Historical and Socio-Political Context
From Social Justice Wiki
South Asian migration to U.S.
South Asians first began migrating to the U.S. during the mid-1960s after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Vijay Prasad discusses the immigration policies that allowed South Asians to enter this country in his book The Karma of Brown Folk. The Immigration and Nationality Act allowed the immigration of skilled labor such as engineers, scientists, and doctors, in order to fill a demand for a workforce with such technical expertise. Since that time, immigration laws have changed and have consequently caused more occupational diversity in the South Asian community. For instance, many South Asians who prospered financially during the first wave of immigration have sponsored relatives and other acquaintances in their native lands to immigrate to the U.S. These immigrants often have shorter-term visas and do not have the same kinds of formal education as the earlier generation of immigrants.
Many Andolan members migrated to this country by being sponsored by their employer. The members are usually acquainted with their employers in their native country, or sometimes they are referred to their employer through an employment agency. In a city such as New York, with so many international agencies and multinational corporations headquartered here, the number of wealthy South Asians is quite numerous. These wealthy South Asians usually employ domestic workers in their homes who share the same country of origin as the employer. The employment situation of most Andolan members is unique in that most of these low-wage South Asian workers are employed by wealthy members of the same greater South Asian community.
Global Economic Forces
Globalization also plays a role in the migration of low-wage workers because of increased poverty and lack of opportunities in their native lands that are spurred by global economic forces, which are also connected to legacies of colonialism and imperialism. In addition, the U.S. has seen a steady rise in demand of low-wage, low-skill work mainly in the service sector. For many years now, companies in the U.S. have been outsourcing more clerical and skilled jobs to countries in which the cost of labor is lower and that also have lower labor standards and protections. This has been causing a wider gap between the rich and the poor, because the jobs that have historically allowed the middle-class to thrive are being outsourced and replaced by service sector jobs. At the same time, there has been a rise in very high-skill, high-paid work such as corporate executives and attorneys.
The Andolan members, although they share a similar ethnic origin, nevertheless have diverse backgrounds. For instance, some have attended school and are a part of the urban middle class in their native lands, while others cannot read in any language and are from rural areas. Global economic forces caused these women to migrate abroad in order to provide for the livelihoods of their families and these women of different socio-economic origins have consequently found themselves working similar low-wage jobs in this country.
Challenges for Low-Wage Immigrant Workers
In the past decade, there has been a visible rise in the number of low-wage South Asian workers in this country, particularly in the New York area. Initially, there were no worker centers or community-based organizations for these groups to turn to, but now groups like Andolan have been formed to organize this community of workers.
Low-wage South Asian workers, living in the shadows of the “myth of the model minority” are an “invisible” group. This is especially true for domestic workers, who are usually forced to be highly dependent upon their employers and cannot leave the house freely. This community has been forced even further underground since September 11th because of increased immigration enforcement. Low-wage South Asian workers are commonly afraid to access social services that require communication with public agencies such as the fire department or the police department for fear of deportation. Furthermore, many workers are afraid to organize because of increased employer retaliation and threats of deportation.