Policy and litigation updates from Advancing Justice | AAJC

Policy and litigation updates from Advancing Justice | AAJC
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
Advancing Justice Rebukes ICE

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) stated that international students at universities conducting classes entirely online would not be allowed to remain in the United States for the fall 2020 semester despite the ongoing pandemic. This could lead to the deportation of over 360,000 enrolled students, forcing schools to pick between "the health and safety of their students, staff, and others or divisive, anti-immigrant policy. "

Asian Americans Advancing justice | AAJC stand with students and rebuke SEVP and the administration's decision on this matter. AAJC believes that this decision disregards the education, health, and welfare of students across the country and serves to only advance Trump’s white nationalist agenda and desire to purge the country of immigrants under the cover of COVID-19, while there is an utter lack of response to address the pandemic inside detentions and prisons, where people are dying.

Read more ([link removed])
EYE ON THE NEWS

People from across the country are showing up to protest George Floyd’s death. We talked to protesters about why this movement matters to them. ([link removed])
"Asian Americans, like everyone else in the country, are fearful of the virus and trying their best to stay safe and healthy," said John C. Yang of AAJC. ([link removed])

Megan Essaheb, our director of immigration advocacy, talked to the Divided Families podcast about the state of our family-based immigration sytsem.

============================================================
Following Suit
** Register here ([link removed])

Opportunities
** ([link removed])

Get Involved in Vote Early Day
Saturday October 24, 200

When Americans vote early, they ensure that last minute problems will not prevent them from casting their ballots – and help shorten voting lines on Election Day for everyone. But voting early rules – both for in-person and by-mail options – vary widely all over the country, causing confusion and preventing voters from casting their ballots. We’re here to make voting early easier. Given our current conditions with COVID-19, having multiple options to safely cast your ballot is critical.

** Read more ([link removed])

** ([link removed])

Bystander Intervention Virtual Training
Xenophobic harassment and racism against Asian American and Pacific Islanders are not a recent occurrence. However, we have seen a rise in these incidences across the United States and as states re-open, we are concerned about seeing another spike in reported incidents. We partnered with ** Hollaback! ([link removed])
for virtual workshops on bystander intervention. Each training session is one hour that teaches you Hollaback!’s 5 D’s of the bystander intervention methodology.

We have had an enormous demand for more training sessions so we have added a number of additional free sessions. Please register in advance for the event as each one will be capped at 1,000 people.
TRAINING DATES AND TIMES:BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TO STOP ANTI-ASIAN/AMERICAN HARASSMENT AND XENOPHOBIA
* July 21st, 2020 at 4:00pm ET/ 3:00pm CT/ 2:00pm MT/1:00pm PT/10:00am HST. ** Register Here. ([link removed])
* July 27th, 2020 at 2:00pm ET/ 1:00pm CT/ 12:00pm MT/ 11:00am PT/ 8:00am HST. ** Register Here. ([link removed])
* August 10th, 2020 at 2:00pm ET/ 1:00pm CT/ 12:00pm MT/ 11:00am PT/ 8:00am HST. ** Register Here. ([link removed])
* August 12th, 2020 at 1:00pm ET/ 12:00pm CT/ 11:00am MT/ 10:00am PT/ 7:00am HST. ** Register Here. ([link removed])

BYSTANDER INTERVENTION 2.0: CONFLICT DE-ESCALATION TRAINING WORKSHOP
* July 29th, 2020 at 6:00pm ET/ 5:00pm CT/ 4:00pm MT/ 3:00pm PT/12:00pm HST. ** Register Here. ([link removed])

NEW Training: How to Respond to Harassment for People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment
After attending our bystander intervention trainings, this training is for how to take care of yourself after you experience harassment. ** Learn more and register. ([link removed])
Census Corner

** ([link removed])

Census Hotline
Call our census language hotline 1-844-2020-API or 844-202-0274 for answers to your questions in English, Mandarin (普通話/普通话), Cantonese (廣東話/广东话), Korean (한국어),Vietnamese (tiếng Việt), Tagalog, Urdu (اردو), Hindi (हिंदी), and Bengali/Bangla (বাংলা).

Help us promote the hotline by ** downloading our promotion toolkit! ([link removed])

Legal Advocacy and Policy

Supreme Court stands on the right side of history to uphold DACA

On June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, allowed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to continue by keeping DACA renewals in place. Asian Americans Advancing Justice applauds the Supreme Court and its decision to allow the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to continue. For the Asian American community, this means at least 16,000 Asian American DACA recipients can continue to go to school and work — some of whom are healthcare and other essential workers on the frontlines fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 1.5 million people in this country who live with a DACA recipient, it means relief that their loved ones can continue to stay in the country they call home without fear and constant threats of deportation.

** Read more ([link removed])

Queer and Trans Artists to Know

** ([link removed])

Kim Chi

Kim Chi is a makeup artist, drag queen and social media personality. She is instrumental in providing critical queer Korean American representation in the media as well as exploring the intersectionality between Asian American diasporic identity and critical camp performance through her drag practice. She was also a star on Rupaul's Drag Race season 8.

** ([link removed])

Alok Vaid Menon

Alok Vaid Menon is a nonbinary tranfeminine Indian-American poet, activist and performance artist who has made significant contributions to the advancement of queer and trans Asian American liberation. Through their art, they have made waves to degender the clothing industry, reassess mainstream dialogues around gender and race and provide queer Asian American representation in spaces which lack it.
LGBTQIA+ Media You Should Check Out
** ([link removed])

The Half of It

Netflix's The Half of It is a story about a young Asian American lesbian who's journey of personal growth and development is complicated by her feelings for her best friend's crush. It is a truly imaginative and tender film which pairs nicely with a cup of hot cocoa on a rainy day.

"Love isn't patient, and kind, and humble. Love is messy, and horrible, and selfish, and bold. It's not finding your perfect half. It's the trying, and reaching, and failing."- Ellie Chu, The Half of It

** ([link removed])

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Vietnamese American poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is an intimate dive into the Asian American life of a gay Asian American immigrant. It is structured through letters written by the main character, Little Dog to his mother in Vietnam.

“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.”
-Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

** ([link removed])

Joel Kim Booster - Stand Up

Joel Kim Booster's refreshing and hilarious stand up comedy perfectly details what it feels like to be a gay, Asian American adoptee. Kim's work ties his adopted identity with his queer identity and pokes fun at the internal discourse within himself. His commentary on American gay culture's disdain with Asian bodies is thought provoking and enjoyably critical.

“Gay people and Asian people are really, really underrepresented in comedy and just in pop culture in general so both those communities are so thirsty to see anything that’s speaking directly to them.”
-Joel Kim Booster

Youth Leadership Summit Alumni Spotlight: Jason Suh
Jason Suh, an alumni of AAJC's Youth Leadership Summit 2019 is recognized for his project titled "Black and Asian Solidaity: What we've learned." The project aimed to be a community night and fundraiser for NAKASEC’s #HomeIsHere campaign, which ended at the steps of the Supreme Court as SCOTUS began deliberating on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

"In light of the growing wave of anti-Asian violence under COVID-19, we wanted to contextualize current racial tensions between Black and Asian communities within a historical analysis of Black and Asiansolidarity in New York City.We hoped to lift up examples of how our communities have come together in other times of crisis in this city, and to imagine better responses to violence than to dismiss anti-Asian violence or to call the police as a solution."
Meet our Summer Law Clerks and Interns

Sykina Butts - First Generation Fellow 2020

Sykina Butts is AAJC's First Gen Fellow for 2020. She was born and raised in Mississippi in a small town called Kilmichael. Sykina attends Delta State University in Cleveland, MS and majors in English with a minor in Sociology. Sykina's passion for social justice was sparked through her work with the Social Justice Club on campus and other nonprofits, such as the Rosedale Freedom Project and MsVotes. Her summer work for Advancing Justice | AAJC has revolved around research, communications, and community outreach.

Michael Shang - Law Clerk

Michael Shang hails from Clarksville, Maryland. He is a rising second-year law student at Harvard Law School and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied biophysics and political science. Michael hopes to work in the immigration law space, and he has enjoyed the work he has done this summer with Advancing Justice | AAJC on supporting affirmative action, protecting the family-based immigration system in the U.S., and advocating for Filipino veterans. In his spare time, Michael enjoys playing Pokémon Go and reading about civil procedure!
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Give Today ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, donated to Advancing Justice | AAJC or attended an event.
Our mailing address is:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
1620 L Street N.W. Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20036
** Receive this email from a friend? Be the first to know.
Make sure to sign up for our e-list to receive all our news. ([link removed])
** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])