are 40% of all immigrants come from Asia, and out of the 18 million Asian Americans, 1.7 million are undocumented in the US. I am shocked by these data. Hence, I think this problem needs to be pay attention to.