Inequality is in the Details: Sri Lankans, Immigration and the Myth of Economic Mobility

Co-authored by RK Gamage, Intern, Racial Wealth Divide Initiative

Most Americans dont distinguish between Asians and South Asians ethnically, culturally or economically. This is also too often the case as it relates to data that is used to help us understand the socio-economic conditions of communities. The category Asian American includes people from or whose ancestors came from over 20 countries with a combined population in the billions. Even the subcategory of South Asian is broad, covering people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the little discussed Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southeast tip of India. It is an ancient civilization with a history that spans prehistoric settlements dating back 125,000 years. It was a key deep-water port during World War II and is seen today as an important stop in the East-West international shipping routes. Sri Lankan immigrants are often mistakenly labelled as Indian American, and their relatively high income further serves to conflate these communities. Sri Lankan immigrants have a per capita income of $37,363 and a household income of $73,856 .

However, the recent influx of Sri Lankan immigrants to the United States, has brought a larger number of less-educated, blue-collar workers to this country. This reflects the personal experience of one of the authors of this piece, whose family works at a convenience store in Long Beach, staffing it 14 hours a day, seven days a week. In this community, it is common to have more than two income earners in one household and still have a household income of less than $50,000 per year.

This economically insecure, working class status is not an aberration; instead, it reflects the experience of a growing amount of Sri Lankan Americans. The population of Sri Lankans residing in the U.S. almost doubled between 2000 and 2010 and now approaches 46,000 . Almost half of these immigrants are Sinhalese, the major ethnic group in Sri Lanka and the most likely to emigrate in search of jobs. The recent immigrants, unlike early Sri Lankan immigrants who tended to have English as a second language even while residing in Sri Lanka, have limited English proficiency. They are also less likely to be economically or educationally advantaged. As a result, Sri Lankans have become the only Asian American group whose English language proficiency has declined since 2000.

In places like Los Angeles, which has the second largest Sri Lankan community after the New York City area, there are more and more Sri Lankans whose socio-economic status increasingly resembles that of the working class immigrant entrepreneur, which is so prevalent in the Hispanic community. As recent studies have shown, there is less economic mobility in the U.S. than in other wealthy western countries, which affects all of those living in this nation.

Immigrant groups that come to this country with the best education and professional background do well in our economy, which increasingly concentrates economic rewards among the well-educated and the economic elite. The Bloomberg article It Isnt Just Asian Immigrants Who Thrive in the U.S. notes that whether one is from South Korea, Nigeria or, as we have been discussing, Sri Lanka, it isnt a mythical cultural stereotype that leads an immigrant group to become successful. Rather, success results from an economic, professional and educational background that allows individuals and communities to ride the rising tide in the American economy, which now seems to be mostly lifting the already wealthy. The changing socio-economic demographics of the Sri Lankan community serve as a reminder that not all Asian immigrants thrive in the U.S. and that the current state of the American economy, with its decreasing class mobility, is a threat to all, whether immigrant or native born.