The latest AAPI news from NCAPA and its member organizations.
A LOOK AHEAD
Senators ignored President Trump’s demand that they remain in town to work on another ACA repeal bill and left for the month of August. Good news for you: while our Senators and Representatives are in their home districts, now is the time to speak out and make sure they hear from us on important issues like immigration, health care and the federal budget. The federal budget?! Yep - in September, all eyes will be on the budget, debt ceilings, and looming deadlines that threaten another government shutdown. The numbers are staggering: the House budget would cut funding for Medicare by $487 billion over 10 years and cut Medicaid along with other health care programs by $1.5 trillion, according to the Center for American Progress, all intended to result in massive tax cuts to the wealthy and waste billions on a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, while stripping away essential programs all Americans rely on.
With so much at stake, now is not the time to remain idle. Use the Town Hall Project to find a public event near you and use your voice to make sure your representatives hear your concerns.
UPDATES
Last week, President Trump continued attacks on immigrant communities by expressing support for expanding the exclusionary RAISE Act, a bill co-sponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) that drastically cuts legal immigration and separates families. Additionally, as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains in limbo, an Aug. 15 National Day of Action to Protect Immigrant Youth is planned for immigration advocates to speak out against harmful anti-immigrant legislation and protect DACA.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division also announced plans investigate and sue universities over affirmative action policies. These policies increase campus diversity and benefit all students, and these plans from DOJ would only weaken educational opportunity further. Alarmingly, opponents of these civil rights programs are trying to use Asian Americans as a wedge against other communities of color. NCAPA supports the Advancing Justice-led #NotYourWedge Twitter Town Hall and firmly opposes these attacks on our AANHPI students.
NCAPA NEWS
NCAPA Denounces Department of Justice Plans to Attack Higher Education Institutions
In a statement, we called for the protection of policies that advance equal opportunity. NCAPA members Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) also issued statements.
NCAPA Strongly Opposes Attacks on Legal Immigration
We are outraged at the xenophobic RAISE Act, which would institute an unfair “merit-based” system that discriminates against immigrants who do not have access to high quality education or English language skills. Six NCAPA members also issued statements in response. Read AAJC's analysis.
The NCAPA education committee, in collaboration with the National Education Association (NEA) and Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL), held a webinar focused on federal education policy and its impact on AAPIs in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. Watch the webinar and sign up for future education committee webinars.
Oak Creek Massacre Remembered Five Years Later
Aug. 5 marked the five-year anniversary of the tragic mass shooting of a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, WI, by a white supremacist. In D.C., NCAPA member the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund honored the lives lost by hosting a day for community service at the Sikh Gurdwara in D.C.
Read: SAALT’s Remember Oak Creek blog series
On the day of Oak Creek’s anniversary, a Bloomington, Minnesota mosque was bombed. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) condemned the bombing as an act of terrorism and hate against Muslim Americans.
Third #ReleaseMN8 Member Issued Deportation Relief by Judge
The Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) has been leading the #ReleaseMN8 campaign to help eight Cambodian Americans detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The latest news is Sameth Nhean’s deportation has been canceled after a year in detention.
OCA Holds Annual Convention
OCA held their convention over the weekend in Sacramento, Calif., where they held sessions on topics focused on immigration, technology, and education and held a development and advocacy training for youth and college students, AAPI women, and working professionals. OCA also organized a rally against hate at the state capitol.
OCA National Associate Director of Policy & Advocacy, Kham Moua (left) and OCA National Chapter & Membership Associate Stephanie Wong (right) speak at the OCA Anti-Hate Rally at the Sacramento Capitol. Source: OCA Sacramento Chapter
TAKE ACTION
Speaking Your Truth to Power During August Recess
It’s important for legislators to hear from their constituents in order to understand the perspectives and priorities of the people that they represent in Congress, and accurately reflect those views in their votes. Take advantage of members of Congress who are home for August recess to let them hear from you on the issues you think are important! Find a town hall near you.
Download the Immigrant Know Your Rights Smartphone App
NCAPA member, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), has designed and translated a smartphone app for immigrants and community members who are in crisis or have been approached by police or ICE. The multilingual app currently supports Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and English. Click here to download this helpful app!
Track hate incidents and view their databases
South Asian Americans Leading Together | Asian Americans Advancing Justice | OCA National | Southern Poverty Law Center | Muslim Advocates
ICYMI: AAPIs in the News
White House policies have sanctioned discrimination and targeted South Asians, Arabs (Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together, The Hill)
The ‘Good Immigrants,’ The ‘Bad Immigrants,’ The Deported (John C. Yang, President and executive director of AAJC and Vanita Gupta, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights)
Essay: Five Years Later, Why Americans Must Remember Oak Creek (Raghuvinder Singh, NBC Asian America)
Asian-Americans should be the friends, not the enemies, of affirmative action (Jeff Yang, CNN)
Don’t use Asian Americans to justify anti-affirmative action politics (Nancy Leong and Erwin Chemerinsky, The Washington Post)
OPPORTUNITIES
NCAPA is hiring a new National Director! (Deadline: Sept 7)
AAPCHO Hep B Fellow (Deadline: Aug. 31)
2017 AAPA Leadership Fellows Program (Deadline: Sept. 1)
APIAHF: Digital Communications Specialist, Monitoring & Evaluation Director,
Experience Assistant
APAICS Communications Associate
APIASF: Communications Assistant, Gates Millennium Scholars Director, Gates Millennium Scholars Program Assistant
NAPAWF: Chicago Organizer, Communications and Development Coordinator, Finance and Operations Associate
National CAPACD: Director of Development, Business Operations Coordinator
More Opportunities (including Hill positions)
NCAPA Events
Thursday, Aug. 10, 3:00 p.m. ET: NCAPA Immigration Committee Webinar - Protecting DACA & Advancing DREAM: Mobilizing the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community
Tuesday, Aug. 15 – Wednesday, Sept. 6: NCAPA member National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and their partners Korean Resource Center, Hana Center and the Franciscan Action Network are organizing a 22-day DREAM Action and Vigil in front of the White House.
Wednesday, Aug. 16 - Sunday, Aug 20: 2017 APALA Convention. Orange County, CA.
Thursday, Aug. 17, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET (9-10 a.m. Hawai’i): NCAPA Education Committee Webinar - Native Hawaiian Education Act (NHEA) & Hawaiʻi State ESSA Plan
Tuesday, Aug. 22 - Thursday, Aug. 24: 3rd Annual NHOA Business Summit Conference. Honolulu, HI.
Friday, Sept. 29 - Saturday, Sept. 30: APIASF Summit: Elevate. D.C.
Wednesday, Sept. 27 - Friday, Sept. 29: APIAHF VOICES Convention - UNITE. FOCUS. ACT. D.C.
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