Immigrants obtain prosperous opportunities in the city
When people think of Washington DC, images that generally come to mind are Barack Obama, the United States Congress, and national monuments. As important as these symbols are, people tend to disregard another important fact about DC: its large immigrant community. Recently, the nation’s capital has become a major immigrant destination, with a population of over one million living in the DC metro area in 2009. Back in 2000, DC ranked as the sixth city with the most immigrants, after Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami and Houston.
In contrast to other major cities, the immigrant community of Washington is more diverse and speaks better English than those living in other major cities.
Immigrants living in DC come from a vast pool of countries. According to BBC News, 39 percent of DC’s immigrants are from Latin America, 36 percent are from Asian countries, 12 percent are Europeans and 11 percent are from Africa.
The largest immigrant group in DC is from El Salvador. In fact, the Salvadoran immigrant group comprises over 40 percent of the city’s Hispanic population. Why such a big Salvadoran population in DC?
The reason lies in the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992), during which 25 percent of the population migrated to cities in the United States, such as DC, in order to escape the escalating violence and repression.
Nevertheless, DC has a large number of immigrants from other countries. These include Korea, India, Vietnam, Mexico, China, the Philippines, Peru and Guatemala. The nation’s capital is also home to the largest number of African immigrants in any metropolitan area, with the majority of people coming from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Immigrants in Washington DC also tend to be wealthier than those of other major cities. According to census figures, approximately 10 percent of immigrant families live below the poverty line. This percentage is much lower than those in other major metropolitan areas, where twice the number of immigrant households are living in poverty.
There are two possible explanations for this phenomenon. One is the fact that most immigrants here are good English speakers. BBC News reports that, in this case, “most” equates to 62 percent of immigrants, who stated they speak the language well or very well.
As a result of these opportunities, DC immigrants are generally more highly educated than those in other metropolitan areas. According to a report from the Brookings Institution, many legal immigrants in DC possess Bachelors or higher degrees. This is actually because of an immigration law that requires some doing specialized work to have a Bachelor’s Degree in order to qualify for an H-1B (work) visa.
In contrast to other urban areas in the US, Washington’s immigrant community also stands out for mainly settling in the suburbs of the city. These include Montgomery, Fairfax and Prince George’s counties in Maryland and Virginia. This is primarily due to the high cost of living in the city.
Washington, DC proves an attractive destination for immigrants for many reasons. Its booming economy, with the expansion of bio-tech and high-tech firms has been a major factor in luring immigrants. Washington also has a moderate climate, an important element for those immigrants accustomed to warmer weather. The DC Metropolitan area is also known for its good public schools, and leading universities which happily accept high-achieving minority students.
Washington, DC experienced a major influx of immigrants from 193 countries during the 1990s. This was partly due to a liberalization of immigration laws. Many of these new immigrants were refugees from civil wars and political repression in their home countries. People left in search of a better life or better career opportunities for themselves and their families.
One such person is 17-year-old Yiwen Feng, who currently lives with her family in a suburb of DC. Born in Wuxi, China, Yiwen moved to DC in 1999, and lived here for five years before moving to Rockville, Maryland. Yiwen, along with many immigrant families says her family came here in search of “better opportunities.” However, the move from China to DC had its challenges.
“It took my family quite some time to adjust to cultural differences,” said Yiwen, “the other kids [at my school] in DC bullied me constantly because I couldn’t speak English. There was a great deal of violence and illegal activity in the low-income neighborhood I grew up in. We could barely ever leave the apartment because the building was infested with cockroaches. I had no friends and I couldn’t go outside, and we couldn’t afford anything other than the bare essentials,” said Yiwen.
She added, “I had a pretty miserable childhood. Where I grew up in DC, barely anyone flinched at the fact that someone got raped or mugged down the block every day--it was pretty common. I hated DC. It made me feel so jaded and disillusioned about life. We were surrounded by so much violence, and needless to say, it’s haunted me for quite some time.”
Despite these initial setbacks, Yiwen said that right now, her family is “doing quite well in the US.” Her father works at Washington’s Catholic University and her mother is an ESOL teacher. Yiwen’s parents were fortunate to have found jobs easily upon arriving here because of their credentials. Her father already had a PhD in Chemistry and her mother was an English professor at one of China’s leading universities.
Coincidentally, there are many Chinese families living in Yiwen’s neighborhood. This is a common fact in DC, where many people of the same foreign nationality live in proximity of one another. This is because as people from a country arrive in DC, other families, either relatives or friends, tend to follow. In fact, there is a large community of Salvadorans from the town of Chirilagua who have settled in Arlandria, Virginia. Today, there is even an annual Chirilagua festival that is held there.
Other immigrant communities in Washington DC include the area known as “Little Ethiopia” located at Ninth and U street in Northwest DC. This small neighborhood is known for its many Ethiopian restaurants and its strong ethnic identity.
Based on the variety and number of immigrants in Washington DC, it is apparent that the city is a congenial place for arrivals from other countries. Yiwen is one such individual. She concluded that, despite her unhappy childhood in the nation’s capital, she loves “the cultural aspects and diversity of the city.”
In contrast to other major cities, the immigrant community of Washington is more diverse and speaks better English than those living in other major cities.
Immigrants living in DC come from a vast pool of countries. According to BBC News, 39 percent of DC’s immigrants are from Latin America, 36 percent are from Asian countries, 12 percent are Europeans and 11 percent are from Africa.
The largest immigrant group in DC is from El Salvador. In fact, the Salvadoran immigrant group comprises over 40 percent of the city’s Hispanic population. Why such a big Salvadoran population in DC?
The reason lies in the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992), during which 25 percent of the population migrated to cities in the United States, such as DC, in order to escape the escalating violence and repression.
Nevertheless, DC has a large number of immigrants from other countries. These include Korea, India, Vietnam, Mexico, China, the Philippines, Peru and Guatemala. The nation’s capital is also home to the largest number of African immigrants in any metropolitan area, with the majority of people coming from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Immigrants in Washington DC also tend to be wealthier than those of other major cities. According to census figures, approximately 10 percent of immigrant families live below the poverty line. This percentage is much lower than those in other major metropolitan areas, where twice the number of immigrant households are living in poverty.
There are two possible explanations for this phenomenon. One is the fact that most immigrants here are good English speakers. BBC News reports that, in this case, “most” equates to 62 percent of immigrants, who stated they speak the language well or very well.
As a result of these opportunities, DC immigrants are generally more highly educated than those in other metropolitan areas. According to a report from the Brookings Institution, many legal immigrants in DC possess Bachelors or higher degrees. This is actually because of an immigration law that requires some doing specialized work to have a Bachelor’s Degree in order to qualify for an H-1B (work) visa.
In contrast to other urban areas in the US, Washington’s immigrant community also stands out for mainly settling in the suburbs of the city. These include Montgomery, Fairfax and Prince George’s counties in Maryland and Virginia. This is primarily due to the high cost of living in the city.
Washington, DC proves an attractive destination for immigrants for many reasons. Its booming economy, with the expansion of bio-tech and high-tech firms has been a major factor in luring immigrants. Washington also has a moderate climate, an important element for those immigrants accustomed to warmer weather. The DC Metropolitan area is also known for its good public schools, and leading universities which happily accept high-achieving minority students.
Washington, DC experienced a major influx of immigrants from 193 countries during the 1990s. This was partly due to a liberalization of immigration laws. Many of these new immigrants were refugees from civil wars and political repression in their home countries. People left in search of a better life or better career opportunities for themselves and their families.
One such person is 17-year-old Yiwen Feng, who currently lives with her family in a suburb of DC. Born in Wuxi, China, Yiwen moved to DC in 1999, and lived here for five years before moving to Rockville, Maryland. Yiwen, along with many immigrant families says her family came here in search of “better opportunities.” However, the move from China to DC had its challenges.
“It took my family quite some time to adjust to cultural differences,” said Yiwen, “the other kids [at my school] in DC bullied me constantly because I couldn’t speak English. There was a great deal of violence and illegal activity in the low-income neighborhood I grew up in. We could barely ever leave the apartment because the building was infested with cockroaches. I had no friends and I couldn’t go outside, and we couldn’t afford anything other than the bare essentials,” said Yiwen.
She added, “I had a pretty miserable childhood. Where I grew up in DC, barely anyone flinched at the fact that someone got raped or mugged down the block every day--it was pretty common. I hated DC. It made me feel so jaded and disillusioned about life. We were surrounded by so much violence, and needless to say, it’s haunted me for quite some time.”
Despite these initial setbacks, Yiwen said that right now, her family is “doing quite well in the US.” Her father works at Washington’s Catholic University and her mother is an ESOL teacher. Yiwen’s parents were fortunate to have found jobs easily upon arriving here because of their credentials. Her father already had a PhD in Chemistry and her mother was an English professor at one of China’s leading universities.
Coincidentally, there are many Chinese families living in Yiwen’s neighborhood. This is a common fact in DC, where many people of the same foreign nationality live in proximity of one another. This is because as people from a country arrive in DC, other families, either relatives or friends, tend to follow. In fact, there is a large community of Salvadorans from the town of Chirilagua who have settled in Arlandria, Virginia. Today, there is even an annual Chirilagua festival that is held there.
Other immigrant communities in Washington DC include the area known as “Little Ethiopia” located at Ninth and U street in Northwest DC. This small neighborhood is known for its many Ethiopian restaurants and its strong ethnic identity.
Based on the variety and number of immigrants in Washington DC, it is apparent that the city is a congenial place for arrivals from other countries. Yiwen is one such individual. She concluded that, despite her unhappy childhood in the nation’s capital, she loves “the cultural aspects and diversity of the city.”
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Replies to This Article
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Permalink Reply by Danya Mohamed on -
This article is well written however I feel as though some parts are just concentrations of information which is useful, but should be distributed evenly around the story so there aren't parts which may discourage someone from continuing to read. Other than that it's well thought out, it has obviously been edited, and there has been a good amount of time put into writing this article. I especially liked how you included your sources and the article takes a personal approach which allow the reader to empathize and sympathize with the person whom you have quoted [Yiwen]. This article in fact has made me think about how I would fit in if I were to live in DC. We get a picture as to how the 'minorities' in DC are plentiful and the struggles they have been going through in DC, which makes us wonder if maybe, this may also be taking place in lots of areas with a heavy cluster of minorities in a country or state. I think you've done a great job with this story and I applaud your finesse in writing an article.
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