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Vietnamese Americans

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Vietnamese Americans ( Vietnamese : Người Mỹ gốc Việt ) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They comprise a major part of all overseas Vietnamese . There are approximately 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent residing in the U.S. as of 2023.

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71-470: The Vietnamese community of the United States was relatively small until a large number of South Vietnamese refugees came to the United States following the end of Vietnam War in 1975. More than half of Vietnamese Americans live in the two most populous states of California and Texas , especially their large urban areas. In 2023 Vietnamese Americans had a median household income of $ 88,467 which

142-471: A Commissioner to represent them on the commissioners court and oversee county government functions in the precinct. Other elected positions in Harris County include a County Attorney , a County Clerk , a District Attorney , a District Clerk , a Sheriff , eight Constables , a Tax Assessor-Collector, a County Treasurer , and every judge in the county except municipal judges, who are appointed by

213-463: A bellwether in presidential elections, voting for winners of every presidential election from 2000 through 2012 (both Barack Obama and Texas resident George W. Bush won the county twice). As a result of the Obama sweep in 2008, many Democratic candidates in contests for lower-level offices also benefited, and many Republican incumbents were replaced by Democrats in the Harris County courthouse. Some of

284-402: A complete about face, as in 1982, 99% of Vietnamese who received green cards obtained them on humanitarian grounds, while in 2019 only 1% of Vietnamese who received LPR status did so through this channel. Coming from different waves of immigration, Vietnamese Americans have a lower educational attainment than overall Asian American population but it is higher than other Southeast Asian groups and

355-803: A complete about face, in 1982, 99% of Vietnamese that were granted LPR were refugees, while today that group is a mere 1% of the Vietnamese population. Vietnamese refugees in the Gulf Coast faced discrimination as they arrived throughout the 1970s and 1980s. White fishermen complained about unfair competition from their Vietnamese American counterparts. "Non-Vietnamese docks refused to allow Vietnamese American boats to dock, [and] wholesalers refused to buy shrimp from Vietnamese Americans." The Ku Klux Klan attempted to intimidate Vietnamese American shrimp fishermen, at one time having plans to burn Vietnamese shrimp boats. The Vietnamese Fishermen's Association, with

426-402: A fairly steady pace since the 1980s, the pathway to immigration for Vietnamese today has shifted entirely. As opposed to the earlier history of Vietnamese migration that stemmed predominantly from refugees, an overwhelming majority of Vietnamese are now granted LPR on the basis of family sponsored preferences or by way of immediate relatives to U.S. citizens, at 53% and 44% respectively. This marks

497-431: A fairly steady pace since the 1980s, the pathway to immigration for Vietnamese today has shifted entirely. As opposed to the earlier history of Vietnamese migration that stemmed predominantly from refugees, an overwhelming majority of Vietnamese are now granted lawful permanent residence (LPR) on the basis of family sponsored preferences or by way of immediate relatives to U.S. citizens, at 53% and 44% respectively. This marks

568-411: A female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.38. In the county, 29.00% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.3% was from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.4%

639-495: A number of severe weather events, such as the following hurricanes and tropical storms: According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,777 square miles (4,600 km ), of which 1,703 square miles (4,410 km ) is land and 74 square miles (190 km ) (4.2%) is covered by water. Both its total area and land area are larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island . As of

710-492: A path to citizenship provided they speak English and have no criminal record, holding from 83% in 2013, which was up from 19% in 2009. In 2013, 87% supported background checks for all firearms, the latest year that question was included in the Kinder Houston Survey. This measure has moved up steadily from 60% in 1985 to 69% in 2000. The 1910 county courthouse was renovated in the 1950s to update its systems. In

781-581: A sound. Ma can have one of seven meanings, depending on tone: "mother", "ghost", "but", "code", "rice plant", "cheek" or "tomb". Another difference between Vietnamese and English is the former's widespread use of relationship-related pronouns. You is the widely used second-person singular pronoun in American English, but the Vietnamese second-person singular pronoun varies such as by gender ( anh or chị ) and relationship ( bạn , cậu or mày ). Vietnamese Americans have arrived in

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852-621: A way of saving taxpayer money. The chief administrative officer of a Texas County, as set up in the Texas Constitution , is the County Judge , who sits as the chair of the county's Commissioners' Court (the equivalent of a Board of Supervisors in some other states). In 2019, Judge Lina Hidalgo was sworn in as the County Judge. The county is split into four geographical divisions called precincts. Each precinct elects

923-552: Is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas ; as of the 2020 census , the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third-most populous county in the United States . Its county seat is Houston , the most populous city in Texas and fourth-most populous city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837. It is named for John Richardson Harris , who founded

994-718: Is also trending upward, with each generation more likely to attain higher degrees and/or qualifications overall than the generation prior. As of 2019, 32% of Vietnamese American (of which 27% foreign born and 63% of U.S. born) had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 54% of all Asian Americans and 33% of all Americans. In 2019, 90% of U.S.-born Vietnamese Americans but only 35% of foreign-born Vietnamese were English proficient. Vietnam's traditional Confucianist society values education and learning, and many Vietnamese Americans have worked their way up from menial labor to have their second-generation children attend college and become successful. The history of Vietnamese Americans

1065-460: Is fairly recent. Before 1975, most Vietnamese residing in the U.S. were the wives and children of American servicemen or academics. Records indicate that a few Vietnamese (including Ho Chi Minh ) arrived and performed menial work during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service , 650 Vietnamese arrived as immigrants between 1950 and 1974, but

1136-452: Is near the Crosby census-designated place and has a Crosby postal address. The county had a poor farm in what is now West University Place that closed in 1923. The county cemetery was formerly there; the bodies were transferred to the new property. The county has an elections administrator and elections office, which was non-partisan but under the oversight of Democrat Lina Hidalgo ,

1207-467: The Houston Chronicle said that residents of Harris County were "consistently conservative in elections" and that they were, according to a Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research opinion poll, "surprisingly liberal on topics such as immigration, gun control and equal matrimonial rights for same-sex couples". Harris is regarded as a moderate or swing county in Texas, and has been

1278-478: The 2020 census , there were 4,731,145 people, 1,692,730 households, and 1,156,059 families in the county. The population density was 2,771.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,070.2/km ). There were 1,842,683 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 38.2% White , 19.0% African American , 1.1% Native American , 7.9% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 17.7% from Some Other Races and 15.8% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.9% of

1349-423: The commissioners' court . Each Texas county has four precinct commissioners and a county judge. Although this body is called a court, it conducts the general business of the county and oversees financial matters. The commissioners court may hire personnel to run major departments, such as health and human services. Besides the county judge and commissioners, the other elective offices found in most counties include

1420-520: The 21st century, the facility received another major renovation. Completed in 2011, the $ 50 million, eight-year project was designed to restore notable historic aspects of the courthouse while providing for contemporary communication and building needs. The Texas First Court of Appeals and the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals , since September 3, 2010, are located in the 1910 Harris County courthouse. Previously they were located on

1491-2285: The American Community Survey for 2017 to 2021, there were 1,347,300 immigrants from Vietnam nationally. The top counties in which they resided were as follows: 1) Orange County, California ............ 148,900 2) Santa Clara County, California ..... 101,700 3) Los Angeles County, California ..... 95,100 4) Harris County, Texas ...................... 74,800 5) King County, Washington ............... 34,800 6) San Diego County, California ......... 34,600 7) Alameda County, California ........... 28,300 8) Sacramento County, California ..... 25,800 9) Tarrant County, Texas ..................... 23,600 10) Fairfax County, Virginia ................ 22,600 11) Dallas County, Texas .................... 22,100 12) Gwinnett County, Georgia ............. 17,400 13) Maricopa County, Arizona ........... 15,600 14) San Francisco City, California ...... 14,900 15) Fort Bend County, Texas ............... 13,900 16) Multnomah County, Oregon ......... 13,300 17) Cook County, Illinois ...................... 13,100 18) Riverside County, California .......... 12,000 19) Orange County, Florida .................. 20,700 20) Snohomish County, Washington ... 10,500 21) Montgomery County, Maryland ..... 10,000 22) San Bernardino County, California ..10,000 23) Clark County, Nevada ...................... 9,900 24) Suffolk County, Massachusetts ...... 9,200 25) Travis County, Texas ........................ 9,000 26) Collin County, Texas .......................... 8,900 27) Contra Costa County, California ....... 8,800 28) Norfolk County, Massachusetts ....... 8,700 The U.S. Census Bureau reports in 2016 among working Vietnamese Americans (civilian employed population 16 years and over): 32.9% had management, business, science, and arts occupations; 30.9% had service occupations; 17.0% had sales and office occupations, 4.3% had reported natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations; and 15% had natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. Though Vietnamese immigration has continued at

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1562-671: The Harris County Cemetery on Oates Road in Houston, which previously had housing for elderly people. It has 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land. It was established in 1921 on property taken from police officers who had acted corruptly. The county paid $ 80,000 for 100 acres (40 ha) of land, then put in the Harris County Home For the Aged, a poor farm for elderly people of all races which had a capacity of 100;

1633-477: The Harris County Judge. The State of Texas Legislature passed a law, SB 1750, that asks for the position to be abolished effective September 2023, as the law states that any county with at least 3,500,000 persons should have elections done by the clerk and tax assessor-collector; of all Texas counties, only Harris would be affected. This was done following failings in the 2022 election, as confirmed by

1704-642: The Houston Area Asian Survey of the Kinder Institute of Urban Research Houston Area Survey stated that between 1990 and 2000, the Asian population in Harris County increased by 76%; between 2000 and 2010, it increased by 45%. Economically, Harris County along with other Texas counties has one of the nation's highest property tax rates. In 2007, the county was ranked in the top 25 at 22nd in the nation for property taxes as percentage of

1775-616: The Red Fish Bar. Some of those passengers traveled further up the bay system, but it is not known whether they settled up Buffalo Bayou or the San Jacinto River . One of these passengers, a Mr. Ryder, settled at what is now known as Morgan's Point, Texas . Also in 1822, John Iiams settled his family at Cedar Point after sailing from Berwick's Bay, Louisiana . Dr. Johnson Hunter arrived just after Iiams. He also wrecked his boat near Galveston. He settled at Morgan's Point and

1846-547: The U.S. South Vietnamese refugees were initially resented by Americans, since the memory of defeat was fresh; according to a 1975 poll, only 36 percent of Americans favored Vietnamese immigration. However, the U.S. government informed public opinion as it felt that it had a moral obligation to the refugees, and President Gerald Ford and Congress both agreed to pass the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act in 1975, which allowed Vietnamese refugees to enter

1917-579: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the highest performing housing authority in the region and was named one of America's 10 best Public Housing Authorities. Guy R. Rankin , IV is chief executive officer of Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA). The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates some correctional facilities in Harris County, including: As of 2001, Kegans and Lychner serves male state jail offenders from Harris County, with Kegans getting lower-risk offenders and Lychner getting higher-risk and special-needs offenders. If both of

1988-652: The U.S. primarily as refugees, with little or no money. Census data indicates that Vietnamese Americans are an upwardly-mobile group; their economic status improved substantially between 1989 and 1999. South Vietnam Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 951688000 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:49:30 GMT Harris County, Texas Harris County

2059-458: The United States under a special status and allocated $ 405 million in resettlement aid. To prevent the refugees from forming ethnic enclaves and minimize their impact on local communities, they were distributed throughout the country, but within a few years, many resettled in California and Texas . A second wave of Vietnamese refugees from the former South Vietnam arrived from 1978 to

2130-421: The United States, behind only Cook County, Illinois . Harris also has the second largest Hispanic population in the nation, behind only Los Angeles County, California . As of the 2010 census , there were 4,092,459 people, 1,435,087 households, and _ families resided in the county. The population density was 2,402.4 inhabitants per square mile (927.6/km ). There were 1,598,613 housing units. The racial makeup of

2201-929: The United States. Vietnamese immigration peaked in 1992, when many re-education-camp inmates were released and sponsored by their families in the U.S. Between 1981 and 2000, the country accepted 531,310 Vietnamese political refugees and asylum-seekers. By the early 1980s, a secondary resettlement was underway. Vietnamese refugees were initially scattered throughout the country in wherever they could find sponsorship. The majority (27,199) settled in California, followed by 9,130 in Texas and 3,500 to 7,000 each in Pennsylvania, Florida, Washington, Illinois, New York, and Louisiana. Economic and social factors, many then moved to warmer states, such as California and Texas, with larger Vietnamese communities, better jobs, and social safety nets . Though Vietnamese immigration has continued at

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2272-681: The Vietnamese in Vietnam. Christians (mainly Roman Catholics ) make up about six percent of Vietnam's population and about 23 percent of the Vietnamese American population. Due to hostility between Communists and Catholics in Vietnam, many Catholics fled the country after the Communist takeover, and many Catholic Churches had sponsored them to America. According to the Migration Policy Institute using data from

2343-599: The Vince brothers. Nicolas Clopper arrived in the Galveston Bay area from Ohio in the 1820s. He attempted to develop Buffalo Bayou as a trading conduit for the Brazos River valley. He acquired land at Morgan's Point in 1826. John Richardson Harris (1790–1829), for whom the county was later named, arrived in 1824. Harris had moved his family to Sainte Genevieve, Missouri Territory, where they had been residing until

2414-534: The aid of the Southern Poverty Law Center , won a 1981 antitrust suit against the Klan, disbanding the "private army of white supremacists." Language was the first barrier Vietnamese refugees with limited English proficiency had to overcome. English uses tonal inflection sparingly (primarily for questions); Vietnamese, a tonal language, uses variations in tone to differentiate between meanings of

2485-560: The area dates from about 1400 BC, 1 AD, and later in the first millennium. The region became uninhabited from 1 AD to European contact. Little European activity predates 1821. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca may have visited the area in 1529. French traders recorded passing through in the 18th century. Spaniards attempted to establish a fort in the area around the same time, but did not persist for long. The first recorded European settlers in Harris County arrived in 1822. Their schooner sailed into Galveston Bay and ran aground on

2556-721: The boat people compelled the U.S. to act, and the Refugee Act of 1980 eased restrictions on the entry of Vietnamese refugees. From 1978 to 1982, 280,500 Vietnamese refugees were admitted In 1979, the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) was established under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to allow emigration from Vietnam to the U.S. and other countries. Additional legislation permitted Amerasian children and former political prisoners and their families to enter

2627-549: The campus of the South Texas College of Law . The Harris County Jail Complex of the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the largest in Texas, and one of the largest in the nation. In July 2012, the facility held 9,113 prisoners. To handle overcrowding in the facility, the county had to ship inmates to other counties and some are housed out of the state. The county has a potter's field ,

2698-962: The county aged five and older spoke English only, while 44.4% spoke another language at home, alone or together with English; Spanish remained the second most spoken language (35%). In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Harris County was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston , with 1,947,223 Catholics worshiping at 109 parishes, followed by 579,759 Southern Baptists with 811 congregations, 348,461 non-denominational Christian adherents with 577 congregations, 182,624 United Methodists with 124 congregations, an estimated 117,148 Muslims with 47 congregations, 44,472 LDS Mormons with 77 congregations, 39,041 Episcopalians with 43 congregations, 34,957 PC-USA Presbyterians with 49 congregations, 33,525 Churches of Christ Christians with 124 congregations, and 30,521 LCMS Lutherans with 46 congregations. Altogether, 58.4% of

2769-520: The county attorney, county and district clerks, county treasurer, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, justices of the peace, and constables. As a part of the checks and balances system, counties have an auditor appointed by the district courts. Harris County was one of the earliest areas of Texas to turn Republican. It voted Republican in all but one presidential election from 1952 to 2004, the lone break coming when native Texan Lyndon Johnson carried it in his 44-state landslide in 1964. In 2008, Barack Obama

2840-411: The county during the 2018 elections, as it did nationwide. In 2020, Joe Biden improved Clinton's performance by two points while Donald Trump only increased his vote share by one point. Though it has shifted towards Democrats in recent years, Harris County has nevertheless voted to the right of Dallas , Travis , Bexar , and El Paso , each of which has a smaller population. In 2013, Allen Turner of

2911-556: The county was 58.3% White , 18.8% African American , 0.6% Native American , 6.7% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 12.9% from Some Other Races and 2.6% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.8% of the population. As of the 2000 census , there were 3,400,578 people, 1,205,516 households, and 834,217 families resided in the county. The population density was 1,967.0 inhabitants per square mile (759.5/km ). There were 1,298,130 housing units at an average density of 751 per square mile (290/km²). The racial makeup of

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2982-409: The county was 58.73% White , 18.49% African American , 0.45% Native American , 5.14% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 14.18% from Some Other Races , and 2.96% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.93% of the population. Of the 1,205,516 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 13.7% had

3053-408: The county were Spanish or Spanish Creole (1,106,883 speakers), Vietnamese (53,311), Chinese (33,003), French including Louisiana French and Patois (33,003), and Urdu (14,595). Among these groups, 46% of Spanish speakers, 37% of Vietnamese speakers, 50% of Chinese speakers, 85% of French speakers, and 72% of Urdu speakers said that they spoke English at least "very well". In 2020, 55.6% of

3124-506: The county), and the 701 Jail (formed from existing warehouse storage space) are on the same site. The Community Services Department provides community services. The department maintains the 20 acres (8.1 ha) Oates Road Cemetery (also known as the Harris County Cemetery) for indigents in eastern Houston , near the former Southern Bible College . In March 2010, the county adopted a cremation first policy, meaning that

3195-465: The county. The Harris County Sheriff's Office operates jail facilities and is the primary provider of law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas of the county. The sheriff is the conservator of the peace in the county. The Harris County jail facilities are in northern downtown on the north side of the Buffalo Bayou. The 1200 Jail, the 1307 Jail, (originally a TDCJ facility, leased by

3266-715: The county. They include: the Harris County Sheriff's Office , the Harris County Constable Office, the Houston Police Department , METRO Police Department , other municipal police departments, and school district police departments. The combined yearly sum spent by these agencies circa 2018 was $ 1.6 billion. That year the Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research released a report advocating for consolidating several of these agencies as

3337-601: The default preference for most indigents is to have them cremated instead of buried. As of 2010, the county authorized the Community Services Department to purchase about 50 acres (20 ha) of land in the Huffman area so the county will have additional spaces for indigent burials. The Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA) is a governmental nonprofit corporation which addresses the need for quality affordable housing. The HCHA has been recognized by

3408-734: The defeated Republican district court judges were later re-appointed to vacant District Court benches by Governor Rick Perry. In 2018, Democrats swept the court capturing all 59 seats on the civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probate courts. The Kinder Institute's Houston Survey in 2018 found that from 2014 through 2018 the number of Houston residents who supported adoption of children by same-sex couples climbed above 50% and remained there, while in 2017 over 56% of residents reported gay or lesbian persons among their circle of close personal friends. A 2013 opinion poll had found that 46% of Harris County residents supported same-sex marriage, up from 37% in 2001. Just above 82% favored offering illegal immigrants

3479-643: The early 1820s. Harris was granted a league of land (about 4,428 acres) at Buffalo Bayou. He platted the town of Harrisburg in 1826, while he established a trading post and a grist mill there. He ran boats transporting goods between New Orleans and Harrisburg until his death in the fall of 1829. The First Congress of the Republic of Texas established Harrisburg County on December 22, 1836. The original county boundaries included Galveston Island, but were redrawn to its current configuration in May 1838. The area has had

3550-631: The figure excludes students, diplomats, and military trainees. The April 30, 1975, fall of Saigon , which ended the Vietnam War, prompted the first large-scale wave of immigration; many with close ties to America or the South Vietnam government feared communist reprisals. Most of the first-wave immigrants were well-educated, financially comfortable, and proficient in English. According to 1975 U.S. State Department data, more than 30 percent of

3621-551: The first immigrants were from urban areas, but the " boat people " were generally lower socioeconomically, as most were peasant farmers or fishermen, small-town merchants or former military officials. Survivors were picked up by foreign ships and brought to asylum camps in Thailand , Malaysia , Singapore , Indonesia , Hong Kong , and the Philippines from which they entered countries that agreed to accept them. The plight of

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3692-438: The heads of first-wave households were medical professionals or technical managers, 16.9 percent worked in transportation, and 11.7 percent had clerical or sales jobs in Vietnam. Less than 5 percent were fishermen or farmers. The evacuation of the immigrants was organized in three major ways. The week before Saigon fell, 15,000 people left on scheduled flights followed by an additional 80,000 also evacuated by air. The last group

3763-496: The highest concentrations of Vietnamese Americans: 40 and 12 percent of Vietnamese immigrants, respectively. Other states with concentrations of Vietnamese Americans were Washington , Florida (four percent each) and Virginia (three percent). The largest number of Vietnamese outside Vietnam is in Orange County, California (184,153, or 6.1 percent of the county's population), followed by Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties;

3834-531: The homes value on owner-occupied housing; the list only includes counties with a population over 65,000 for comparability. Additionally, Harris County residents had a median household income of $ 63,022 with a mean income of $ 93,184. Families had a median income of $ 73,274 and mean of $ 105,534; married-couple families $ 93,961 with a mean of $ 128,211; and non-family households a median of $ 43,488 and mean of $ 62,435. In 2000, 1,961,993 residents of Harris County spoke English only. The five most spoken foreign languages in

3905-548: The investigation initiated by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg 's office. In August 2023, Karin Crump, the presiding judge of the 250th civil district court of Travis County, stated that this went against the Texas Constitution , citing how the law only affected one county. Crump's ruling was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. The Harris County Flood Control District manages the effects of flooding in

3976-768: The male state jails in Harris County are full, excess offenders go to the Gist Unit in Jefferson County . Female state jail offenders from Harris County go to the Plane Unit in Liberty County . The South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility Unit, a parole confinement facility for males operated by Global Expertise in Outsourcing , is in downtown Houston, west of Minute Maid Park . As of 2018 there are over 60 law enforcement agencies operating in

4047-422: The mid-1980s. South Vietnamese, particularly former military officers and government employees, were sent to " re-education camps ," which were really concentration camps , for intensive political indoctrination. Chinese-Vietnamese relations soured when China became Vietnam's adversary in the brief Sino-Vietnamese War . To escape, many South Vietnamese fled on small, unsafe, crowded fishing boats. Over 70 percent of

4118-534: The poor farm opened in 1922. Around that time, the county cemetery was also established there. The Harris County Commissioners closed the poor farm in August 1958. In 2014, no more burials were allowed to occur at the Oates Road facility due to overcapacity. By 2013 the county was building a second potter's field due to overcapacity at the first. Harris County Eastgate Cemetery had started operations in 2014. It

4189-482: The population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, the county had 1,607 religious organizations, the third most out of all U.S. counties. County governments serve as agents of the state, with responsibilities defined in the Texas Constitution. Counties are governed by

4260-463: The population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over. Overall, Harris County's population has recorded positive growth since the 1850 census tabulated-population of 4,668. Among the county population, once predominantly non-Hispanic white , the largest racial or ethnic group has become Hispanic or Latino Americans (43.01%) as of 2020. Following, non-Hispanic whites declined to 27.68% of

4331-450: The population. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.7% were under 5 years of age, and 12.1% were 65 and older. With a poverty rate of 15.6% as of 2020, Children At Risk —a local nonprofit research organization—estimated 21% of the Harris County children lived in poverty, 6.5 per 1,000 die before age one, and 38% drop out of high school as of 2007. As of 2023, Harris County had the second largest population of Black Americans in

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4402-405: The population; Black or African Americans were 18.72% of the area population, and Asian Americans made up 7.29% of the county; multiracial Americans increased to 2.57%, American Indians and Alaska Natives declined to 0.18%, and Pacific Islanders grew to 0.07% of the population. Having a large and growing Asian American community alongside Hispanics and Latinos and Black and African American,

4473-818: The three counties accounted for 26 percent of the Vietnamese immigrant population in the United States. Many Vietnamese American businesses exist in the Little Saigon of Westminster and Garden Grove , where Vietnamese Americans make up 40.2 and 27.7 percent of the population respectively. About 41 percent of the Vietnamese immigrant population lives in five major metropolitan areas: in descending order, Los Angeles , San Jose , Houston , San Francisco and Dallas-Fort Worth . The Vietnamese immigration pattern has shifted to other cities, including Denver , Boston , Chicago , Oklahoma ( Oklahoma City and Tulsa in particular) and Oregon ( Portland in particular). Vietnamese Americans are more likely to be Christians than

4544-424: The total U.S. foreign-born population). Of those born outside the United States, 73.1 percent entered before 2000, 21.2 percent from 2000 and 2009 and 5.7 percent after 2010. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the total population of Vietnamese Americans was 2,162,610 (92.1% reporting one race, 7.2% reporting two races, 0.7% reporting three races, and 0.1% reporting four or more races). California and Texas had

4615-514: The town of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. According to the July 2023 census estimate, Harris County's population has shifted to 4,835,125 comprising over 16% of Texas's population. Harris County is included in the nine-county Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area , which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States. Human remains date habitation to about 4000 BC. Other evidence of humans in

4686-430: Was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 42,598, and the median income for a family was $ 49,004. Males had a median income of $ 37,361 versus $ 28,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 21,435. About 12.10% of families and 14.97% of

4757-551: Was a grantee of land there. Nathaniel Lynch settled in the area and operated a ferry. In 1824, the land empresario, Stephen F. Austin convened at the house of William Scott for the purpose of conveying titles for Mexican headrights. He was joined by the land commissioner, Baron von Bastrop, and Austin's secretary, Samuel May Williams . About thirty families gained legal titles to land in what would later be known as Harris County. A few immigrants settled on Buffalo Bayou in these early years, including Moses Callahan, Ezekial Thomas, and

4828-642: Was carried on U.S. Navy ships. During the spring of 1975 125,000 people left South Vietnam, followed by more than 5,000 in 1976–1977. They arrived at reception camps in the Philippines and Guam before being transferred to temporary housing at U.S. military bases, including Camp Pendleton (California), Fort Chaffee (Arkansas), Eglin Air Force Base (Florida) and Fort Indiantown Gap (Pennsylvania). After preparations for resettlement, they were assigned to one of nine voluntary agencies ( VOLAGs ) to help them find financial and personal support from sponsors in

4899-424: Was significantly higher than the total population. However they had a per capita income of $ 40,037 which was lower than the total population and non-hispanic whites. Vietnamese Americans were more likely to be home-owners than all Asians. Vietnamese American individuals had a poverty rate of 11.5% which was higher than all Asians. Vietnamese Americans had about the same employment rate compared to all Asians, however it

4970-553: Was slightly lower. In 2019, the median household income for U.S.-born Vietnamese Americans was $ 82,400 As a relatively-recent immigrant group, most Vietnamese Americans are either first or second generation Americans. As many as one million people five years of age and older speak Vietnamese at home, making it the fifth-most-spoken language in the U.S. In the 2012 American Community Survey (ACS), 76 percent of foreign-born Vietnamese are naturalized U.S. citizens (compared to 67 percent of people from Southeast Asia and 46 percent of

5041-466: Was the first Democrat to win the county since Texas native Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The city of Houston itself holds one of the highest concentrations of Democratic voters in the state, while suburban areas such as Cypress , Spring , and Katy in the county's western and northern areas, tend to be strongly Republican. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the county by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1964. The Democratic Party performed very strongly in

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