Policy and litigation updates from Advancing Justice | AAJC
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Not Backing Down: "The Fight is Not Over"

Throughout September, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC remained at the forefront of various policy initiatives, some of which resulted from the culmination of decades-long advocacy efforts.

This month, the House Judiciary Committee passed critical immigration legislation in the FY 22 Budget Reconciliation Package, which included a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, as well as long-demanded provisions to clear the family and employment-based visa backlogs. However, the Senate Parliamentarian recommended against including an initial proposal in the budget reconciliation for a roadmap to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, essential workers, and farmworkers.

Despite the setback, we join immigration advocates in refusing to settle for anything less than what our communities deserve and continue pushing Congress to fix our broken immigration system. The fight is not over.

In addition, our legal advocacy team filed amicus briefs in two high profile cases; one with National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) urging the Supreme Court to reject a call by the state of Mississippi to overturn Roe v. Wade and another with NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and LatinoJustice PRLDEF in support of more equitable access to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST).

This month, we celebrated the acquittal of University of Tennessee professor Dr. Anming Hu after weeks of advocacy from local organizations and our own Anti-Racial Profiling Project team. We also hosted our first-ever in-language Bystander Intervention Training with Hollaback! with simultaneous interpretation in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. The session is the first in a series of bilingual trainings — including Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Tagalog, and Thai — to help make bystander intervention tools more accessible for our vast, multi-lingual community.

As always, we celebrate the wins of our community while remaining committed to the work to come. The Advancing Justice | AAJC team is grateful for the steadfast support of our donors and community partners who continue propelling us forward with purpose.

Keep scrolling to read more about these Advancing Justice | AAJC initiatives and more.
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EVENTS

Did you miss our webinar with Advancing Justice | AAJC's Anti-Racial Profiling Project and the Arab American Institute? Watch a full recording of "Criminalization of Impacted Communities: Prosecutions and Surveillance of AMEMSA Communities, Chinese Americans, and Immigrants" here.

Together with Hollaback!, we've trained over 120,000 people through our joint trainings to combat anti-Asian hate! Join us:

Bystander Intervention Training Conflict De-Escalation Training (Bystander Intervention 2.0) Workshop for People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment
JOIN OUR TEAM

We are looking to immediately hire full-time staff members for these positions: See all our open positions and learn how to apply here.
ADVANCING JUSTICE | AAJC MAKING NEWS

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) will honor Advancing Justice | AAJC’s Vice Chair Gina Shishima, and President and Executive Director John C. Yang with Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Awards. These awards are NAPABA’s highest honors.

Read the full press release to learn more about their tremendous achievements and contributions here.

This month, John also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the hearing, "Restoring the Voting Rights Act: Combating Discriminatory Abuses." Read his full testimony here.

“Practice-based preclearance, in conjunction with a restored coverage formula, is critical to modernizing the Voting Rights Act to reflect the emerging political voice of Asian American voters," John said.
2020 Annual Report
Advancing Justice | AAJC Releases 2020 Annual Report

We are pleased to share with you our 2020 annual report. Your support strengthened our delivery on our mission to advance civil and human rights for Asian Americans, especially during a time which our community became the target of racism as a result of hateful rhetoric.

Please peruse the report highlighting our impact on our communities nationwide through our policy and advocacy work. Because of you, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC elevated to the call-of-action to create change, work in solidarity, and strive toward the equity and unity that we all deserve, this this country deserves.

Learn more and read the full annual report here.
2021 American Courage Awards 
Join us in celebrating 30 years of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC at the 2021 American Courage Awards

We are excited to announce that our 25th annual American Courage Awards will occur on Thursday, November 18 at 7pm ET!

Tune in live to our virtual night commemorating the contributions of individuals, groups, and corporations for their extraordinary courage or commitment to the cause of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) civil rights. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on the recipients of this year's awards and special performances honoring the resilience of our communities.

Learn more and register at americancourageawards.org.
Advocacy and Policy Updates
Advancing Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! Announce In-Language Bystander Intervention Trainings

On September 24, Advancing Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! hosted their first Bystander Intervention Training to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment training in Chinese.

The free 75-minute interactive training was facilitated by two trainers and a team of interpreters in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. In addition to simultaneous interpretation, the presentation used slides in both English and traditional Chinese. The session is the first in a series of bilingual trainings, including Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Tagalog, and Thai.

Learn more and sign up for an upcoming October in-language training in Vietnamese or Korean here.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Groups File Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court Supporting Roe v. Wade

This month, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) and Advancing Justice | AAJC filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a call by the state of Mississippi to overturn Roe v. Wade. The amicus brief, which represents 29 community and civil rights organizations, as well as bar associations, expresses concerns over the impact on Asian American and Pacific Islander women in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Find our full amicus brief and joint statement here.
Advancing Justice | AAJC Commends Department of Commerce’s Decision to Eliminate Security Unit Amid Racial Profiling Concerns

In early September, the U.S. Department of Commerce to eliminate the Investigations and Threat Management Service, a rogue unit that conducted investigations without proper authorization against Asian Americans, and in particular, against Chinese and Middle Eastern federal employees.

Advancing Justice | AAJC commends the Department of Commerce for taking action to eliminate the Investigations and Threat Management Service, while recognizing that much remains to be done to end the racial discrimination and profiling of Asian American and immigrant communities in this country.

Read the full press release here.

Civil Rights Organizations File Brief in Support of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s Equal Educational Opportunity Admissions Policies


Civil rights groups Advancing Justice | AAJC, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF filed an amicus brief in support of more equitable access to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the case Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board.

Advancing Justice | AAJC, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF stand for racial equity in education and look forward to representing groups encouraging progress to promote access and expand educational opportunities for all communities of color.

Read our full joint statement to learn more here.

Asian American Civil Rights Group Applauds Acquittal of University Tennessee Professor Unjustly Prosecuted Under “China Initiative”


On September 9, a federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee acquitted University of Tennessee (UT) Engineering Professor Anming Hu of all charges after his trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked. Advancing Justice | AAJC commends the well-reasoned decision of the federal district court, which recognized that the evidence presented clearly was insufficient to allow a reasonable jury to convict Dr. Hu of the crimes alleged.

Read our full statement here.
The Fight is Not Over: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Urges Confidence Despite Parliamentarian's First Ruling on Legalization

On September 19, the Senate Parliamentarian recommended against including in the FY 22 Budget Reconciliation Package an initial proposal for a roadmap to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, essential workers, and farmworkers.

While the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation is disappointed with this initial ruling, the Parliamentarian has not yet ruled on the inclusion of key provisions pertinent to Asian immigrants. We remain confident that alternative proposals and subsequent rulings can deliver urgent relief for millions of people and their families. The fight is not over.

Read our full joint statement here.
Advancing Justice | AAJC Urges Biden Administration to Stop Deportations of Haitian Migrants and End Immoral Mistreatment

Just one month after a devastating earthquake that resulted in the deaths of more than 2,200 Haitians and displaced thousands more, the Biden Administration is sending multiple expulsion flights to Haiti.

The mistreatment from the U.S. Border Patrol of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border is reprehensible and grounded in white supremacy. These horrific actions are counter to our purported values of welcoming migrants with dignity. Advancing Justice | AAJC urges the Biden Administration to act on their promises for a more humane system for asylum seekers and put an end to these deportations and violence at the border.

Read our full statement here.

On-going Resources

  • With the release of new Census data that will significantly impact the way our communities are represented, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation created a redistricting factsheet to help Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to get involved with redistricting. More translated resources on redistricting in a number of Asian languages to come!
 
  • The Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program provides qualifying families in need for up to $50 ($75 on Tribal lands) of a monthly discount toward internet bills. EBB will help ensure that low-income families have affordable broadband access during a time when being connected to the Internet is more critical than ever.
    • Visit our EBB Resource Page for an FAQ sheet, an eligibility verification chart, as well as translated factsheets and social media graphics in English, Vietnamese, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Burmese, Hmong, Thai, Tagalog, and Korean.
 
  • The Anti-Racial Profiling Project offers resources and legal referrals for those impacted by the U.S. government’s increased efforts to target and profile Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and researchers, particularly of Chinese descent. If you believe you are being racially targeted by the government and you are looking for attorney referrals, please contact 202-935-6014 using the Signal app and a staff member will reach out to you directly with support available in English and Mandarin/普通话.
 
  • Our community engagement team has been working with community partners to pull together state-specific and national anti-hate resources for the AAPI community. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to access, share, and add to the crowd-sourced document at any point.
A Story of Honor in Giving
A lifelong early-childhood educator, who was incredibly proud of her Chinese-American background, Kiira Lee loved teaching young children about culture and identity. She was passionate about social justice and dedicated her career to advancing civil rights for Asian Americans and people of color.  

Kiira helped found the Washington, D.C.-area branch of Asian Educators Alliance, an Asian affinity organization committed to creating opportunities for Asian Pacific Islander South Asian teachers and school staff. 

Born in Tenafly, New Jersey, Kiira was the youngest of three children. Kiira attended Georgetown University, where she met her husband, Adam. After college, Kiira received a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. Kiira and Adam settled in the Washington, D.C. area, where she worked as an elementary educator at a number of independent schools. Kiira was a devoted mother to her now four-year-old son, Benjamin. She is missed dearly.
Blog Highlights
Expanding the Great American Tapestry: Reforming Our Immigrant Visa System

For the Milan family, visa application acceptances are now 35 years overdue. In this blog, Policy and Programs Summer Law Clerk Jaeho Lee engages with their personal story to shine light on the pressing issue of visa backlogs and the urgent need to reform our immigrant visa system.
 
Read more of our blogs!
Take Action With Us

Advancing Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! Workshops

Throughout August, we continued to host trainings with Hollaback! and have now trained over 120,000 people to safely intervene as a bystander to stop non-violent incidents of anti-Asian hate since the beginning of our partnership in April 2020.

We are now also providing in-language Bystander Intervention Trainings with simultaneous translations in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, and Vietnamese. Be sure to sign up for an upcoming session or spread the word!
 

Bystander Intervention Training
  • Learn about the basics of intervention and the spectrum of disrespect experienced by Asians/Asian Americans. Then, put what you’ve learned into practice. Register Here
Conflict De-Escalation Training (Bystander Intervention 2.0)
  • Take your intervention skills a step further by using patience, empathy, and a willingness to listen to directly de-escalate conflict with a harasser. Register Here
Workshop for People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment
  • This training is for Asians and Asian Americans to learn how to trust their instincts, reclaim their space, and practice resilience following an act of hate. Register Here
Stand Against Hatred was created by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation in January 2017 to capture information about the increase in hate we observed in the months before and following the 2016 election. Since COVID-19 began, however, we have received many new testimonials of anti-Asian/Asian American incidents of hate and harassment.

As we state on the site, "By sharing what you experienced or witnessed, you can educate the public, empower others, show service providers where help is needed, and strengthen advocacy efforts for hate crimes response and prevention." We know that sharing these experiences can be painful, which is why we're so grateful for the brave individuals who continue to trust us with their testimonials.

If you or someone you know would like to share your experience, please visit StandAgainstHatred.org today.

Asian American Education Project Teacher Workshops


Asian American and Pacific Islander history is American history, but is often left out of curriculums in K-12 schools. The Asian American Education Project, fiscally sponsored by Advancing Justice | AAJC, launched a series of free workshops for K-12 teachers designed to promote the inclusion of historically and culturally competent curriculum about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) nationwide.

In this series of virtual K-12 Asian American Curriculum Teacher Training Workshops, The Asian American Education Project showcases curriculum on the AAPI experience. It is divided into themes to make it easier for educators to adapt the whole or part of the curriculum into their own practice.

Learn more and sign up for an upcoming workshop here.
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