5 reasons why Asian Americans must support executive action on immigration
by Erin Oshiro, Prerna Lal and Sandhya Bathija
Word has it that President Barack Obama will take action on immigration any day now, providing relief for what could be up to five million immigrants. The faces and stories of Asian immigrants are often left out of the national immigration conversation, but Asian American families face similar hardships caused by our broken immigration system as other immigrant groups.
In August, Advancing Justice | AAJC sent a letter to President Obama highlighting why action on immigration is important to Asian Americans. If you haven’t already, now is the time to tell the president you support him in taking action. Here’s why:
1) Most Asian Americans are immigrants or the children of immigrants.
Sixty percent of Asian Americans are immigrants. We know firsthand that this country is built on the hard work of immigrants because Asian Americans are contributing to making our country better every day. By ending deportations, easing the visa backlog system, and making it easier to naturalize, the president will open to door for more immigrants to contribute and improve our country.
2) Asian Americans are being deported, too.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates than 1.3 million Asian Americans are undocumented. More than 250,000 Asian Americans have been deported under the Obama Administration, and many of these are refugees who fled to the U.S. after the wars in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. They have little or no family connection to the country they are sent back to.
The president can stop these deportations by ending heavy-handed enforcement programs like 287(g) and Secure Communities, which racially profile and target people who look “foreign.” The president can also encourage the government to exercise discretion before deportation, taking into consideration that those who pose no danger to the community and have fled persecution should be able to remain in the United States.
3) Most Asian Americans have a family member, friend or otherwise know someone who has waited decades for a family-sponsored visa.
Many Asian American citizens and green card holders have sponsored close family members living in other countries to join them in the United States. Right now, more than 4.2 million loved ones are waiting to join with their families in the United States. Though Asian Americans make up only six percent of the U.S. population, nearly one-third of family-based visa applications are from Asian countries. Because of ridiculously long waits, nearly 1.8 million people from Asian countries are waiting for a visa. President Obama can use his executive authority to ease the backlogs and reunite families more quickly.
4) Asian Americans value family above all else and believe families should stay together.
In 2012, as many as 112,000 Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented youth were given the opportunity to remain lawfully in the United States through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. But now, even though these young people can stay in the U.S., their parents risk detention or deportation. President Obama can legally take action to ensure that these families can stay together and no longer live in fear of being separated.
5) Asian Americans know what it’s like to be excluded.
Asian Americans were the first immigrants to be excluded based on ethnicity or country of origin by U.S. immigration laws. Beginning with the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, Asians were effectively barred from immigrating to the U.S. and ineligible for citizenship. It was not until changes to immigration law in 1965 that Asians were able to immigrate to the U.S. in large numbers.
Our immigration experience has taught us what it feels to be denied access to opportunity and equal footing. We must stand in solidarity with other immigrant communities in demanding policies that embrace immigrants and their contributions.
It’s past time our elected officials take action on immigration. Call the White House and tell President Obama you support him in granting the relief Congress failed to deliver to immigrants.
Erin Oshiro is senior staff attorney, immigration and immigrant rights at Advancing Justice | AAJC. Prerna Lal is the NAPABA Law Foundation Partners and In-House Counsel Community Law Fellow at Advancing Justice | AAJC. Sandhya Bathija is the director of strategic communications for Advancing Justice | AAJC.
