Well-being of migrants and immigrants: Perspectives in Asia and from Asians in North America

Abstract

Immigrant and migrant well-being have been widely studied, but the knowledge gained from immigrant adaptation and well-being has mostly focused on findings from more developed countries, which may diverge from the situation in Asia. East-Asian countries have strong roots in Confucian culture, which celebrates cultural homogeneity, and societies are thus conservative when it comes to welcoming immigrants. Southeast Asian countries are major migrant-sending areas but have now also become important manufacturing centers with dynamic migrant and immigrant groups. In this special issue, we seek to push forward knowledge about the myth of immigrant and migrant adaptation and well-being among both Asian areas and Asian immigrants in North America. In this introductory article, we first discuss a few gaps in research on migration and immigration in Asia, including migration of the same ethnicity group across different political systems in the Asian context, migration and its influence on family and well-being between and among Southeast Asian countries, as well as Asian immigrants in North America. We then introduce the various contributions to this special issue. We conclude with a discussion of policy implications.