PRESS STATEMENT: Saturday, January 18th, 2025
PRESS CONTACT: Arjumand Khan-Akhan@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Community Alert: Know Your Rights

Dear Community Members,

We are taking a moment to advise all of our members and supporters to be vigilant this week, especially those who are immigrants or non-citizens.

Tomorrow, a new presidential administration will take office. We expect heightened immigration enforcement activity throughout the next four years, possibly beginning this week. Some members of the Trump administration have claimed they will target Chicago with immigration raids and patrols. While it is impossible to know whether these plans will materialize, we urge community members to be alert, prepare, and know their rights.

If you are stopped by an immigration officer (from ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement):

• You have the right to remain silent.
• Remain calm and keep your hands where officers can see them.
• Do not discuss your immigrant or citizenship status with police, immigration agents, or any other officials.
• Do not sign anything you do not understand. Ask to speak with an attorney.
• If an officer knocks on your door at home, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Teach your children or other household members not to open the door.
• ICE officers must have a warrant signed by a judge to enter your home. Many ICE “warrants” are not signed by judges; they are ICE forms signed by ICE officers and they do NOT grant authority to enter your home without your consent. Ask the officer to slide the “warrant” under the door for you to review.

Additional resources on how immigrants can prepare can be found here.

If you believe you are witnessing ICE activity, please call ICIRR’s 24-hour Family Support Hotline at 1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY (1-855-435-7693) to report it and write down any relevant information about what you witness.

Advancing Justice | Chicago is disseminating Know Your Rights cards in Asian languages so that this information is readily available when needed. As part of ICIRR’s statewide network, we are also launching a Rapid Response Team tomorrow that will document ICE activity and support impacted individuals and families. If you are interested in joining the Rapid Response Team, please contact Ellen at ezhou@advancingjustice-chicago.org. For any other questions or requests, please reply to this email.

In solidarity,

Grace and the Advancing Justice | Chicago team

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.  

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PRESS STATEMENT: Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025
PRESS CONTACT: Arjumand Khan-Akhan@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Illinois Fights Back on Pres. Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order 

{Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025}-In response to breaking news, Illinois has joined 21 other states in challenging President Trump’s newly signed executive order that seeks to block birthright citizenship. This executive order is being criticized as unconstitutional, as it contradicts the 14th Amendment, which guarantees that anyone born in the U.S. is an American citizen.  

The 14th Amendment holds particular significance in Asian American history because of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, a landmark Supreme Court case that upheld birthright citizenship for the children of noncitizen immigrants.  

Wong’s story mirrors that of many Asian Americans today. He was born in San Francisco in 1873 to Chinese immigrant parents. After traveling to China, he was denied re-entry into the United States based on his citizenship status. The U.S. government argued that he was not a citizen because his parents were not U.S. citizens. 

Citing the 14th Amendment, Wong Kim Ark fought the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won in 1898. The decision was a landmark victory that protected the constitutional right to citizenship for all children of immigrants. The legacy of this decision continues to impact Asian American communities today, as more than half of Asian Americans are immigrants (according to Pew). 

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago applauds Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul for defending birthright citizenship and the rights of immigrant communities in the face of racist and xenophobic attacks. 

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.  

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PRESS STATEMENT: Sunday, January 19th, 2025
PRESS CONTACT: Arjumand Khan-Akhan@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Statement on Gaza Ceasefire

January 19, 2025 – Today, Israel and Hamas implemented a ceasefire and an agreement to release hostages and prisoners on both sides. This momentous development paves the way for an end to the war in Gaza, which has had lasting effects on Chicagoland communities.  

Advancing Justice | Chicago is hopeful that the ceasefire brings a sense of relief to the many Illinoisans who have been impacted by the war. Although the recent rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism will have lasting effects, we remain steadfast in combatting bigotry, discrimination, and hateful rhetoric wherever they arise.  

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, November 6th, 2024
CONTACT: Arjumand Khan – akhan@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Responds to the 2024 Election Outcome 

The nation’s largest network of AAPI civil rights organizations, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, jointly issued this statement today.

Last night, Donald J. Trump was re-elected as the President of the United States. As an affiliation of civil rights organizations, we recognize that this result may evoke strong feelings, in the communities we serve and the partners we work with. Considering the harmful rhetoric expressed by his campaign, and the lasting impact of his previous administration, we remain steadfast in our work with and for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. We will continue to protect immigrant communities, fight voter suppression, and stand up against hate and discrimination.

In the face of suppression, intimidation, and language barriers, our communities mobilized to ensure that AANHPI voices were heard at each level of the elections. And we will continue to be vocal about the rights and dignity of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

With this new administration, Asian Americans Advancing Justice will:

Fight for the rights of immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+ communities, people with disabilities, and all communities of color.

Demand lawmakers practice humane immigration policies, expand Asian language access, eliminate hate and bigotry.

Advance human rights by defending the civil liberties of AANHPIs, women, LGBTQIA+ communities, people with disabilities, and all communities of color.

Fight for a society that is respectful and equitable for all Americans.

Election Day may be behind us, but our work is more urgent than ever. Together, we will swiftly respond to this rapidly changing environment.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliated organizations are Advancing Justice – AAJC, AJSOCAL, Advancing Justice – Chicago, and Advancing Justice – Atlanta.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, November 5th, 2024
CONTACT: Arjumand Khan – akhan@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Election Day 2024: Advancing Justice | Chicago Poll Watching Results

Chicago’s Only Watching Program Focused on Language Accessibility at the Polls!

Advancing Justice | Chicago monitored 221 precincts across Cook County to ensure voters who needed language assistance were able to cast their ballots.

CHICAGO (November 5th, 2024) – Voters in Illinois took to the polls today to cast their ballots for the presidential race, U.S. House races, state legislative races, and several local offices, including Cook County State’s Attorney and the historic Chicago Board of Education. Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago (Advancing Justice | Chicago) dispatched 36 poll watchers to monitor 221 precincts across Chicago and Cook County.

Poll watchers are sent to “designated language precincts” that have significant populations of limited English proficient (LEP) voters. Under the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the Cook County Voting Opportunity and Translation Equity (VOTE) Ordinance, these precincts are required to provide language assistance and translated voting materials.

Today, Advancing Justice | Chicago staff and volunteers monitored 100% of the designated Asian language precincts in Chicago and suburban Cook County.

“Being on-site, our poll watchers are able to observe voters, election judges, and polling place technicians, who provide us with direct feedback in real time as Election Day unfolds,” says Advancing Justice | Chicago Executive Director, Grace Pai.

The following Asian language groups are covered under the VRA and/or the VOTE Ordinance: Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese), South Asian (including Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu), Korean, and Tagalog.

Advancing Justice | Chicago runs the largest poll watching program for language accessibility in the city of Chicago and Cook County, ensuring LEP voters have a fair and equal opportunity to vote.

“It was extremely motivating to speak with election judges who were proud to offer multilingual options at their precincts. One of the judges I spoke with said it was very exciting to be able to direct voters whose preferred language is not English to the multilingual touch screen voting station,” says volunteer poll watcher, Alice Li.

Preliminary findings indicate that the majority of observed issues took place in suburban Cook County. While there were a handful of reports of missing translated voting materials or malfunctioning technology in Chicago, designated Asian language precincts in the city largely functioned as expected.

In suburban Cook County, on the other hand, dozens of poll watchers reported the absence of required bilingual poll workers. In addition, several precincts were missing bilingual ballots and informational voting materials. While the Cook County Clerk introduced a new poster with QR codes that linked to translated voting information in 12 languages, poll watchers did not observe any voters utilizing the QR codes.

Advancing Justice | Chicago will compile observations, data, and recommendations into a report that will be shared with the Cook County Clerk and the Chicago Board of Elections early next year.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at advancingjustice-chicago.org.

In leading up to each election, Advancing Justice | Chicago collaborates with a number of organizations on language access advocacy, including the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, HANA Center, Indo-American Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI).

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