Residents and citizens

On Dec. 19, 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced 368,644 people were deported from the United States during fiscal 2013 (Oct. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013). That includes 241,493 Mexican citizens, by far the majority of deportees from the United States. The agency only broke out the top 10, so beyond Jamaica — with 1,119 citizens returned to its shores — fresh data is not available.

While the plight of Cambodian-American deportees has gripped the community, the numbers pale compared to these other countries. In fiscal 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, 15 people were "removed" from the United States and sent to Cambodia. In 2010, it was 28.

Of course, that's small consolation if your loved one can never return to the land you call home.

But that raises another question. If a relatively small number of Cambodian-Americans are being deported, and there are lots of ethnic Khmers in America, what is the status of everyone else?

*Before 1999, DHS lists this as “immigrants admitted.” For 1999 onward, DHS lists this as “persons obtaining legal permanent resident status.”
**Before 1991, DHS lists “country of former allegiance.” After 1991, this graph uses “country of birth.” Numbers for overlapping years are similar, but not exactly the same.

A couple of thoughts:

• The initial high number of permanent residents captures the tail end of the wave of Cambodian resettlement in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security doesn't offer statistics before 1987 (that I have been able to find). 
• Generally, you must become a permanent resident before becoming a citizen. Most people have to wait three to five years before applying for naturalization. People are likely counted twice in this graphic. 
• Conditions in Cambodia dramatically improved in the 1990s, which may have encouraged Cambodian-Americans to get U.S. passports to return while simultaneously limiting Cambodian emigration to the U.S. 
• There was a coup in 1997 that likely encouraged Cambodian-Americans to get U.S. passports so they could rely on the State Department for help escaping the kingdom. Likewise, that event certainly encouraged some Cambodians to emigrate.  
• The DHS doubled most of its fees in July 2007, which may explain part of the peak in 2006 and subsequent decline. Or the decline in applications for permanent residency may be a result of more investigations into visa and marriage fraud. 

More charts will be coming soon.

The most Khmer city in the U.S.

The metropolitan sprawl of Los Angeles and Long Beach is certainly home to the largest number of Cambodian-Americans, but that leaves those with a Khmer background lost in almost 13 million people.


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Though you wouldn't think that on Anaheim Street.

So let's ignore the obvious leader (the Los Angeles and Long Beach metro area would come in at 13th on this list). What other U.S. cities have a significant Khmer minority?

1. Stockton, Calif. — With 12,557 people who identified as full or part Khmer in the 2010 Census (the source for all the demographic data in this post) out of 696,214 metro residents, this city in Central California is 1.8 percent Khmer. That might not sound like a lot, but it's far and away the densest concentration of Cambodian-Americans in a metro area in America. If you randomly put 56 Stockton residents in a room, one would be of Cambodian descent. (Those are better odds than Street 240 in Phnom Penh.) The local temple's even achieved tourist trap status.

2. Rochester, Minn. — The home of the Mayo Clinic has 187,612 residents, so the 1,688 Cambodian-Americans propel it to second place with 0.9 percent. Oddly enough, I lived here as a child and have distinct memories of being terrorized in grade school by a boy named Rath, who I thought was Vietnamese. Large numbers of Vietnamese (and as I now know, Cambodians) fled to Minnesota during the 1980s, but as a fourth-grader I had a tenuous grasp of Southeast Asian demographics. Today I would recognize him as Khmer and know how to say "at vai kyom!"

3. Modesto, Calif. — The home of George Lucas is also home to 3,934 Cambodian-Americans, comprising 0.76 percent of its 518,522 residents.

4. Fresno, Calif. — 5,618 Cambodian-Americans live in Fresno, 0.6 percent of the city's 942,904.

Fresno, where pages turn themselves and house Cambodian-Americans.

5. Seattle — The greater Seattle area is home to 19,240 Cambodian-Americans, 0.55 percent of the metro's 3.5 million. And they all appear to live in White Center, right around Queen's Deli and Golden House Donuts and Deli. The Wing Luke Museum has had exhibits on Cambodia and the Cambodian-American experience.

6. Thomasville and Lexington, N.C. — Before starting on this list, I had never heard of this place, but its 891 Cambodian-Americans win it 0.55 percent of the 162,697 residents. Statistics! The winning comment on the video below: "Saw HAlf My Family In This Video !!"

I'd prefer the paintings over the prahok.

7. Boston — You may have heard of Lowell, Mass. The town known for its historic garment factories accepted a wave of refugees from a country now known for its garment factories, and that pushed the metro area's Khmer population to 24,528. (That's 0.53 percent of the 4.6 million metro population.) Lowell has a Cambodia Town and a Khmer society.

Tea, soup and dancing is all you need.

8. Providence, R.I. — This metro area includes parts of Massachusetts and 8,135 people of Khmer background. They make up 0.51 percent of 1,600,224 residents. There appears to be a lot going on here.

9. Holland and Grand Haven, Mich. — These small cities are 20 miles apart, but have provided a home to 1,243 Cambodian-Americans, that's 0.47 percent of 266,300. Apparently, the only thing to do there is fish.

Khmer Boy Fishing in Holland, MI. YouTube officially has a video of everything.

10. Olympia, Wash. — I used to live here, too. You can see Cambodian martial arts bouts put on by the United Southeast Asian Cultural Association. The Chams have established a religious center here.

Dishonorable mention: Pittsburgh — The least Khmer city in the U.S. is Pittsburgh, with 166 Cambodian-Americans out of 2.4 million people. That works out to 0.007 percent. This is why you should fill out the Census forms.

Did I miss something? Tell me in the comments, on Twitter or App.net.

Cambodian-American ages and families

The Cambodian-American community is younger and has larger families than the nation as a whole. You can also see the baby boom after people migrated in the early 1980s, and an echo of that baby boom as that generation hit adulthood.

Cambodian-American demographics | Infographics

Where do Cambodian-Americans live?

Ever wonder where most Cambodian-Americans have settled? Well, the U.S. Census Bureau knows all!

The fainter the color, the fewer people who claimed full or partial Cambodian descent on the 2010 survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The white areas have few, or too few to count. 

A list of states, in order of most self-reported Cambodian-Americans: 

1. California — 102,317
2. Massachusetts — 28,424
3. Washington — 22,934
4. Texas — 14,347
5. Pennsylvania — 14,118
6. Minnesota — 9,543
7. Virginia — 7,306
8. Florida — 6,267
9. Rhode Island — 5,961
10. Georgia — 5,423
11. New York — 5,114
12. Ohio — 4,570
13. Illinois — 4,366
14. North Carolina — 4,345
15. Oregon — 3,934
16. Connecticut — 3,308
17. Maryland — 3,137
18. Colorado — 2,803
19. Arizona — 2,635
20. Utah — 2,328
21. Michigan — 2,219
22. Tennessee — 1,949
23. Maine — 1,691
24. New Jersey — 1,667
25. Nevada — 1,630
26. South Carolina — 1,617
27. Kansas — 1,409
28. Missouri — 1328
29. Wisconsin — 1,294
30. Iowa — 1,057
31. Indiana — 1,019
32. Kentucky — 910
33. Alabama — 827
34. New Hampshire — 807
35. Louisiana — 735
36. Hawaii — 705
37. Oklahoma — 504
38. Alaska — 328
39. Mississippi — 302
40. Nebraska — 243
41. Arkansas — 230
42. Idaho — 199
43. New Mexico — 154
44. South Dakota — 125
45. Vermont — 117
46. Delaware — 113

Do you know any Cambodian-Americans in Montana or North Dakota? What's it like?

CORRECTION: The original graphic omitted Minnesota and Hawaii. My deepest apologies to residents of the North Star and Aloha states.

The 'beautiful girl' of politics

The deadline to register to vote in Oregon is Oct. 16. If you haven't yet, direct yourself to Oregon Secretary of State's website and do it online now! There's more information at Oregon Votes.

For more on why it's important to get citizenship, vote and why politicians treat active communities "like a beautiful girl," listen to Lowell, Mass., City Councilor Vesna Nuon: