FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Issues Statement on Details of New Public Charge Rule Which Will Go Into Effect Today

CHICAGO, IL – Today, on February 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final public charge rule will go into effect nationwide. The new DHS rule made sweeping changes to the previous «public charge» test and will disproportionately block lower-income immigrants of color from obtaining lawful permanent residency, getting a green card. The expanded public charge rule also will make it harder for immigrant workers and international foreign students from extending or changing their visas and undermine the ability of green card holders to re-enter the U.S. if they have spent more than six months abroad.  

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, issues the following statement:

“We are extremely disappointed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s intervention to implement the Trump administration’s changes to the public charge rule. However, litigation proceeds on the merits in the lower courts. Moreover, the State Department’s parallel public charge regulation, which governs how the test is implemented abroad, is also set to go into effect today. On Friday, February 21, 2020,  a New York federal district court denied a motion that would prevent the DOS rule from going into effect on February 24, and the Trump administration has issued the final forms and manual changes required to implement the regulation.

We condemn these racist policies, which seeks to dramatically undermine the family-based immigration system that has been the backbone of our country and instead prioritizes wealthy and white immigrants. The public charge rule change continues the administration’s inhumane assault on immigrant families by increasing denials of green card applicants.

Public benefits are essential in helping families stay healthy and thrive. Weighing the likelihood of future benefits use, along with discriminatory factors such as English language proficiency, is unjust, unnecessary, and does not strengthen the country. The administration has intentionally sought to scare immigrants and their families from using public benefits. Since the rule change was proposed at the end of 2018, over 13% of immigrant adults are reported to have dropped their use of public benefits out of fear of risking their future green card status. With the rules now final, the effect will be even more devastating for our communities.

As a nation, we should prioritize accessible pathways to lawful permanent residency and eventual citizenship, reuniting families, and helping them succeed. Immigrant families deserve the right to reunite with their loved ones and use programs to ensure they are healthy, safe, and thriving. We will continue to fight against the many attacks on immigrants and their families.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a group of five civil rights organizations issued the following statement and call to action about the coronavirus:

We are disappointed and disturbed by the discriminatory sentiment aimed at Asian Americans in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic in Asia. In order to prevent xenophobia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice calls on the media to be conscious of how they frame stories around the coronavirus and for social media platforms to dispel the spread of misinformation. We also urge the public to refrain from targeting Asian Americans. Common sense needs to prevail where people understand and focus on the facts of the virus.

No amount of fear can excuse prejudice and discrimination against Asian Americans. Throughout history, Asian Americans have been wrongly targeted due to mass hysteria, from the use of the racist term “Yellow Peril” to refer to East Asians as a danger to Western civilization to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. Every Asian American has the right to go to school, work, and other public places without being subjected to racial discrimination. 

We encourage individuals who have experienced a hate incident or other racist actions tied to the coronavirus outbreak to report it to StandAgainstHatred.org.

Contact:
Megan Singson, (312) 271-0899, msingson@advancingjustice-chicago.org

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice | Chicago.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Bill Restores Due Process Protections for Immigrants With Criminal Records

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, SEARAC Applaud
Introduction of New Way Forward Act

 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) applaud the introduction of the New Way Forward Act by U.S. House Representatives Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Karen Bass, and Ayanna Pressley.

The New Way Forward Act advances the national conversation on immigrants with a criminal record by restoring due process protections for all immigrants, including immigrants in deportation proceedings. Key components of the bill include the below provisions:

• • Eliminating mandatory detention
  • Ending deportations based for certain convictions
  • Restoring judicial discretion for immigration judges
  • Creating a five-year statute of limitations for deportability
  • Establishing an opportunity to come home for certain deported individuals or non-citizens in deportation proceedings

In particular, the restoration of judicial discretion for immigration judges would help individuals like Cuong Nguyen, a Vietnamese individual who arrived in the United States at 11. Nguyen is a nail technician and nail salon owner with a 3-year-old son who was Hub detained for over two years in ICE detention and faces deportation for a 13-year-old criminal conviction.

“For the last two years, my loved ones have been living in fear of my deportation. After serving a 24-month prison sentence for my mistake, a decade later I was suddenly separated from my family, missing my son’s first birthday and forcing my wife to be a single parent and manage our business alone without knowing when I would return. That is why the New Way Forward Act is important to me. By restoring judicial discretion to immigration judges, they can finally look at my case, see my family and my contributions to my community, and hopefully provide me and others in my position the relief we so desperately need,” said Nguyen. (more…)