Honolulu Star-Bulletin Local News
Hawaii high in states
affected by immigration

Much of the isle state is considered
a hot spot for immigrants

By Pete Pichaske
Star-Bulletin


WASHINGTON - When lawmakers here debate the red-hot issue of immigration, they talk about California, Texas and maybe Florida. But a study released here today concludes that few states have been more affected by immigration than Hawaii.

The Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank, examined immigration rates and related factors in every U.S. county and rated counties on how much of an impact immigration has.

The report rated virtually all of Hawaii except the Big Island as "intense" immigration hot spots, the highest designation.

"What this means is that immigration is and will continue to be a major factor in Hawaiian life and Hawaiian policies," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the center. "We're trying to show that immigration isn't just a problem for Southern California or Dade County, but it's in the Midwest, too - and in Hawaii."

Hawaii immigration experts were not surprised by the findings.

"We know we have a higher than average number of immigrants into the state," said Donald Radcliffe, district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Hawaii. "We've known for quite a while that we are an immigration-based state."

Radcliffe said 6,500-8,500 legal immigrants per year have entered Hawaii for the past decade.

In 1994, the most recent year for which figures are available, 7,746 immigrants entered Hawaii. That was more than all but 16 states, Radcliffe said.

Of those 1994 immigrants, 3,258 were from the Philippines and 714 from mainland China.

Paul Smith of the Pacific Forum CSIS, said Hawaii is a popular destination for new arrivals from the Philippines, China and the Pacific Islands because it already has ethnic communities from those areas. "Hawaii is really the only state with an Asian-Pacific influence that pervades the entire culture," he said.

For the past year, Congress has been debating controversial proposals that would reduce the number of immigrants to the United States and in some cases reduce their benefits.

The legislation was prompted in large part by concerns about legal and illegal immigration from California, Florida and Texas.

According to the immigration center report, of the 10 counties with the biggest immigration impact, three were in California, three in New York, two in Texas, one in Florida and one in New Jersey. Thirty-four of California's 58 counties were given the "intense" ranking.

The study found that almost every state had counties where immigration is having an impact and even states such as Wisconsin, Vermont and Minnesota included areas with a high concentration of recent immigrants.

"Immigration has become a national phenomenon," Krikorian said.



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