ABSTRACT
Migration between Asia and the Americas has involved movement from Asia to North America and Latin America, and more recently from Latin America to Asia. This chapter provides a framework for understanding the role of migration in the evolution of the Pacific Basin. By the end of the century the emergence of Japan and the US as colonial powers generated new migrations throughout the Pacific Basin. During and after World War II, the US introduced legislation that permitted naturalization for Chinese, Filipino, and Asian Indian residents. This was followed by the Immigration Act of 1965 which ended policies that had privileged migration from European countries. The countries of the Americas were created through migration of peoples from Europe, Africa, and Asia and thus have national narratives that emphasize settlement and assimilation. While much migration to the Americas initially came from overseas, today the dominant trend is migration from Latin America to the US and Canada.
