Alana Marcelino

Immigration from the Philippines

For someone to leave their home country in these time periods, the reason was either dire due
to poor economy and living conditions, or they were simply looking for a new life in this glorious
America. Here, its presented as a little bit of both. Philippine immigration became more prominent in
the early 1900s, late 1800s, after being annexed by the United States. Through being recruited by
Americans, fighting side by side in war, and simply leaving to find a better life, Filipinos have come a
long way to establishing their communities here in America present day.
Through entitlement to higher jobs and education, America held a strong stand on who
immigrated into their country. In this case, its the Filipino immigrant groups. Beginning in 1903, America
invited students from the Philippines to study at colleges and universities in an act called the Pensionado
Act. This act caused an overwhelming inspiration to other Filipino students that followed the original
group of sponsored students to get a higher education. Although the students that came to the decision
of following the original group were not sponsored, their education became far more important and they
became self-supporting students.1 They found paying jobs, such as dishwashers, cooks, and waiters to
support themselves with their studies to soon develop their name in slowly creating various Filipino
communities in the United States. 2
The Pensionado Act was not the only movement that made a dent for Filipino communities in
the United States. Just before the Pensionado Act was established, the Philippines were annexed by the
U.S. in 1899 which then began the involvement of the Americans with the Filipinos. After a short war

Min, Pyong Gap. "Contemporary Trends and Issues."

Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues
.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995. 182. Print.
2
The Pensionado Act of the Philippines

. N.p., n.d. Web.

with Spain, the U.S. stepped in to aid the Philippines which led to the annexation. The U.S. was only
interested in the resources that the Philippines had to offer and the only solution to getting those
resources was to own them. 3 This decision is often looked at as inhumane for not only taking from
their country, but expecting them to leave it to work for jobs that are considered the working lower
class. It wasnt until the Pensionado Act that America started viewing the Filipino students as remotely
equals by studying at universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley. By 1912, more than 200
pensionados were enrolled in American colleges and universities. 4
Although many Filipino students were sponsored to come to America to study, most of those
students were male. In fact, in the first batch of students, there were nearly no women to immigrate to
America for the program at all. They were typically single young males that settled in university towns.5
Most of these men supported themselves if they were not sponsored which required them to have to get
jobs. Because most jobs were not offered to them, they had to take jobs that were often referred to
as feminine work.6 These jobs included domestic servants, waiters, and cooks.
A lot of the time that Philippine immigrants made the decision to come to America, they were
recruited to move. In this case, Filipinos were recruited to America primarily by the demand for labor.
When Japanese laborers went on strike to improve their conditions in the plantations, Hawaiian planters
concluded that they needed a new labor group. They were specifically looking for a new and more
easily controlled labor source and in their eyes, they turned to the Philippines.7 The Philippines seemed
like the wisest decision for the Hawaiians because not only was it practical considering the recent

"The Philippine-American War, 18991902 - 18991913 - Milestones - Office of the Historian."

The
Philippine-American War, 18991902 - 18991913 - Milestones - Office of the Historian
. N.p., n.d. Web.
4
Sterngass, Jon.
Filipino Americans
. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. 41. Print.
5
Min, Pyong Gap. "Contemporary Trends and Issues."
Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues
.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995. 182. Print.
6
Sterngass, Jon.
Filipino Americans
. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. 41. Print.
7
"
Filipino Immigrants."
Immigration to the United States
. N.p., n.d. Web.

annexation of the Philippines to the U.S. but, because Filipino workers were stereotyped as docile,
subservient, and uneducated they figured they wouldnt join labor unions and go on strike like the
Japanese did. Because of the way the U.S. viewed the Filipinos, even the simple fact that the
Pensionados were sponsored in America for their educated abilities, it was overlooked.
In addition to the Philippine immigrants stereotypes, it really affected the laboring experience
that the Hawaiians put them through. Because they were considered uneducated, Hawaiian plantation
owners preferred those types of workers to work for them. They also wanted them solely for the reason
that they figured the Filipino workers wouldnt know anything about their legal rights. They were
presented with harsh conditions on the sugar plantations and communication between the few Japanese
workers left was very difficult. Although most Filipino workers were recruited to Hawaii to fill the
agricultural and labor shortages, the sudden poor economic standings and natural disasters soon drew
many Filipinos to go to Hawaii willingly. Originally, the others that came to Hawaii may have even
viewed the island as glorious and saved money to work in Hawaii because they believed they were
only temporary residents in Hawaii. They thought once their time in Hawaii was done, theyd be able to
return home to live comfortably and
to be able to buy their own house a small farm, and get married. 8
Much to their surprise, they would be fulfilling labor shortages, preferred by the Hawaiian plantation
workers.
In late 1940s, post World War II finally allowed America to view Filipinos as loyal allies. The
postwar period saw an increase in Filipino immigration, particularly the higher educated. The interesting
part is that it took almost 20 years for America to finally acknowledge the Filipinos educated abilities.
Filipino immigrants were much more likely to have completed at least a high school education than other

"Labor Migration in Hawaii."

Labor Migration in Hawaii
. N.p., n.d.

immigrant groups: 8 percent of Filipino immigrants reported having less than a high school diploma,
compared to 30 percent among all foreign-born adults
.9
The U.S. used the "occupational immigration"
clause in the 1965 immigration law in response to the need for more professionals, specifically in the
medical field, in the U.S. Thousands of Filipino professionals, mostly doctors and nurses, arrived in the
U.S. as complete families. 10
World War II was significant in transforming American attitudes toward Filipinos. By 1942,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt finally allowed Filipinos to be drafted into military service.11 Many
Filipinos fought side by side with the Americans in Europe and Asia which is what first caused them to
view Filipinos as their loyal allies. Because they were considered such loyal allies, the American public
began to accept and admire them for their acts.. Filipinos soon were able to regain their dignity after
many years of discrimination and racism. Through the war, the Filipinos had proven their right to
become citizens of the United States. This Amendment was the Nationality Act of 1940 which allowed
the noncitizens who joined the military, citizenship.12
Not only did America suddenly gain respect towards Filipinos, but also allowed Filipinos to join
the U.S. Navy. They were primarily referred to as war brides which included U.S. servicemen and
recruits into the U.S. Navy. In addition, an increasing number of Filipinos arrived in the United States to
train as nurses and other health-care workers. But, although most highly educated Filipinos entered to
train as health-care workers, many were given jobs such as cooks and stewards on the navy ships. 13

"Filipino Immigrants in the United States."

Migrationpolicy.org
. N.p., 20 July 2015.
"Impact of World War II on Filipino Migrant Workers."
Impact of World War II on Filipino Migrant Work ers
.
N.p., n.d. Web.
11
"Impact of World War II on Filipino Migrant Workers."
Impact of World War II on Filipino Migrant Work ers
.
N.p., n.d.
12
"Impact of World War II on Filipino Migrant Workers."
Impact of World War II on Filipino Migrant Work ers
.
N.p., n.d.
13
"Filipino Immigrants in the United States."
Migrationpolicy.org
. N.p., 20 July 2015
.
10

Through decades and several different immigration waves, the Filipinos have established their
name in America. From being recruited, treated unfairly, to being seen as close to equals, they have
become one of the most successful immigrant groups to come to America. Although at first their jobs
werent given to them accommodating to their full and educated potential, their hardworking spirit
brought them to their success today. Overtime, everything changes and in this case, the gain of respect
and eye opening ability to see this immigrant group, has given a name to Filipino immigrants that are now
citizens of America.