Burmese immigrants

SIGNIFICANCE: Burmese immigrants are relatively recent arrivals to the United States (US). Most immigrated after Ne Win seized power in Myanmar in 1962. With eight major ethnic groups, Burmese nationals are diverse in culture, education, and religion. They have suffered under an oppressive government regime, and most of those who have immigrated to the US have come as refugees. In 2008, Burmese immigrants made up nearly 30 percent of all refugees who entered the US. From 2010 to 2020, Burmese refugees, officially referred to as refugees from Myanmar, made up 21 percent of all refugees to the US. In 2023, refugees from Myanmar remained among the top three origin groups of refugees arriving in the US. Although the country’s government officially changed the nation’s name to Myanmar from Burma in 1989, the US government continues to use the names interchangeably, and the name change itself is indicative of the ongoing chaotic political situation in the country. 

Burmese people have made up only a small portion of Asians who have immigrated to the US, and an overwhelming majority of them have come as refugees. Their homeland—officially renamed Myanmar in 1989 but long known internationally as Burma—is approximately the size of Texas, with the Himalayas along its northern and western borders and the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal to the south. This geography influenced the development of eight major ethnic groups. During the age of European imperialism, Great Britain fought to colonize the region and came to power there in 1885. The British had a significant impact on the Burmese. The groups who lived in the country’s great valley region—Burmans, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan—lived under a British civil system. The ethnic minorities who lived in the mountains—Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Wa—maintained their traditional tribal systems, in which local chieftains retained their authority. This distinction in government systems fostered a gap between the country’s ethnic groups, as the valley peoples had opportunities for modern education and Western customs. In contrast, the mountain peoples had limited educational opportunities and resources. The people in urban centers practiced Theravada Buddhism, while Christian missionaries served in rural areas and converted many Buddhists and animists to Christianity.

During the 1940s, an independence movement arose in colonial Burma under the leadership of Aung San. He wished to unify the ethnic groups but was assassinated in 1947. In January 1948, Burma achieved its independence but remained in civil unrest for many years. In 1962, Ne Win seized power. Ruling by military force, he imposed a socialist government. He destroyed many rural villages and suppressed ethnic minorities.

Many Burmese who opposed the new regime began immigrating to the US. This movement started slowly, with approximately 10,000 Burmese arriving in the US before 1980. Burmese immigration accelerated during the last two decades of the twentieth century. However, after the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, the numbers fell as the US government tightened on immigrants from Myanmar, whose government was regarded as a terrorism threat. It was not until 2006 that more immigrants began arriving from the region.

Burmese in the United States

Most Burmese immigrants to the United States have arrived through refugee resettlement programs, and many spent years in refugee camps along the Thai–Myanmar border—or, in the case of Rohingya refugees, in camps in Bangladesh—before being resettled. Burmese communities have formed in a number of metropolitan areas, including Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Dallas, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Milwaukee, Wisconsin is home to one of the largest Rohingya refugee communities in the country. The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority group from Rakhine State in Myanmar, as well as other neighboring nations. Chicago, Illinois, and Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana also contain large communities of refugees from Myanmar. Many refugee children arrived in the US with no experience of living anywhere other than in the camps and had limited education. In contrast, members of the older generations were comparatively well-educated; approximately three-quarters of this demographic had at least the equivalent of a high school diploma. They have a strong work ethic and are eager to gain employment.

According to the Burmese American Community Institute, about 322,000 people of Burmese descent lived in the US in 2023. Because of their relatively small numbers, they have had limited opportunities for cultural networking. Few people outside their group speak Burmese, and the demand for publications in Burmese is limited. Moreover, individual Burmese tend to identify themselves primarily as members of their ethnic group rather than as Burmese or Myanmar nationals. Those of Burmese descent living in the US, however, were united as they watched with concern when a military coup toppled the quasi-democratic government of Myanmar in February 2021.

The future of Myanmar remained uncertain in the 2020s, as the country had been under the control of the military junta known as the State Administration Council since the 2021 coup, while the former civilian leadership continues to operate in exile as the National Unity Government. Since 2023, the junta lost control of significant territory to ethnic armed organizations and resistance forces, and international observers increasingly describe Myanmar as a fragmented or failing state. Efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to mediate the crisis had made little progress, and no firm timetable has been established for a nationwide election. Ongoing political instability, armed conflict, and questions about the legitimacy of any vote organized under military rule have made the prospects for a broadly recognized electoral process uncertain.

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