At a White House ceremony on July 4, President Barrack Obama hosted
At a White House ceremony on July 4, President Barrack Obama hosted 25 foreign-born members of the U.S. military in celebrating the anniversary of American independence. Representing 15 different countries, including China, Obama called the group a vivid reminder that America is and always has been a nation of immigrants.
Despite their American citizenship, some immigrants to the United States report that they still are treated like foreigners. For example, Chinese American commentators say, for their community, looking different than the norm leads to stereotyping and discrimination.
What it means to be ‘foreign’
“It is a daily occurrence to be asked where you are from,” says Frank H. Wu, chancellor of the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Wu, who writes about Asian American issues for the Huffington Post, is the son of parents who immigrated to the United States from China via Taiwan in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
“When people ask, I explain that I’m from Detroit, Michigan,” he says. “But, people shake their heads and say: ‘No, no. What I mean is, where are you really from?’ The addition of just one word speaks volumes about who truly belongs to this country.”
Unintended discrimination can be hurtful. Wu says such interactions sometimes also take on less friendly forms.
One of them, he says, is the heckler’s jeer. “Some people say: ‘If you don’t like it here, then you can go back to where you came from!’ And my reply always is: ‘Well, things aren’t that much better in Detroit.'”
Wu says Chinese Americans also hear some members of U.S. society calling them “communists,” with secret loyalties to China.
A 2012 survey of U.S. public opinion found that 25 percent of respondents believed that Chinese Americans would be more likely to support China than the United States in disputes between the two countries.
http://www.voanews.com/content/chinese-americans-discrimination-in-us-still-a-problem-but-improving/1955153.html