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SEARAC In-Language Voter Guides – 2020 Election

September 22, 2020 is National Voter Registration Day, and SEARAC is excited to celebrate the occasion with the launch of our 2020 Presidential Election Voter Guide now available with written and audio translations in: Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Mien, and Vietnamese. (Note: We are still finalizing the Lao formatted voter guide, but the plain text version is currently available in Lao.)

Asian Americans represent the fast-growing segment of the general electorate out of all major racial and ethnic groups in the United States. According to our friends at APIAVote, more than 11 million Asian Americans, or 5% of the country’s eligible voters, will be able to cast a vote in the upcoming election. Furthermore, once completing their voter registration, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have comparable turnout rates compared to other communities. Yet, one of the largest hurdles to our communities’ civic participation is voter registration.

“According to the 2010 census, the Southeast Asian American community stands at 2.7 million strong, and we can translate our communities’ growing numbers into political strength by breaking down cultural barriers that stand in the way of civic engagement,” said Alyssa Tulabut, Senior Field Manager at SEARAC. “We have the power to hold our elected officials accountable and to bring in leadership who will show up for refugee and immigrant communities. It is our hope that with these written and audio translations of our voter guide, you, your loved ones, and your communities feel empowered to make an informed vote on Election Day, or before if you are voting early.”

Written and audio translations are available by clicking below:

Hmong Resources for COVID-19 Response

In partnership with Hmong Youth and Parents United (HYPU) and the Sierra Health Foundation, Hmong Innovating Politics is providing the following resources for download to support the Hmong community during these uncertain times. They urge all of our community members to follow the direction of public health officials and take the necessary precautions in protecting themselves and their families. Additionally, they are urging all families to strongly consider participating in “social distancing” as a means of preventing the spread of the virus and protecting those are that most vulnerable to illness.

Visit their resources page here

 

2020 Census and COVID-19 Update

In the wake of COVID-19, the Census Bureau has made operational changes to the Census 2020 operations. The deadline for self response online, by phone or by returning the paper questionnaire has been extended to September 30th. Right now, our priority is clear: complete the census online, by phone, or by mail. It has never been easier to self-respond!

TAKE ACTION! Make sure you and your family are counted! #MuslimsCount2020 #CountUsIn #AAPI2020 #WeCount #OurTimetoCount

Visit EMGAGE’s page on the 2020 Census for more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Census: https://emgageusa.org/census-2020/. EMGAGE has also produced a PDF with information on the 2020 Census and the Muslim community in the U.S.

Check out the PDF here

Vietnamese Terms for Addressing Anti-Blackness

A PDF guide with Vietnamese terms for addressing anti-Blackness. Words and phrases that are translated into Vietnamese include ally, racial discrimination, anti-racism, POC, oppression, systemic racism, protester, racial conflict, racial equity, empathy, unity, justice, equality, and community.

View the entire PDF here

US Prison Statistics

A PDF from the Prison Policy Initiative with information, statistics, and graphics regarding mass incarceration and the U.S. prison systems including:

  • How many people are incarcerated in the U.S.?
  • 74% of people held in jails are not convicted of any crime
  • Despite reforms, drug offences are still a defining characteristic of the federal system
  • Pretrial policies drive jail growth
  • Why are so many people detained in jails before trial?
  • 1 in 5 incarcerated people is locked up for a drug offense
  • Racial and ethnic disparities in correctional facilities
  • 1 out of 5 incarcerated people in the world is incarcerated in the U.S.

View the entire PDF here

 

The Model Minority Myth Explained

The Model Minority (Myth) Explained – By Jocelyn Chung. This PDF provides information what the model minority myth is, why it is problematic, how it erases the racism, historical discrimination against and experiences of Asian Americans, and how it has been used to pit the Asian American community against the Black community all while maintaining the racial hierarchy in America which keeps whiteness at the top and blackness at the bottom.

View the PDF here

 

The Impact of COVID-19 on Non-citizens and Across the US Immigration System

A report from the American Immigration Council that discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on non-citizens and across the U.S. immigration system. Read more about the report here: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/impact-covid-19-us-immigration-system

Click here to read and/or download the report

“The COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) pandemic, and the related federal response, disrupted virtually every aspect of the U.S. immigration system. Visa processing overseas by the Department of State, as well as the processing of some immigration benefits within the country by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), have come to a near standstill. Entry into the United States along the Mexican and Canadian borders—including by asylum seekers and unaccompanied children—has been severely restricted. Immigration enforcement actions in the interior of the country have been curtailed, although they have not stopped entirely. Tens of thousands of people remain in immigration detention despite the high risk of COVID-19 transmission in crowded jails, prisons, and detention centers that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses to hold noncitizens. The pandemic led to the suspension of many immigration court hearings and limited the functioning of the few courts which remain open or were reopened. Meanwhile, Congress left millions of immigrants and their families out of legislative relief, leaving many people struggling to stay afloat in a time of economic uncertainty.”

“This report seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the impact of COVID-19 across the immigration system in the United States. Given that the landscape of immigration policy is changing rapidly in the face of the pandemic, this report will be updated as needed.”