Report: Indian-American population grew by 38%

Washington, June 18

The population of Indian-origin people in America grew by 38 per cent in seven years between 2010 and 2017, a South Asian advocacy group has said in its latest demographic report.

There are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72 per cent increase since 2010, the South Asian Americans Leading Together said in its snapshot. The increase in illegal Indian-Americans can be attributed to Indian immigrants overstaying visas, it said. Nearly 250,000 Indians overstayed their visa in 2016, therefore becoming undocumented, it said.

In general, the population of American residents tracing their roots to South Asia grew by 40 per cent. In real terms, it increased from 35 lakh in 2010 to 54 lakh in 2017, SAALT said. The Nepalese community grew by 206.6 per cent since 2010, followed by Indian (38 per cent), Bhutanese (38 per cent), Pakistani (33 per cent), Bangladeshi (26 per cent) and Sri Lankan populations (15 per cent).

There are currently at least 4,300 active South Asian Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. As of August 2018, there are approximately 2,550 active Indian DACA recipients. Only 13 per cent of the overall 20,000 DACA eligible Indians have applied and received DACA.

Income inequality has been reported to be the greatest among Asian Americans. Nearly 1 per cent of the approximately 50 lakh South Asians in the US live in poverty. SAALT said there has been a rise in the number of South Asians seeking asylum in the US  in 10 years. — PTI