Category Archives: News

#NoPlaceForHateCA – Pass SB1161

Sponsored by Stop AAPI Hate and Los Angeles Metro, Senate Bill 1161 would require California’s 10 largest transit agencies, including LA Metro, Bay Area Rapid Transit and the Orange County Transportation Authority, to recognize street harassment as a rider safety concern, gather data and create solutions that don’t include prison or jail time to prevent and mitigate the harassment that occurs every day in their vehicles and transit stops. Read more here.

#FreeYengLee!

Yeng Lee (known as Lee) is a Hmong Refugee who was wrongfully sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for a crime he did not commit. On May 17th, Lee was exonerated of murder and ordered released by a judge. Despite not being deportable, CDCr still plans to turn him over to ICE for deportation. Lee has served over 23 inside CDCr, completed everything that was asked of him by the state, and became a leader inside San Quentin. Join the #FreeYengLee movement with the tool kit here.

Mekong NYC – Pass NY’s #ClemencyJusticeAct Now!

Transparency and efficiency in our immigration and criminal legal systems is vital to us surviving. So many families who face deportation and incarceration – overwhelmingly immigrant families and families of color – slip into poverty conditions while enduring forced separation, detention, and incarceration.

The #ClemencyJusticeAct is the bare minimum our community deserves: a fair, transparent, accessible clemency application process. Instead, our immigrant women, queer folks, and elderly who are in detention centers and prisons endure violence and neglect.

From 2017-2020, New York received over 6,400 immigrant clemency applications and granted only 1.5% of those. Even when clemency applications are submitted, our families often wait years for an update.

We desperately need the #ClemencyJusticeAct, which creates more transparency and relief from forced separation.

Sign our petition today!

CAAL – Support MN’s HF3434: Ethnic Studies Bill

The Ethnic Studies bill (H.F. 3434) incorporates Ethnic Studies into social studies graduation requirements, requires the commissioner to adopt ethnic studies standards, and establishes a task force to advise the commissioner on ethnic studies standards and curriculum for the State of Minnesota.

AAAJ-Atlanta: Atlanta Spa Shootings Collective Statement

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta invites organizations to sign on to their Collective Statement in remembrance and solidarity to mark the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings.

Organizations who wish to be listed should sign on by Wednesday, March 9.

To view and sign the statement, click here.

Tongan Americans Seek White House Support of Tongan Disaster Relief

Washington, D.C.—Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) released the following statement regarding the volcanic eruption and tsunami in the Kingdom of Tonga on January 15th, 2022. The impact destroyed communications and left many residents in need of aid and relocation. EPIC, its partners, and allies have sent a letter to the White House calling to provide a statement and further humanitarian relief. The full letter can be found here.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and tsunami destroyed homes, schools, churches, businesses, and agriculture. To date, three lives have been claimed. The aftermath has left many residents displaced while volcanic ash has polluted air and freshwater sources, leaving residents at risk of long term health issues. Scientists are racing to understand the once-in-a-century event. There is no question that this event will have lasting global impacts as reverberations were felt as far as Alaska and tsunamis traveled as far as Japan, Chile, and the West Coast of the U.S.

The road to recovery will be a long-term process to rebuild its infrastructure and restore hope in the Tongan people. Food, water, medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and other essential necessities will be a continuous need in the coming months, however this need for aid also leaves the population increasingly vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure.

Partnerships between Tongan women-led community-based organizations, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations have mobilized to provide direct relief through mutual aid with Tongan NGOs. The collective, consisting of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), Motivating Action Leadership Opportunities (MALO), the Vakatasi Foundation, and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), has sent a letter to the White House, requesting the Biden administration to release a statement in support of the Tongan American community and commit to providing further aid for Tonga’s relief and recovery.

Stop AB969! No Armed Cops in Schools

February 10, 2022

WISCONSIN – Tomorrow the Assembly Committee on Education will hear public testimony on Assembly Bill 969, which would give the state of Wisconsin grounds to put armed police, otherwise known as School Resource Officers (SROs), back in our schools. LIT, our coalition partners, and other supporters condemn this attempt to disregard the voices of communities across the state that made the decision to end police department contracts and removed armed police from their district schools.

All students deserve to feel safe at school – regardless of their zip code, race, or background. Threatening students with policing does not make students, faculty, or staff safer.

Our communities want and deserve real solutions to promote school safety and help students thrive on and off campus. That starts by listening to, respecting, and acting on the interests of students across the state of Wisconsin. That means keeping cops out of school so young people feel safe.

Go to Bit.ly/STOPSRO to fill out the form that will send a pre-written email to your legislators – it only takes 2 minutes!

National Week of Action to End Southeast Asian Deportations

Join the Southeast Asia Deportation Defense Network (SEADDN) national movement in our Week of Action to #StopTheRaids! 

SEADDN will be hosting a week of call-in sessions to demand that the White House and ICE stop separating families. There will be organizations from different parts of the country hosting virtual sessions each day as listed below although all sessions are virtual and you may join in any region.

Tuesday, Feb. 15: West Coast Day of Action
Wednesday, Feb. 16: Northeast Region Day of Action
Thursday, Feb. 17: South Region Day of Action
Friday, Feb. 18: Midwest Region Day of Action

More information, including a social media toolkit to promote the Week of Action, can be found at bit.ly/seatoolkit2022 and on SEARAC’s Facebook and Twitter.

If you can’t make one of the sessions listed above, call the White House today to demand that ICE not deport any Cambodian community members. Remind them that the Biden Administration has recently celebrated its accomplishments in protecting Asian American immigrants and refugees, and that the act of separating families and deporting community members is an unjust act of violence.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and use the following call script (or write your own):

“My name is ____ from (city, state). I am calling President Biden to express concern over the planned deportations of Cambodian Americans. Many of these community members came to the United States as refugee children. Deportation is a double-punishment to individuals who committed crimes but have already served their time. They deserve justice and a second chance. Your administration recently celebrated that you had reduced deportations to Burma, Cambodia, and Laos during the first year of the Biden presidency. I demand that ICE reconsider these upcoming deportations and allow Southeast Asian Americans to remain at home with their families and communities.”

Learn more at bit.ly/seatoolkit2022