Kicking off AAPI Heritage Month + New Resources and Toolkits

Dear Allies,

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! May is celebrated as AAPI Heritage Month to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843. May also marks the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, a majority of which was built by Chinese immigrant laborers. Some of the fiercest advocates in the immigrant rights movement are members of the AAPI community, and we are proud to call many of them our close partners and colleagues. 

We will be sharing upcoming events and resources throughout May to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month, and uplift the voices of the AAPI community. This week, we are sharing information about a bystander intervention training and workshop series from our partners at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC. We also are sharing a new report from FRAC on how states are addressing gaps in SNAP eligibility, and a new toolkit from CBPP for stimulus check outreach to immigrant families.

Last month, FRAC published a new report State Food Assistance Programs: Addressing Gaps in SNAP Eligibility for Immigrants that explains how states have provided vital food assistance for noncitizens with legal status who are not eligible for SNAP due to their immigration status by reviewing the history of state food assistance programs; the six states that currently have a food assistance program for noncitizens; and opportunities to support immigrants who lost SNAP eligibility in the wake of Welfare Reform.

As we shared last week, DHS published a Request for Public Input on how USCIS can reduce administrative and other barriers that prevent people from obtaining available immigration services and benefits. PIF encourages you to use this request as an opportunity to recommend that USCIS prioritize engaging in outreach to communicate to immigrants and their families members that they are safe accessing health, nutrition, and housing benefits, and swift rulemaking that builds on the policies in the 1999 Field Guidance. The deadline to submit a comment is Wednesday, May 19.

Recently, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published their Toolkit for Stimulus Check Outreach to Immigrant Families. Organizations, local and state agencies, and advocates are encouraged to use this toolkit, which features resources on how to connect harder-to-reach populations. These include families with immigrants, families with no or low-incomes, families with a member who is incarcerated, people who lack secure housing, people without Internet access, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities. The toolkit includes a media guide, talking points for media, a press release template and a sample media pitch, and features tools in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

• CNN – U.S. Supreme Court denies motion by GOP attorneys general seeking to revive the Trump public charge policy.

• NPR – Immigrant families hit hard by housing squeeze that accelerated during the pandemic, quoting PIF partner African Communities Together.

• Civil Eats – University researchers say public charge continues to deny immigrant families food during the pandemic.

In Solidarity,

Eddie Carmona & Renato Rocha, on behalf of the PIF Team

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/