Immigration In Pakistan

Immigration of South Asian Pakistani to United States comprises of two phases. The first period began after the independence of 1947 from Great Britain that resulted the formation of Pakistan. Due to Luce-Celler Act of 1946, immigration of people from Pakistan remained low till 1965. (Batalova, 2008, Migration Policy. para 1-Historical Background). In the second phase, after the removal of Luce-Celler Act and the 1965 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration from Pakistan notably increased. Because these amendments eliminated the quota system and assigned 20% permanent immigrant visas to professionals, irrespective of their country of origin. Most people who came to United States between the period of 1965 to 1980s were

The people who came to the United States from Pakistan before 2000 were mostly professional and have the undergraduate and graduate level education. It was easier for them to merge their culture into America’s Western culture (Cappiello, last-para: Immigration and Mobility). However, professionals such as physicians, IT engineers and Scientist easily assimilated in the American culture. But the low-income Pakistani’s such as cab drivers and store clerks finds hardship in the United States particularly those who came through illegal means (Rehman, 2015,

But after the attacks they were viewed and defamed by society as terrorists (Cappiello, para-2: Impact of 9/11). Economically, Pakistani immigrants were affected badly by the changing environment after the attacks in the New York and the United States. The long-lasting impact of 9/11 was on the labor-market discrimination and xenophobic attitude for Pakistani Muslims that started after the attacks and still present today (Cappiello, para-3: Impact of 9/11). Although, I came to the United States long after the 9/11 attacks, but I heard many stories of hatred for Muslims such as publicly treated and criticized. I think Muslims have to face discrimination and negative attitudes because of this big event. However, Muslims particularly Pakistani are proudly living in the United States and sharing equal rights. Sarah Cappiello took the interview of Dr. Salman Zafar for her project and he told her that the pursuing education was the main reason for him and his wife to come to United States (Cappiello, Interview with Dr. Salman Zafar). As per the American Community Survey 2006 to 2010 on the education of people age over 25 years, total Pakistani population of age group over 25 years was 163,834 out of that 55.1% people have bachelor’s degree or higher education (Ogunwole, 2012, Census Table 3, p.4). According to migration policy institute survey of 2009-13,