Asian Americans Advancing Justice Condemns Terrorist Attack on Muslim Worshipers in New Zealand

For Immediate Release
March 15, 2019

CHICAGO, IL – Yesterday in Christchurch, New Zealand, at least 49 of our Muslim brothers and sisters were killed while worshipping by a white supremacist in a terrorist attack and many more were injured.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, issues the following statement:

“The attacks in New Zealand confirm that white nationalism is a threat that the world can no longer ignore. Hatred of immigrants and Islamophobia are global phenomena, yet every attack continues to be personal for all of the communities that we serve.

People of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian descent are no strangers to the violent scapegoating of minority communities, including physical attacks and killings post-9/11 and in an era of rising white nationalism. The Trump Administration shamefully perpetuates a narrative of fear through policies like the Muslim Ban and in the surveillance of mosques and Muslim communities. This fear-mongering has direct consequences for the lives of our people as we saw today in Christchurch.

Our hearts go out to the victims of the New Zealand mosque attacks and their families. We stand in solidarity with Muslim communities everywhere and pledge to fight for a world guided by values of love, dignity, and inclusion.”

Contacts:
James Woo, (404) 585-8446, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Michelle Boykins 202-296-2300, ext. 0144 mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org
Jessica Jinn, (213) 241-8817, jjinn@advancingjustice-la.org
Brandon Lee, (773) 271-0899 x200, blee@advancingjustice-chicago.org
Christina So, (415) 848-7728, christinaso@advancingjustice-alc.org

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.

For Immediate Release: March 12, 2019
Contact: Yoli Navas at 561-990-9029 or yoli@npstrategygroup.com

Value Our Families Supports The Dream and Promise Act

Washington, DC – Earlier today, legislators announced The Dream and Promise Act of 2019, a new bill providing permanent protections for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and DED (Deferred Enforced Departure) holders. Hundreds of thousands of immigrant families have been needlessly living in constant fear of deportation and separation while the fates of DACA and TPS are help up in courts. The Dream and Promise Act comes as a much needed reprieve to the thousands of immigrants, many of whom have lived here for decades, that are stuck in limbo.

The Trump administration has been attacking immigrants and immigrant families, systematically stripping thousands of immigrants of their legal status, ripping children from their parents at the border, and threatening our family based immigration system. Immigrant families are a driving force in our communities, not a burden.

Value Our Families supports The Dream and Promise Act, and urges members of Congress to pass this new bill and provide permanent protections to Dreamers, TPS, and DED holders. This is the first of many needed steps in order to ensure that immigrant families can live free from fear of deportation, and that our family based immigration system continues to reflect the needs of our communities.

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Value Our Families protects, preserves, and strengthens the family immigration system and promotes an immigration system that is informed by love, empathy, and justice.

For more information visit www.valueourfamilies.org

Congress Must Pass the Dream and Promise Act to Protect DACA and TPS Recipients

The bill is an essential first step to protect immigrant communities

ATLANTA, GA — Today, Congress introduced H.R. 6—The Dream and Promise Act—which would provide permanent protection from deportation for immigrant youth and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders. The Dream and Promise Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and cancel removal proceedings providing they meet certain criteria. The bill also provides protections for more than 400,000 people with TPS and DED who live and work in the United States.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, released the following statement:

“Since the Trump Administration’s decision to end DACA and TPS protections, millions of community members’ lives were turned upside down.

As a way to rectify the harms caused by the administration’s decision to end these programs, and as a way to protect members of vulnerable communities moving forward, we call on Congress to pass H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act. This permanent legislative solution is necessary to end the state of limbo that has faced over one million immigrants.

There are challenges even within this bill that will still leave some immigrants vulnerable. H.R. 6 does not address family members of DREAM and TPS recipients, nor does it support many of those who have already been deported under the Trump Administration. Any legislation designed to protect our immigrant community needs to do so without any exceptions.

Today’s announcement is a first step towards the full protection that we demand for our communities.”

Contacts:
Michelle Boykins 202-296-2300, ext. 0144 mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org
Jessica Jinn, (213) 241-8817, jjinn@advancingjustice-la.org
Brandon Lee, (773) 271-0899 x200, blee@advancingjustice-chicago.org
James Woo, (404) 585-8446, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Christina So, (415) 848-7728, christinaso@advancingjustice-alc.org

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Denounces White House Fiscal Year 2020 Budget

Urges Congress to Reduce Funding for Mass Detention, Deportations, and the Border Wall

WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 12, 2019 ― The White House budget released yesterday includes a drastic increase in immigration detention and deportation funding while significantly cutting funding across the board for domestic programs vital to community health and stability.

The budget includes an additional $2.7 billion to expand the already massive immigration detention system to jail 54,000 people per day, even though the Trump Administration has expanded the detention system by over 40 percent since the President took office. This proposed detention expansion includes a deplorable 300 percent increase for family detention beds to jail children.

The budget proposes hiring an additional 1,000 ICE enforcement agents, 750 Border Patrol agents, and 128 immigration court prosecuting attorneys. The budget also includes $5 billion to build 200 miles of additional harmful border wall, and combined with the $3.6 billion of wall construction funding raided from the military budget, the White House’s request for border wall funding totals $8.6 billion. Additionally, the White House budget calls for a massive slush fund to be used to further bloat the immigration jail system to lock up 60,000 people per day, and to hire thousands more deportation agents.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, issues the following statement:

“Budgets reflect our priorities as a nation. Resources in our federal budget should go towards funding essential services, programs that promote community health, and include efforts that support immigrant and refugee families.

However, the proposed White House budget continues President Trump’s shameful anti-immigrant agenda by dramatically expanding the deportation forces that tear communities apart and the unjust immigration detention system that jails children and family members. The proposed budget would drastically increase immigration-related prosecutions and deportations while gutting vital domestic spending programs that help communities thrive. After fabricating an illegal national emergency declaration, the Trump Administration is attempting to gain even more money for a wasteful and harmful border wall.

We oppose this disgraceful budget, which is nothing more than another attack on our immigrant communities and attempt to continue the administration’s xenophobic and hateful agenda. Congress must put a stop to these anti-immigrant policies and funding that separate families and harm our communities. Rather than funding mass incarceration and the deportation of immigrant families, we ask that Congress propose a budget that supports our communities and the programs that allow us to thrive.”

Contacts:
Michelle Boykins 202-296-2300, ext. 0144 mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org
Jessica Jinn, (213) 241-8817, jjinn@advancingjustice-la.org
Brandon Lee, (773) 271-0899 x200, blee@advancingjustice-chicago.org
James Woo, (404) 585-8446, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Christina So, (415) 848-7728, christinaso@advancingjustice-alc.org

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.

ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER GROUPS FILE AMICUS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA’S RACE-CONSCIOUS ADMISSIONS POLICIES

CHICAGO, IL — Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, alongside over 60 Asian American groups and 25 professors, with Fox Rothschild LLP filed an amicus brief today in support of race-conscious holistic admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Participants in this brief whole-heartedly attest that race-conscious admissions policies result in more equitable and integrated universities and enhance the educational experiences of all students.

This amicus brief opposes the lawsuit filed by conservative activist Ed Blum and his group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) to end race-conscious admissions at universities. In their briefing, SFFA suggest that in addition to whites, Asian Americans are also supposedly disadvantaged by UNC’s race-conscious admissions policy.

“A ‘color-blind’ admissions policy is not race-neutral; it merely reinforces racial segregation and widens existing disparities in educational opportunities for people of color, including many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs),” said Nicole Gon Ochi, supervising attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles. “We refuse to be used as a weapon to dismantle programs that increase opportunities for students of color.”

The consideration of race in university admissions, one of many factors in the admissions process, has been critical for many schools to fully understand an applicant’s background and experiences beyond test scores.

“The data shows that these policies help all students of color, including Asian Americans,” said Dr. OiYan Poon, assistant professor of Higher Education and director of the Race & Intersectional Studies for Educational Equity (RISE Center) at Colorado State University. “Removing the consideration of race in admissions would hurt the most marginalized of AAPI students and be detrimental to the educational climate and environment, from which all students benefit.”

Race-conscious admission policies have been credited with offsetting the inherent racial biases of other admission factors, such as SAT/ACT scores. They are also a factor in creating more diverse student bodies on university campuses that more closely reflect regional or national demographics. Studies show that colleges and universities that reach the highest levels of diversity have fewer incidents of racial hostility. Students report having a more positive learning experience in schools with race-conscious admission processes.

“Removing the consideration of race at UNC would be a disservice to all communities of color, including the diverse AAPI subgroups in North Carolina,” said Chavi Khanna Koneru, executive director of North Carolina Asian Americans Together. “Our state is home to significant ethnic minority communities from Southeast Asia who experience varying economic and educational barriers. Saying that Asian Americans are not underrepresented minorities at UNC only obscures the needs of underrepresented Asian Americans.”

“The growing Southeast Asian community in our state is not a monolith; each student deserves the holistic review long prized by our state’s flagship university,” said Matthew Nis Leerberg, North Carolina-based partner at national law firm Fox Rothschild LLP. “We are proud to have had the opportunity to work alongside Asian Americans Advancing Justice to speak for that community on an issue critical to the future of our State and the nation.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice stands firmly in support of UNC, race-conscious admission policies, and all students of color. We will continue to fight alongside other communities of color for greater equity and justice in this country.

Download the brief here

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.