LOIDA Nicolas Lewis will represent US Democrat Barack Obama in the debate.
NEW YORK—New York-based business executive Loida Nicolas Lewis will speak for the Democratic Party’s reelectionist President Barack Obama while California-based Nimfa Gamez will represent Republican challenger Mitt Romney in an upcoming town hall-style debate on the implications of the elections on the Filipino-American community.
Nicolas-Lewis chairs the organization US Pinoys for Good Governance while Gamez founded the Mission Hope Day programs in California.
The debate, which will air Thursday, Nov. 1 and Friday, Nov. 2, on The Filipino Channel (6:45PM ET/PT) and will cover topics like immigration, health care and the economy.
After the debate, undecided voters in the audience will cast their unofficial vote for the candidate they favor and the
results will be aired on TFC’s Balitang America on Monday, Nov. 5, the night before the US elections.
Filipino-Americans, estimated to number about 3.4 million, are now the second largest Asian group in the United States, according to the latest US census report.
The total number is believed to be much higher than the census count. There are an estimated one million undocumented Filipinos in the United States.
Chinese-Americans make up the largest Asian group, with more than four million. Those from the Indian subcontinent are the third largest, with 3.2 million. Other significantly large Asian groups include the Vietnamese, with 1.7 million; Koreans, with 1.7 million, and the Japanese, with 1.3 million.
CALIFORNIA businesswoman Nimfa Gamez will represent the Republican Mitt Romney. Photo: FWN
This statistical profile was based on the 2010 census of major racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The statistical portrait of the Asian-American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations
was produced for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually in May.
The report also showed that Asians were the fastest growing population, increasing nearly 46 percent over the last decade. Their number increased to more than 17 million from 2000 to 2010. A close second was the Latino population, which rose by 43 percent. By comparison, the African American and white populations grew by only 15 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
Census officials attributed the fast growth of the Asian population to immigration.
California, known as the gateway for Asian immigrants, had the largest population of Asian Americans, with close to 6 million, or nearly a third of the total nationwide. It was followed by New York, with 1.6 million. Hawaii had the highest percentage of Asians, who make up 57 percent of the island state’s population.
The report showed that the Asian population grew dramatically in other states, such as Nevada, where the number rose by 116 percent, and Arizona, by 95 percent.
Among metropolitan areas, New York City had the largest Asian population, with more than 1 million, followed by Los Angeles, with 484,000, and San Jose, with 347,000.
Filipinos are the largest Asian group in the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, Wyoming and South Dakota. The Chinese made up the largest Asian
group in Colorado, Oregon, Utah, District of Columbia, North Dakota, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The debate will also be shown on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), in the Philippines on Nov. 4, Sunday, 9:00 p.m. and Nov. 5, Monday at 1:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. The entire, uncut version of the debate will be shown on on www.balitangamerica.tv on Nov. 5. For more information, visit www.balitangamerica.tv.