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Immigration Reform: An Asian Pacific Islander perspective

Immigration Reform: An Asian Pacific Islander perspective. Tom L. Hayashi, MS Ed, CFRE Executive Director OCA National Center Washington DC. OCA– Asian Pacific American Advocates.

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Immigration Reform: An Asian Pacific Islander perspective

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  1. Immigration Reform: An Asian Pacific Islander perspective Tom L. Hayashi, MS Ed, CFRE Executive Director OCA National Center Washington DC

  2. OCA– Asian Pacific American Advocates National membership driven non-partisan civil rights organization headquartered in Washington DC with over 100 chapters and affiliates across the United States dedicated to social, political, and economic equity and equality of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs). Founded as Organization of Chinese Americans in 1973, OCA today is a diverse and inclusive pan-Asian Pacific social justice organization which embraces the hopes and aspirations of all APAs.

  3. History of US Immigration Policy 1882Chinese Exclusion Act 1913Alien Land Law Act 1921 Immigration Restriction Act of 1921 (3%) 1924Asian Exclusion Act (2%) 1941Evacuation and Incarceration: People of Japanese Anc. 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act 1965Immigration and Nationality Services Act 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act 2013 ???

  4. Asian Americans and Immigration According to a 2012 Pew Research Center Survey, Asian immigrants make up approximately 36 % of new immigration population compared to Hispanics which no make up 31%.

  5. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA&NHPI) are the fastest growing group in the country with a population growth of 40 million by 2050. Nearly two-thirds of Asians in the United States are foreign born Of the 11.2 million undocumented immigrants, approximately 1 million are of Asian origin Nearly 4.3 million people, including 1.8 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders are waiting in family immigration backlogs AAPIs in Immigration

  6. Family Reunification • According to the US State Department, currently 1,960,000 Asian Pacific Islanders are in the family immigration backlog. • Married sons and daughters of US citizens from the Philippines have a wait of more than 20 years.

  7. Family Reunification How do we address it? • Provide adequate numbers of family-based visas per year. (see next slide) • Adjust per country limits • Allow US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor same-sex, foreign-born partners for immigration purposes

  8. Visa allotment Congress limits family-based immigration to 480,000/year • The number of immediate relatives (spouses, minor unmarried children, and parents of US citizens) is subtracted from the 480,000 to determine the number of other family-based immigrations. • Creates a backlog because only 226,000 (floor) visas are given to other family preferences (siblings, married children). 4 of the top 5 countries with the largest waiting list are from Asia (Philippines, India, Vietnam, China) 4.3 million are on the waiting list. • 1.82 million are currently on the waiting list from Asia Source: immigrationforum.org

  9. Thereza Lee • Born in Brazil, moved to Chicago, IL at age of 2 • At age 16, awarded scholarship to Chicago’s Merit School of Music. • Accepted into several of the country’s most prestigious music schools, but was unable to enroll because of undocumented status. • Inspired the DREAM Act

  10. Jose Antonio Vargas Founder of Define American, DREAM Activist, Pulitzer Prize Winner • Found out he had forged SSID and birth certificate when he went to DMV to obtain drivers license • Worked for Washington Post and won Pulitzer Prize for his groundbreaking coverage of Virginia Tech shootings • Created Define American to advocate for pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants • Testified before Senate • Has family in Philippines seeking reunification

  11. APA DREAMers • About 1.4 million DREAMers • About 8 percent are from Asia (112,000) • According to a recent UCLA study, DREAMers will add between $1.4 to $3.6 trillion in taxable income to our economy over the course of their careers. • Allows students to live up to fullest potential and attend a higher education institution with aid. • Prevents the “brain-drain,” giving a green card to those who obtain a higher education in the United States. Source: Immmigrationpolicy.org

  12. DREAM/ACHIEVE ActDevelopment, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act

  13. Critique of immigration policies • Immigration policies have and continues to be driven by xenophobia (fear of foreigners) expediently used as political dueling ground • While arguments for policy “reform” are cast with economic construct often referring to immigrants as a drag or liability to this country, they rarely characterize immigration as appreciatively, as a resource/revenue stimulus

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