American Geographical Society

Recent Immigration from the Philippines and Filipino Communities in the United States Author(s): James P. Allen Reviewed work(s): Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 67, No. 2 (Apr., 1977), pp. 195-208 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/214020 . Accessed: 19/12/2012 23:42
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Geographical Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

RECENT IMMIGRATION FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND FILIPINO COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES*
JAMES P. ALLEN constitute one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United FILIPINOS States.1 In the 1970 census, approximately 343,000 people identified themselves as Filipinos.2 Since then more immigrants have come to the United States each than from any other country except Mexico.3 If present year from the Philippines trends continue, by 1980 there will be approximately as many Filipinos immigration in the United States as there are Chinese or Japanese. Thus an analysis of Filipino and ethnicity will contribute to our understanding of the settlement, immigration, geography of American society.4 BACKGROUND The earliest migrants from the Philippines to what is now the United States were Filipino sailors who settled in small groups along the coast and delta lands southeast of New Orleans during the period of Spanish control in the eighteenth century.5 It of the Philippine Islands in I898, as part of the was, however, America's acquisition Spanish American War, that led to large-scale migration. During the present century there have been three periods of migration from the Philippines. In the first, up to were generally young, single, and unskilled males, mostly farm laborI934, migrants ers recruited for work in Hawaii and California or men who had enlisted in the U.S. Navy as stewards. The second period, from I934 to the mid-I960's, witnessed a severe * Travel in connection with this research was supported by a grant from the CSUN Foundation. In addition, I acknowledge with thanks the help of Linda Life and Gregory Poseley of the Cartography Lab at California State University at Northridge for their preparation of the graphics, W. Tim Dagodag and Royal F. Morales for their comments on an earlier version of this paper, and those Filipinos throughout the state who graciously talked with me about their experiences. 1 The term "Filipinos" is generally used to designate people from the Philippine Islands. Recently, however, many ethnically conscious people have come to prefer the label "Pilipino," the national language of the Philippines in which the letter "f" does not appear. They see "Filipino" as a symbolic vestige of colonialism. Although the point has merit, the term "Filipino" is used in this paper because it is widely recognized. 2 "Census of Population, 1970 General Population Characteristics" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.), United States summary and state volumes. The census category "Filipino" does not distinguish between immigrant generations and includes both citizens and resident aliens, but neither temporary visitors nor those offspring of mixed marriages who consider themselves not racially Filipino. In 1970an additional 68,000 people classified themselves as white but reported one parent born in the Philippines. 3 Ann. and Repts.of the li.S. Immigration .Naturalization Table 6. These immigration data Service, 1970-I975, identify people in terms of their country or region of birth. Within the group whose origin is the Philippines are some people who are ethnic Chinese, but there is no way to identify this subgroup. 4 This study is a descriptive analysis of quantitative data, integrated with findings of other researchers and personal interviews. Statistical data were obtained from publications of the Bureau of the Census and the annual reports of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Discussions with more than a dozen Filipinos, most of whom were professionals or community leaders, provided a broad grasp of at least some immigrants' experiences. In addition, the various reports and letters published in Filipino newspapers and other ethnic publications were helpful in elaborating Filipino perceptions of migration and of the new land. I have also used the findings of several social scientific and civil rights investigations of immigrant adjustment and possible discrimination. Marina E. Espina: Filipinos in New Orleans, Proc.Louisiana Acad.of Sci., Vol. 37, 1974, pp. 117-121. * DR. ALLENis an associate professor of geography at California State University, Northridge, California 91330.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

i96

THE GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

curtailment of immigration as a result of legislation passed in the United States which established a quota system based on national origin. Most Filipinos who arrived during this period were nonquota immigrants, particularly World War II veterans and their families, or the families of men who had immigrated earlier, as well as temporary visitors, often students entering for advanced study. The third period, the one with which this paper is chiefly concerned, began in 1965 with the passage of a major new immigration law that replaced the quota system based on national origin. The life of Filipino immigrants during the first period has been sympathetically described by a number of writers.6 The reality of life was often a shock to new arrivals. Filipino farm workers in California were usually assigned jobs requiring stoop labor, especially in the harvesting of lettuce and asparagus. They were much appreciated as workers until they began to organize in the 1930's. Many of those who were not agricultural workers could generally be found performing some form of domestic or personal service, most typically working in hotels as bellboys or busboys, or in restaurants as dishwashers. Others found jobs in fruit, vegetable, or fish canneries, and many took advantage of summer work in Alaska's salmon canneries as a break from the routine of other jobs. Racial discrimination was common, especially in the West Coast areas where Filipinos were most numerous (Fig. I). Obtaining good jobs and housing regularly posed problems. Anti-Filipino feeling sometimes ran high, especially between 1929 and 1934, when immigration was seen by many Americans as a definite threat to jobs. The immigrants were understandably dismayed by the prejudice they encountered. Many who had planned to return to the Philippines with money to demonstrate their success in America had not made enough to do so. During World War II, however, the United States and the Philippines joined forces physically and emotionally, and many immigrants became convinced that their life in America would improve. Perhaps a third of the Filipino immigrants in the United States served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The war also led to significant improvements in job opportunities for civilians, as shipyards and airplane factories began to train Filipinos as machinists, welders, technicians, and office clerks.7 After the war, many Filipino veterans became United States citizens and many entered civil service positions. Men from the Philippines who had fought with Americans in the Islands qualified as nonquota immigrants to the United States. Under provisions of the U.S. Informatic'n and Educational Exchange Act of I948, Filipinos have entered this country each year temporarily as students or college teachers, and over the last quarter of a century a large number have received graduate degrees here, especially in the sciences and engineering.8 After returning to the Philippines for two years, they become eligible for immigrant status. The growth of the economy during the 1950'S and I96o's meant more and better jobs for white Americans, but the situation did not improve much for Filipinos,
6 Useful sources for this period include Bruno Lasker: Filipino Immigration to Continental United States and to Hawaii (Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1931);Carey McWilliams: Brothers Under the Skin [1942] (rev. edit.; Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1964),pp. 229-249; Manuel Buaken: I Have Lived with the American People (Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho, 1948);and Carlos Bulosan: America Is in the Heart (Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1943). 7 R. T. Feria: War and the Status of Vol. 31, 1946, pp. Filipino Immigrants, Sociol.and Soc. Research, 48-53. 8 N. Seltzer, edit.: Scientists, Engineers and Physicians from Abroad: Trends through Fiscal Year 1970 (Natl. Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1972).

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES

197
-500

I
FILIPINO POPULATION GROWTH
UNITED STATES .

f
-400 "a /^ - 300 0

-200

e~

Other states
Iii~iii,:, l~ii~ ~

t~~~~~
100

iiiiiiiCahfornlaiii;?t

1910

1920 1920

1930 3

194 1940

1950

1960

1970

o 1975 1980

Year
FIG. I-Growth of the Filipino population in the United States since 1910.The solid lines indicate the reported number of Filipinos according to United States censuses; the dashed lines indicate the estimated increase since 1970based on the number of immigrants admitted since 1970and the state of their intended residence. (For the period since 1970 no allowance is made for births or deaths in the United States or for emigration.) Sources:Census of Population, 1970 [see text footnote 2], U.S. summary, Table 48, Hawaii, Table 17, and California, Table 17; and Ann. Repts.of the I'.S.
Immigration ande .Vatura/liation Service, I(71-1975, Tables 6 and 12.

especially those in the West. Some in Hawaii left the plantations for cities, but in California others signed contracts for work in the fields at minimum wages. On the average, Filipinos were still in low-paying and menial jobs.
IMMIGRATION SINCE 1965

During the last decade there have been important developments with respect to immigration from the Philippines and the growth of Filipino communities in this country. The Immigration Act of I965became fully effective in I968.Most immigrants are admitted as qualifying under one of several categories in what is called the preference system. Each non-Western Hemisphere country is subject to an annual limit of 20,000 such preference immigrants. Because a major policy goal is the reunion of families, 74 percent of the visas available under this system are allotted to the various categories of relatives.9 However, spouses, minor unmarried children, and parents of United States citizens are admitted without regard to any numerical limits and the preference system, resulting in annual totals of immigrants from the Philippines that are much greater than the 20,000 limit assigned to preference system visas.
9 The best source on the changing regulations is Charles Gordon and Harry N. Rosenfield: Immigration Law and Procedure (3 vols.; Matthew Bender, New York, 1975), with cumulative supplements.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

I98

THE GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

People may also obtain immigrant visas under this preference system because of the particular occupational skills they possess. Each year the Department of Labor estimates which skills are in demand and how many individuals in each occupational category can be employed without adversely affecting wages or working conditions for Americans. If a person qualifies for an occupation and obtains labor certification showing the need for this skill, then a visa may be granted to that person, as well as to a spouse and any children. Those who meet the conditions still may have to wait for several years, however, because immigrant visas are approved on a first-come-firstserved basis. The percentage of immigrants from the Philippines who are "professional, technical and kindred workers" has varied between 20 percent and 30 percent, and in 1974 and 1975 averaged 21 percent.10Professionals often have the financial resources to make immigration possible. They seek the much higher salaries, better working conditions, greater professional opportunities, and higher status associated with a position overseas." Compared to the professionals who come only temporarily for advanced training, those who immigrate have relatively weak ties to people and institutions in the Philippines and perceive opportunities in the Islands as much less favorable than in the United States.'2 Doctors, nurses, engineers, accountants, and school teachers constitute roughly 70 percent of the immigrant professionals. In I968 and I969, about 25 percent of all physicians and surgeons, more than 40 percent of all pharmacists and dentists, and 58 percent of all dieticians immigrating to the United States were admitted from the Philippines.13The percentage of immigrants entering as professionals has dropped somewhat since 1970, but the increase in the various relative preferences and nonquota immigrants has more than made up the difference. The fact that many of these professionals have been unmarried adults, especially women, should not obscure the strong family character of the immigration. The Philippine government has made some efforts to curb the exodus of their professionals (the "brain drain"). After completion of schooling, most professionals must now serve a period of internship in. the Philippines, often in rural areas where their skills are needed. Only after completing this service may they apply for a visa to emigrate to the United States. At the same time the Philippines has been quite happy to extract American dollars from its citizens who earn money here. Such earnings are taxed by the Philippines at a high rate (in addition to United States taxes), and those who do not pay cannot return to the Islands or have their passports renewed. Visits by Filipinos from the United States (and the spending of American dollars by them) have been encouraged successfully under the Balikbayan (Homecoming) program, whereby Filipinos who return for at least a month are given large discounts on travel costs. Nevertheless, because of censorship of the mails, Filipinos in the United States who wish to send money to relatives in the Islands without having it taxed must conceal the money, sometimes tucked into Christmas cards or inserted in carbon-backed
10 Ann.Repts.of the U.S. Immigration Naturalization and Service,I97o-I975, Table 8. " Ferdinand Mempin: Emigration from the Philippines, Migration News (Geneva), Vol. 23, No. 2, 1974, pp. 18-22, reference on p. 18. 2Josefina R. Cortes: Factors Associated with the Outflow of High-Level Philippine Manpower to the U.S.A., in Proceedings of Conference on International Migration from the Philippines, 10-14 June 1974, (East-West Population Inst., Honolulu, 1975), pp. 13-16. 13"Annual Indicator of Immigration to the United States of Aliens in Professional and Related Occupations, Fiscal Year 1968" (Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, D.C., 1969).

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES

199

paper, or must have it carried by a friend.'4 Those who have left the Islands recently for the United States also include some people, often former political leaders, who have publicly opposed the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, and others who, for various reasons, have feared for their own safety in the Philippines. In addition, some businessmen belie,e their opportunities are better outside the Philippines, though the restrictions of the "New Society" under Marcos and the rapid inflation must be balanced in the mind of the potential emigrant by the positive revitalized spirit of nationalism in the Philippines today and by the possible loss of property after emigration. Because of the difficulty of obtaining immigrant visas, an increasing number of Filipinos are entering this country with temporary visitor visas. Since 1970 an average of more than 54,000 Filipinos have come each year as visitors.'5 Most have visas that permit travel for pleasure but are often able to change their status to that of immigrant while in this country. Visitor visas are eagerly sought but are hard to come by because an applicant must convince the American consulate in Manila that he or she will not simply remain in the United States. Applicants often must show large bank holdings or other property in their name as an indication of strong motivation to return to the Philippines. Temporary visas are also issued to students, trainees, and people in special exchange programs. After five years of continuous residence here, most immigrants become eligible for citizenship, though some accelerate the process by marriage to a citizen or by service in the military. Others, including some who seek political asylum here, extend their stay beyond the visa limits, the most common violation of the conditions of their admission. In the four years from 1972through 1975more than 12,000 illegal alien Filipinos were located by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. 6 Travel agencies in the Philippines may also play a role in decisions to visit the United States, for they sometimes encourage people to come here on a visitor visa and imply that it will be easy to have the visa changed to student or some other status after arrival here.'7 For those without special training and with no immediate family in the United States, another approach has been to attempt enlistment in the U.S. Navy. Since 1901o this service branch has accepted Filipinos eager to enlist as mess attendants or stewards. After the Philippines became independent in I946, recruitment was continued under provisions of the Military Bases Agreement of I947. In 1954,a subsequent agreement permitted the United States to increase the number of Filipinos to be recruited. This agreement, which is still in effect, allows the United States to enlist up to 2,000 Filipinos each year; but it may be terminated by either government after one year's notice. Annual enlistments of Filipino aliens have fluctuated from highs of approximately 1,900in the period from i965 through i968 and approximately 1,500from I973through 1975 to lows of about 500 in the early 1970'S and again in 1976.18In I970 there were
Ann.Repts.of the U.S. Immigration Naturalization and Service,7974-i975, Table 15. and Service,7972-1975, Table 27B. Immigration ,Naturalization 17 Sister Marie C. Bergamini: An Assessment of International Nursing Students in the United States: A Case Study of Philippine Experience (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Education, Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1964), pp. 119-120. "8 "Filipinos in the United States Navy" (unpublished background paper, U.S. Dept. of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1976).
16

14Mempin, op. cit. [see footnote i i above], p. 19.

18 Ann. Repts.of the U.S.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

200

THE GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

more than I6,ooo Filipino aliens in the navy, plus another 800 in the coast guard.19 More then 80 percent of these men were classified as stewards. As such, they served food, washed dishes, made beds, and acted as personal servants of high-ranking officers. In spite of the menial nature of these tasks, competition by examination for the available positions is fierce. The navy is seen as an excellent way of escaping the poverty of the Philippines.20 Ninety percent of the Filipinos who enter the navy reenlist. Most of these become United States citizens and remain in the service until they retire. Since I97I the navy has attempted to lower the caste barrierswhich have tended to keep Filipinos and Americans in separate roles.21 A broader range of specialty training has been made available so that Filipinos may more easily choose a navy career in a variety of occupations, often technical or mechanical. In I975 the Steward rating was abolished and the stewards combined with those who had the Commissary rating to form the Mess Management Specialist rating. In this new category, approximately 45 percent of the personnel are Filipinos. It is not clear what the ultimate effect of these changes will be, as the main reason for the enlistment of Filipino aliens in the past has been the navy's need to fill servant and other menial positions not readily accepted by Americans.
THE IMMIGRANTPROFESSIONAL'SCHOICE OF DESTINATION

Immigrants who are spouses or children of those already granted immigrant status generally have little say in where they will live in the United States. Likewise, those in the military do not decide where they will be stationed. It is, rather, the immigrant professional who is most apt to exercise choice regarding destination. The same travel agencies that encourage visits will help select and place professionals who seek advanced training, but the major influences in the decision are often the location of friends and relatives and the perception of job opportunities. Friends and relatives in the United States, who frequently will have financed all or part of the trip for the immigrant, are the most basic source of assistance and information for the professional. In one study 50 percent of prospective nurses chose an institution for their further training on information from relatives and friends.22 Sometimes professionals are able to arrange for a specific job before they leave the Philippines, but this is not typical. For most, the search for a job is an inevitable component of adjustment to life in the United States, and the immigrant hopes that his personal contacts will help him find a position. Job opportunities for immigrant professionals vary according to demand for certain professions in different places and according to governmental policies and regulations, particularly the differences among states in requirements for professional licensure. The practice of a large number of professions is regulated at the state level by means of examination and certification of an individual's training. The professions so controlled include all of those relating to health care, such as dentistry, nursing, and optometry, and others such as teaching and accounting. Since an especially large
Monthly,October, 1970,pp. 17-20. "9Timothy H. Ingram: The Floating Plantation, Washington 20Jesse G. Quinsaat: How to Join the Navy and Still Not See the World, in Letters in Exile: An Introductory Reader on the History of Pilipinos in America, (edited by Jesse G. Quinsaat; Asian American Studies Center, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, 1976), pp. 96-111. 21John W. Finney: Navy Is Enlisting Filipino Servants, New rork Times,Nov. 20, 1974. 2 Bergamini, op. cit. [see footnote 17 above], p. 119.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES

20I

number of Filipino physicians have been immigrating, the variation in medical licensing regulations becomes important.23 Each year for more than a decade between 4,000and 9,000positions for interns and resident physicians have remained unfilled in American hospitals. The need for doctors has been partly satisfied by immigrant graduates of foreign medical schools and by temporary visitors admitted under educational exchange agreements.24Most Filipino physicians who immigrate as professionals have practiced medicine in their homeland for several years. In order to apply for a license to practice, Filipinos and other foreign medical graduates (FMGs) have usually had to pass an examination given by the U.S. Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates, but states vary in this and other requirements. Most significant for Filipino physicians has been the fact that California's requirements for licensure have been more difficult than those of most other states. Either internship within a California hospital or United States citizenship has been required, and internships in the state have usually been taken by graduates of American medical schools. Hence, Filipino physicians can usually begin to practice medicine much sooner in other states.25It seems likely that many newly arrived professionals have decided to live and practice in other states but hope to move to California once they become naturalized. In the future these licensing differentials between state.< may be reduced by use of the Federation Licensing Examination in all states. Job openings for FMGs are greatest in city hospitals that have no medical teaching programs. These hospitals are more common in the large cities of the northeastern and Great Lakes states.26 The net effect is to encourage the migration of foreigntrained physicians to hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois. It seems clear to some observers that certain eastern states which have a shortage of physicians in their hospitals are able to staff these positions because their personnel are mostly FMGs who have not yet been licensed. Physicians in many public hospitals in the East do not need full licensing, and states like New Jersey effectively keep their FMGs out of private practice by holding unusually difficult licensure examinations, from which high rates of failures regularly result.27 Thus, state licensing boards do influence the migration flow of foreign medical graduates. Licensing requirements and job opportunities are not always dominant factors in the physicians' choice of destination. Some states, like the Dakotas, have very low failure rates on licensing exams but attract few Filipinos. At the other extreme,
23 Henry R. Mason: Medical Licensure, 1972: Statistical Review, Journ.Amer.MedicalAssn., Vol. 225, No. 3, pp. 299-310. 24 Vol. 232, No. 2, I975, pp. 14-21, Stephen S. Mick: The Foreign Medical Graduate, Scientific American, reference on p. 15. It seems likely that the 40 percent increase in admissions to American medical schools since 1970 and the elimination of many hospital positions because of lack of funds will result in reduced immigration quotas for doctors. See "Unwelcome Mat for FMGs," Medical WorldNews, Sept. 8, 1975,pp.

I 18-

from private medical associations on California hospitals (personal interview with Dr. Ernesto Hilario, San Francisco, Dec. 11, 1975; and Dr. Antonio Saqueton, quoted in Royal E. Morales: Makibaka: The Pilipino American Struggle [Mountainview Publishers, Los Angeles, 1974], pp. 84-86). 26Mick, op. cit. [see footnote 24 above], p. 17. 27 Arlene Goldblatt and others: Licensure, Competence, and Manpower Distribution, New England Medicine,Vol. 292, Jan. i6, 1975,pp. 137-141;RobertJ. Weiss and others: Foreign Medical Graduates JYourn. and the Medical Underground, ibid., Vol. 290, June 20, 1974,pp. 1408-1413; Mason, op. cit., [see footnote 23 above]; and personal interview with Dr. Ramon Sison, President of Philippine Medical Society, Los Angeles, Oct. 26, 1976.

19. 26 Some Filipino physicians claim that their difficulties in obtaining internships are the result of pressure

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

202

THE GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

California, with its warmer climate and large Filipino population, attracts FMGs who end up working as medical aides, clerks, waiters, or dishwashers. Some are even
unemployed.28

The boards that control the licensing of other professions in California have also been reluctant to license professionals trained in other countries.29Until 1970foreigneducated dentists could take the California licensure examination only after two additional years of dental education in this country. The law was changed and now Filipino dentists are being examined. For pharmacists, a change of law in 1973 permitted the State Board of Pharmacy to examine foreign-trained pharmacists, but very few pharmacists trained in the Philippines have been considered sufficiently qualified in academic background to be allowed to take the written and practical board examination.30 California's history of discrimination against Asians prompts some Filipinos to question official statements about the superiority of American professional training and the motivation behind the difficult licensure requirements in the state. Immigrant professionals view the various state licensure requirements as difficult hurdles. That one must review for examinations, the apparent equivalent of which had been passed years before in the Philippines, shows American doubts about the competence of foreign-trained professionals. Indeed this is the case, as evidenced by the long controversy over FMGs.31Yet this treatment seems inconsistent and especially unjust to the immigrant who was admitted precisely because the United States government wished to have more members of his profession practicing here. On the other hand, many immigrants fail to understand distinctions between state and federal authority and the fact that Department of Labor certification does not necessarily mean that there is a need for them in the state of their choosing.
DISTRIBUTION OF FILIPINOS IN 1970

Throughout the twentieth century, California and Hawaii have had much larger Filipino populations than any other state (Fig. i). There has been a net migration of Filipinos from Hawaii to the mainland since the 1920's,however, and in 1970California, with more than 40 percent of all United States Filipinos, for the first time had a larger Filipino population than Hawaii. Yet if only the mainland is considered, since 1960 the Filipino populations in areas outside California have shown a tendency to grow at a faster rate: 6i percent of mainland Filipinos lived in California in 1960,but ten years later only 55 percent lived in that state. Also, increasing numbers of immigrants who were granted visas between 1970 and 1974listed states other than California as their intended destination.32 The trend can be viewed broadly as one of increased dispersion to the East, the Midwest, and the Gulf of Mexico. The pattern is better illuminated, however, at the
28"Asian American and Pacific Peoples: A Case of Mistaken Identity" (Calif. Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C., 1975), esp. pp. 47-48. 29 "A Dream Unfulfilled: Korean and Pilipino Health Professionals in California" (Calif. Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C., 1975), esp. pp. 22 and 32. 30 Telephone. interview with Mr. Fred Willyerd, Executive Secretary of the Board of Pharmacy, Sacramento, Calif., Sept. 29, 1976. 31 Kathleen N. Williams and Robert H. Brook: Foreign Medical Graduates and Their Impact on the Quality of Medical Care in the United States, Milbank MemorialFund Quart., Vol. 53, No. 4, 1975, pp. 549-581. 32 Ann. Repts. and Service,1966-i974, Table i2A. On their visa of the U.S. Immigration Naturalization applications potential immigrants are asked to list the state and city of their intended residence. These data are the best source for the pattern of immigrant flow in recent years, but they should be used with caution because immigrants have no obligation to reside in the place they list on the application.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES

203

scale of metropolitan areas and counties because local organizations of Filipinos (that is, the ethnic communities) usually function at this scale. Population changes between 1960 and I970 were mapped for all seventy-three Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) and for the fifteen nonmetropolitan counties that had more than 200
Filipinos in 1970 (Fig. 2).

Honolulu, San Francisco, and Los Angeles contain the largest communities of Filipinos, and each of their SMSAs gained more than 20,000 Filipinos during the I960'S. The next largest increases in absolute numbers were in San Diego (9,600), Chicago (8,500), and New York (7,900). The highest percentage increases were generally found in the East. By 1970Chicago had more than twice as many Filipinos as it had in I960. Moreover, in the last few years Chicago has been listed by more immigrants as their intended destination than any other mainland city outside California. Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; Norfolk-Portsmouth, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; andJacksonville, Florida all quadrupled their Filipino population during the 1960's. These, plus other SMSAs indicated as having tripled their Filipino numbers (Fig. 2), fall into three categories: cities peripheral to New York, often those in poor economic health; the largest cities in the Midwest, particularly those bordering the Great Lakes; and cities on the East and Gulf coasts that have important naval installations. Association with the armed forces is the basis for the most distinctive aspect of the Filipino population pattern, and ties with the navy are most significant. Filipino communities associated with the navy have grown especially rapidly since 1960. In Providence and Newport, Rhode Island; New London, Connecticut; Saint Mary's County, Maryland; Norfolk and Newport News, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Key West, and Pensacola, Florida; Corpus Christi, Texas; and San Diego and Kings County, California, most of the Filipino population is connected directly or indirectly with the U.S. Navy. The totals include sailors at sea, who are counted by the census at their home port, but the largest group at each place is composed of families of navy men. For example, in 1970two-thirds of the employed Filipino males in San Diego were in the armed forces, but these military men constituted less than one-fourth of the total Filipino population.33At more isolated naval installations, such as Lemoore Naval Air Station in Kings County, California, or Meridian Naval Air Station in Mississippi, virtually the entire Filipino community is connected with the navy. The service-connected segment of the Filipino population is likely to be younger and highly mobile. For example, the increasing concentration of West Coast naval operations in San Diego since 1970 and the closing of other stations, as at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, produce rapid changes in the distribution of Filipinos. Small groups of a hundred or more Filipinos are also found near all the large army posts. Filipino veterans of World War II were granted citizenship, married here or brought wives and children from the Philippines, and some continued to serve with the U.S. Army. Most now have civilian jobs, but their status as veterans has given them preference for civil service jobs and other benefits. Areas of low growth in the I960's were rural areas where Filipinos have long worked in agriculture: the San Joaquin, Salinas, and Imperial valleys in California; Yakima County in Washington; and the islands of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii. This mirrors the long-term trend for the American population as a whole.
33 "1970' Census of Population, Subject Report: Japanese, Chinese, and Filipinos in the United States" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.), p. 172.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES,1970

Santa Oxnard-'

Ba

Anaheim

miles

FIG. 2-Filipinos in the United States, 1970.Sources: Census of Population, 1970 [see text footnote 2], sta of Population, 1960 General Population Characteristics" (U.S. Bureau of Census, Washington, D.C.), unpublished Department of the Navy data showing total number of military and civilian personnel assigned

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES

205

URBAN INVISIBILITY

Filipino communities constitute a small proportion of the total population of their localities. In 1970the highest proportions were found in the older agricultural areas in Hawaii; but even in farming centers like Delano and Guadalupe in California the Filipino population was only a little more than 10 percent. In some sections of larger cities Filipinos are more visible, but usually the proportion of the total population is low and the area is multiracial.34In 1970, 10 percent of Filipinos in Los Angeles were concentrated in an area of less than three square miles near the downtown section, but in this area only two census tracts had more than 10 percent Filipino population. San Francisco, the traditional urban focus of Filipino settlement on the mainland and the largest mainland center, recorded only five tracts with more than 10 percent and only one tract with more than 20 percent Filipino population. Filipinos in both cities are dispersed throughout most sections, with the highest concentrations in certain low-income areas. This weakly nucleated settlement pattern contrasts with the racial segregation of the pre-World War II period in West Coast cities. At that time in San Franciscomost Filipinos were seasonal laborers or members of ships' crews, and the few hotels that accepted Filipinos as tenants were mostly in a tiny section which bordered Chinatown and was soon dubbed "Manilatown." Today, as a result of out-migration owing to neighborhood decline and urban renewal, this early focal point of Filipino life has almost completely vanished. The area of highest concentration now is south of Market Street, where rundown and crowded apartments on the edge of skid row serve a variety of poor Filipinos-old, single men and newly arrived families with little or no employment. Other Filipinos can be found in predominantly black areas, but most are intermingled residentially in the broad multiracial corridor that runs south through the Mission District to the suburbs. A similar change has taken place in the Stockton area of the San Joaquin Valley. Before World War II most Filipinos lived in farm labor camps, but those that did live in the city were concentrated in the cheap hotels of Little Manila and were not allowed to rent on the north side of town. Now Filipinos are found throughout most parts of the city and suburbs, though there are still concentrations in certain southside neighborhoods.35 The present lack of concentration in ethnic neighborhoods tends to make Filipino communities less visible to the surrounding society than they would otherwise be. Many inhabitants of cities with major Filipino communities are not aware of their existence-a situation furthered by the paucity of ethnic foodstores, restaurants, or other establishments clearly identified as Filipino. In San Francisco, where one might reasonably expect the best of Filipino cuisine, the several restaurants are scattered throughout the city and not well publicized. Most are modest. Los Angeles has more than a dozen Filipino restaurants, and although most are located in the area between MacArthur Park and Temple Street where many Filipinos live, that section of the city attracts relatively few visitors. In the few cities where Filipino sections can be more
34Unpublished data on Filipinos by census tract were made available from computer tapes for Los Angeles by I-shou Wang, California State University, Northridge, and for San Francisco by Peter Groat, Department of City Planning, San Francisco. 35 Lillian Galedo, Laurena Cabanero, and Brian Tom: Roadblocks to Community Building: A Case Research Study of the Stockton Filipino Community Center Project, AsianAmerican Publ.No. Working Project, 4, Univ. of California, Davis, 1970, pp. 7, 9, 15, and i6.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

206

THE GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

easily recognized, as in central Stockton or along Greenwood Street in Delano, one sees only the pool halls, cheap lunch spots, and old and weathered farm laborers gathered on the sidewalk-all remnants of days past. In statistics on ethnic populations, Filipinos have typically been included with other, more easily recognized groups in categories such as Asian, nonwhite, Spanishsurname, and "other." As a result, some affirmative action hiring policies may not include Filipinos as a minority, and support for community projects is less easily found by Filipinos than by larger ethnic groups.36It should be recognized that the low visibility of Filipino communities is also very much a function of the lack of publicity in the mass media. Filipinos have not pushed forward any charismatic spokesman to appeal to television audiences, and political action has been typically undramatic and nonviolent. As a result, other Americans may consider Filipinos as having made a successful adjustment.37 However, the life of many Filipinos here reflects a great deal of the heritage of the past and is not attractive. The aging farm laborers not working the fields occupy dingy hotel rooms, although some who are more fortunate live in apartments in Stockton's new Filipino Center or in the retirement village built in Delano by the United Farm Workers Union. More recent immigrants usually must cope with the same problems of jobs, housing, and the cost of living that American-born people do, but in addition the immigrants face the often difficult problems of language and cultural adjustment. The plight of Filipinos and other Asians compared to the total population has been documented in reports issued by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and by the Bureau of the Census. In California, for instance, the median number of school years completed by Filipinos over age twenty-four had risen to 12.2 years by 1970 (higher than the median for the national population), although, for males aged sixteen and over, Filipinos still recorded a lower median income in I969than blacks, American Indians, Puerto Ricans, Chinese, Japanese, or people of Mexican origin.38
ETHNIC IDENTITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Recent immigrant professional and second-generation Filipinos are already partially assimilated into the American core culture. Acculturation of immigrants is by no means complete, though its continuation seems inevitable.39 But the sense of
6 A Dream Unfulfilled [see footnote 29 above]. Filipinos in California lobbied hard for the Foran Act, which in 1974required the state to categorize Filipinos as such in its minority group statistics. 37 For example, most Americans do not realize that the 1965strike of California farm workers which led to major improvements in the wages and living conditions of workers was begun by a predominantly Filipino union, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. Only after the strike had been on for several days was it joined by the National Farm Workers Association, led by Cesar Chavez. 38 "A Study of Selected Socio-economic Characteristics of Ethnic Minorities Based on the 1970Census, Volume II: Asian Americans" (Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C., 1974),esp. pp. 93-130; "1970 Census of Population, Subject Report: Japanese, Chinese, and Filipinos in the United States" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.); "1970 Census of Population, Subject Report: American Indians" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.); "1970 Census of Population, Subject Report: Puerto Ricans in the United States" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.); "1970Census of Population, Subject Report: Negro Population" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.); "1970 Census of Population, Subject Report: Persons of Spanish Origin" (U.S. Bur. of the Census, Washington, D.C.). 39 The importance of cultural differences between Filipino and American nurses is shown by Nancy A. C. Sarsfield: An Acculturative Study of the Filipino Nurse in New Jersey Hospitals (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Anthropology, New York Univ., New York, 1973). The difficulties in hearing and

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FILIPINOS IN THE UNITED STATES

207

Filipino identity is not based so much on the possession of certain culture traits as on how Filipinos define themselves and are defined socially. In contrast to the past, when Filipinos believed implicitly in the goal of assimilation into the society of white America, today some Filipino leaders are striving to build in their communities a strong sense of identity as a separate racial group.40This view is most in evidence in urban West Coast communities, especially in the highly ethnically aware environment of the San Francisco Bay area, but it is by no means restricted to such places. This emphasis on structural pluralism represents a realistic recognition of the fact that, to a large extent, Filipino immigrants constitute a separate social group in this country, defined as such by both the American core culture and themselves. Although many are now well educated and, on the surface, can move easily in American society, their closest ties tend to be with people of similar backgrounds.41However, marriage for many of the single female professionals, especially in the eastern states, is interracial, owing to the shortage of eligible Filipino males.42 A sense of ethnic identity, necessary for the preservation of the ethnically defined subsociety, is maintained and enhanced by a variety of means. First, a great many newspapers serve Filipinos in this country.43Most adopt a strong and distinctive point of view regarding the political situation in the Philippines but otherwise they are similar in their reporting of social news and changes in government regulations in this country and overseas which affect Filipinos. Second, some of the larger communities have backed various programs designed to assist less fortunate Filipinos. A number of centers have been established for senior citizens, and health clinics and bilingual and bicultural programs in schools are being developed. Once a year several hundred Filipinos from all over the West Coast meet at the Pilipinos People's Far West Convention to air mutual problems and discuss solutions. Filipino professionals have also formed a variety of organizations to deal with their own special concerns. Third, ethnic studies programs on university campuses play an important role in fostering a sense of group identity among younger Filipinos. Students have frequently reported that they had never thought much about their own identity until they were exposed to courses on Asian or Philippine Americans. Many have become involved in community action projects and have produced several publications that describe their feelings as members of a racially distinct group and their heritage as revealed in historical documents and writings and in interviews with older Filipinos, usually farm laborers.44
speaking American English and other problems of cultural adjustment are indicated by in-depth interviews with ten Filipino students (Virginia L. Santa Maria: Perceived School Adjustment Problems of Selected Newly Arrived Filipino Students: A Case Study [unpublished M.A. thesis, Dept. of Secondary Education, San Francisco State Coll., San Francisco, Calif., 1972]). 40See, for example, Morales, op. cit. [see footnote 25 above]; and Jovina Navarro: Diwang Pilipino: Pilipino Consciousness (Asian American Studies Div., Univ. of California, Davis, 1974). 41 This is confirmed frequently in interviews. In one study more than 86 percent of samples of both longterm and recent immigrants in Sacramento, California, reported that "almost all my friends are Filipino" (Leonila J. Pimental: The Perception of Illness among Immigrant Filipinos in Sacramento Valley [unpublished M.A. thesis, Dept. of Public Health, Sacramento State Coll., Sacramento, Calif., 1968], p. 6i). 42 Since 1970 there have been more than twice as many females as males in the 20-29 age group of and immigrants. See Ann. Repts.of the U.S. Immigration Naturalization Service,I970-1975, Table 9. 43The major newspapers are weeklies, some of which have national distribution. The most important include the Philippine News (San Francisco), AngKatipunan (Oakland), Balitaan(Los Angeles), ThePhilippine Times (Chicago), and the Filipino Reporter (New York). 44 Navarro, op. cit. [see footnote 40 above]; Galedo and others, op. cit. [see footnote 35 above]; Quinsaat, op. cit. [see footnote 20 above]; Alex Canillo and others: Pinoy Know Yourself: An Introduction to the Filipino American Experience (Third World Teaching Resource Center, Santa Cruz, Calif., 1975).

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

208

THE GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

The basic question of whether it is desirable to preserve and emphasize the sense of group identity is being raised by many people. This is a perennial dilemma of assimilation, and one senses that Filipino community leaders must fight a continuing battle to promote ethnic awareness among the many people who are quite happy that their lives are much improved over what they would be in the Philippines. Efforts to unify Filipino communities face major difficulties of apathy and internal division.46Most people do not want to work hard for what they perceive as someone else's cause, and consciousness of class differences inhibits cooperation. When some Filipinos claim that they have been discriminated against with respect to employment, others suspect that the real problem is too strong an accent in speaking English. Distinctions between American-born and immigrant Filipinos can also cause tension, with the American-born people unfamiliar with the language, food, and other aspects of culture that the immigrants have known so well. But typically the differences between generations loom much larger and often produce conflict within families. Younger people and the children of immigrants tend to be more politically active and outspoken, whereas the older immigrants wish to preserve smooth and harmonious relationships with others, an important value in traditional Philippine culture.46 Finally, dialects and region of origin within the Islands can be highly influential in relationships between immigrants. Stereotypes and prejudices about Ilocanos, Visayans, Tagalogs, and other regional groups are commonplace and inhibit the sense of Filipino unity. Filipino immigrants are more residentially mobile than the average American. Moreover, professionals typically move in different circles than the naval personnel, and the farm labor system remains a separate entity. Injected into these movement patterns are those nonimmigrants who come on temporary visas.47All of these people act to give continued life to the ethnic communities, intensifying the ethnic structures and the links between geographically separated Filipino communities. Thus the immigrants have created not just one but a set of ethnic subsocieties. These subsocieties form a fluid rather than a rigid structure, but some do have distinguishing locational characteristics. With differences based on region of origin and social distinctions between those who received their academic training in the United States and those trained in the Philippines, between the college educated and the kitchen and cannery workers, between the old, single farm workers and the young navy recruits, between activist students and those who are comfortably established, it is evident that the social structure and spatial patterns of the American people are being elaborated in no simple way.
46Galedo and others, op. cit. [see footnote 35 above]; Benjamin N. Muego: The Politicization of the Filipino-American: A Pilot Study in Immigrant Political Socialization (unpublished M.A. thesis, Dept. of Political Science, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, 1971);and Alfredo N. Munoz: The Filipinos in America (Mountainview Publishers, Los Angeles, 1971). 46Muego, op. cit. [see footnote 45 above] ;and Morales, op. cit. [see footnote 25 above], pp. 105-1 l. 47In the period between 1965and 1974a total of more than 400,000visitors arrived in the United States from the Philippines. This was about twice the number of immigrants. See Ann.Rept.of theU.S. Immigration andNaturalization Service,1974,Table 15.

This content downloaded on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:42:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions