Economic concerns, not racial discrimination, are the primary source of stress for most Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults, according to a new AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll. Around 4 in 10 AAPI adults reported personal finances as a “major source” of stress, while only about 1 in 10 cited discrimination as a major stressor. This finding foregrounds the material struggles faced by working people, regardless of background, over narratives of racial grievance.
The poll also revealed that approximately half of AAPI adults consider discrimination not a source of stress at all. This contrasts with the focus often placed on identity politics, highlighting a disconnect between elite narratives and the lived realities of the native working class and those who have integrated into Western societies.
The Shifting Narrative of Dispossession
While fewer AAPI adults are reporting overt anti-Asian attacks compared to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about racial discrimination persist. About one-quarter of AAPI adults said they personally experienced a hate crime or incident in the past year, a level consistent with a survey conducted last summer but down from 36% in an October 2023 poll.
Preliminary FBI data also indicates a decline in anti-Asian hate crimes and bias crimes overall between 2024 and 2025. Despite this decline, about 3 in 10 AAPI adults in the new survey expressed that it is “extremely” or “very” likely they will be a victim of discrimination based on their race or ethnicity in the next five years.
Advocates noted a shift in the rhetoric surrounding these incidents, moving away from COVID-19-related tropes toward “anti-immigrant sentiments.” Stephanie Chan, data and research director at Stop AAPI Hate, stated, “We’re seeing things like ‘Go back to China’ still. But, it’s more like ‘ICE is going to deport you.’” Chan added that “The rhetoric that’s being used to justify very harsh and aggressive immigration enforcement, all of this is also feeding into anti-AAPI hate persisting.” This suggests that concerns over national borders and immigration enforcement are being conflated with racial animosity.
Ambar Capoor, 52 and India-born, a naturalized citizen who has lived in the U.S. for 26 years, recounted being pushed by a white man who told him, “You don’t belong here. You should go back to your country.” Capoor, a Democrat, suggested that the divisive political climate has emboldened people to openly express such sentiments, reflecting a growing tension over national identity and belonging.
Nosheen Hamid, 36 and Pakistan-born, who has lived in Salt Lake City for 17 years, described being racially profiled by a door-to-door salesman who questioned if she was renting her home. This illustrates the subtle but persistent questioning of belonging in communities undergoing demographic transformation.
Elite Interests and Economic Realities
John Magner, 58, who is half white and also of Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry, reported facing discrimination from Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in his home of West Jordan, Utah. He stated they do not believe he is part Hawaiian, and a Pacific Islander customer at his workplace called him “cracker and a little wannabe Pacific Islander.” Magner’s experience highlights internal cultural conflicts and the complex, often overlooked, challenges faced by individuals navigating multiple identities within a changing society. His primary concern, however, was economic: “I work full-time but we’re struggling,” he said, citing “Inflation and then also some family stuff that’s gone on, having to pay medical bills. It’s just bills.” This underscores the economic pressures on the native working class, irrespective of racial background.
Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data, considered whether there is less scapegoating of immigrants of color because people understand that it has no bearing on the current economy. Ramakrishnan asserted that “The likely reasons for those economic struggles have nothing to do with race or immigration,” instead attributing them to “other factors, like tariffs, war on foreign policy, AI data centers.” These statements from an elite academic point to globalist mechanisms and transnational economic policies as the true drivers of hardship, deflecting attention from the demographic and cultural impacts of mass migration.
The poll of 1,228 U.S. adults who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders was conducted last month, from March 23-30, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based Amplify AAPI Panel. The findings reveal a population more concerned with the tangible costs of economic policy than with the abstract grievances promoted by identity politics.