The U.S. Department of Justice issued new rules to provide greater oversight, consultation, and coordination for all national security related cases.
Although the Department of Justice did not directly tie these changes to any particular case, they appear to be in response to recent high profile cases in which Asian Americans were suspected of economic espionage but were wrongfully indicted and arrested without the full support of the facts.
"We welcome the Department of Justice’s new rules to provide greater oversight in national security cases," said NCAPA National Director Christopher Kang. "When espionage-related charges are brought against Asian American scientists and dropped without explanation, it gives at least the appearance of profiling based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. Changes were clearly necessary, and while we hope that the additional coordination and oversight will prevent future incidents from occurring, these new policies are too late to repair the damage to the lives, reputations, and careers of Dr. Xiaoxing Xi and Sherry Chen. Both deserve a public apology, and Ms. Chen deserves to keep her job."
Science has reported that charges have been dropped against five Chinese-born scientists accused of crimes related to trade secrets theft or economic spying. U.S. citizens Dr. Xiaoxing Xi, chair of Temple University’s physics department, and Sherry Chen, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service, were each accused of sharing secret information with China. All charges against both were dropped, but left lasting damage to their careers and reputations.
In response, last November, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), along with more than 70 Asian American and Pacific Islander, civil rights, and civil liberties organizations, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch calling for an independent investigation into these cases.
Based in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is a coalition of 35 national Asian Pacific American organizations that serves to represent the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and to provide a national voice for our communities’ concerns. Our communities are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, currently making up approximately six percent of the population.
As my final week comes to an end, I can still remember the nerve-wracking feelings and frantically packing my whole wardrobe before coming to Washington, D.C.: I am about to leave Oklahoma for 10 weeks, spend the summer with 21 other OCA interns, live in a house of 12 people, meet Asian Pacific Islander leaders and work with the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a coalition of 35 national AAPI organizations. What did I get myself into?
One week prior to my flight, I remember trying to be proactive and make an everlasting impression by calling my direct supervisor, Kelly Honda, to discuss my responsibilities for the summer. Two weeks later, I officially became an NCAPA intern with Tiffany Chen, and little did I know that I would use #NCAPACrew and #NCAPAFamily three weeks into the summer, feel the support from Nisha, Kelly, and Mary, create strong, life-long friendships with my OCA cohort, and strengthen my old friendships.
Since last Monday, I’ve already dropped waterfalls of tears after spending time with my friends before they head back to their hometown or to a convention, or even if they’re still in D.C. So the thought of us going our separate ways allows me to reflect, drop more tears, and appreciate my summer. Honestly, I didn’t think that I would find a workplace where I felt comfortable and valued since I left my job at Almonte Library back in Oklahoma. The best part was watching the three staff run NCAPA (of course, there was the Executive Committee and other folks) without a National Director. Now, that’s impressive and they still made me feel included in the workspace.
There were five memorable experiences this summer:
SEARAC Leadership Advocacy Training: I didn’t expect this training to be exhausting and empowering at the same time. This three-day intensive training enabled me to be in a space with Southeast Asian American advocates where I learned about health, education, and immigration issues facing our community. I’m grateful to have this experience because this was the moment when I learned the privilege of being in Washington D.C. and advocating for my community, who are the ones who should be here but can’t be here. Since the training, I kept this concept in mind to motivate and remind myself that I am doing this for AAPIs and my community back in Oklahoma.
Advocating and lobbying for the All Students Count Act amendment:From scheduling visits with legislative offices to counting down the votes at the Senate hearing, this experience is hands down the most valuable and memorable moment of the summer. I will never forget the rush of adrenaline at the Senate hearing and then feeling disappointed when the vote was 47–50 because I definitely wish I could have done better to get those extra votes. However, multiple people have told me that this is the closest vote and I shouldn’t be too hard on myself because this is still progress on an issue that people have been working on for years. Since then, I still think about the ‘what if’, but I finally acknowledge that this is long-term work, and I’m extremely grateful to be part of this progress. For my in-depth experience, read my blog post here.
Spending a day with Dr. Ho Luong Tran, President & CEO of NCAPIP, her staff members, and Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu: During this day, I attended a congressional briefing where Dr. Tran was on the panel. I stayed a little bit after to chat with Emily Zhou, NCAPIP’s intern, and I wanted to meet Dr. Tran because I thought it was incredible to have a Vietnamese American woman as the President and CEO. Little did I know that she would invite me to dinner, and I would spend the entire day with David, Policy Manager of NCAPIP, Emily, Dr. Moritsugu and his family. There came a point where I asked for advice on my career path and family. Since this summer, I had a very a hard time wondering how to reconnect with my parents and manage my career path, especially when my family has high expectations for me to go into a high-paying field. The conversation with Dr. Tran was very much needed me for me because she is a Vietnamese refugee, became a doctor, and now, focuses her work on policy and advocacy issues for the AAPI community. She told me two things: have an honest and truthful conversation with my parents about what I want to do as opposed to what they want me to do. By doing this, I would ease my parents into this transition, since ultimately, they just want me to be happy. Secondly, Dr. Tran said to me, “I don’t care if you want to become an urban planner or a doctor, whatever you do, just make sure you’re advocating for the AAPI community.” The moment she said this, I felt a sense of relief, almost like an approval, because hearing this from someone who became a doctor and is from a different generation means so much to me. It’s no doubt that talking to her lifted a weight off my shoulders. It’s even better to be around her because she is the exact replica of me (or I’m the exact replica of her), and when we were together, it was a crazy, weird moment.
Advocacy Day with OCA: For the advocacy day, OCA interns went to Congress to advocate for Pell Grants and the AAPI community. This day allowed me to realize that I have knowledge and experience advocating on the Hill because in my group, I was the most experienced, which forced me to take lead. And I loved every single moment of it. I had Annie Liu and Elizabeth Ma in my group, and each of them did a wonderful job when we visited my representative from Oklahoma. Even though I went on several office visits with Kelly for the All Students Count Act amendment, this was my first time leading and speaking at legislative visits. On this day, I was able to combine my experiences with SEARAC and Kelly to effectively share my story and guide my group.
Quality time with friends & people: Of course, I will never forget the moments with people here. From living in a house with 12 people to a spontaneous Baltimore trip to random breaks for frozen yogurt with NCAPA to feeling empowered in progressive spaces, I wouldn’t have this summer any other way.
I really can’t believe it’s the end of my 10 weeks, and I’m truly going to miss my OCA cohort, but especially Mary, Nisha, and Kelly. Those three work together so well, and it’s really exciting to see everything they’re doing. I admire the three of them so much — more than they know. And it’s hard to leave NCAPA knowing that this will be our last time working together. As my friends have told me, if I start feeling all these emotions for others, then I know it’s been a worthwhile experience. I’m happy to say it’s definitely been a worthwhile experience, and I can’t wait to become their colleagues.
Reflections: The fight for AAPI data disaggregation
Four votes. We were four votes away from having the All Students Count (ASC) Act amendment pass on the Senate floor last week as part of the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The ASC amendment would enable school districts (K-12) to disaggregate data for the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, if the district has more than 1,000 AAPI students.
Why is this important? Often times, many people assume that AAPIs are successful minority groups--we have perfect lives, are financially stable, will eventually become doctors/lawyers/engineers, and somehow make it through society without any help. And that we’re all Asians, ignoring that fact that Vietnamese Americans are not the same as Chinese as Hmong as Korean as Laos as Indians as Japanese.
If the data are broken down into ethnic groups, you will find that Southeast Asians face more disparities (regarding health, education, economic, etc.) than other Asian groups and our white counterparts. This amendment would have allowed school districts to break down data on student achievement to include seven more subgroups, allowing districts to determine where the disparities exist and how they could best allocate resources and better understand the needs of the AAPI community.
Our two NCAPA interns had the opportunity to be in the Senate gallery and watch the session. Tiffany Chen is a rising junior at Johns Hopkins University, and Angie Tran is a rising junior at the University of Oklahoma.
Tiffany Chen:
Angie and I arrived at the Senate gallery in sweltering 92-degree heat in time to hear Senator Hirono introduce the All Students Count Act, affectionately referred to as Amendment 2109. From my vantage point, I could see Angie’s fingers twitch as she fought the impulse to inundate Senators Inhofe and Lankford’s Twitter feed with as much passive aggression as she could fit in 140 characters.
Even sitting in the outskirts among restless middle school tours, the enormity of this moment struck me. Senator Hirono, the first Asian American woman to serve in the Senate and the only currently serving Asian American member of the Senate, explained the very familiar narrative of the Asian model minority myth to an audience of about three other Senators. She described the obvious limitations of being defined by a single checkbox representative of nearly 18 million individuals, 30 countries of origin, and more than 100 unique cultures and languages. As a second generation Taiwanese American, data disaggregation is not only necessary for those students masked by high achieving AAPIs, but also as a small symbolic victory for me, having grown up referred to as the token ‘Chinese’ girl to my peers and teachers.
We came back to the gallery after a brief recess to watch the Senators vote on the All Students Count Act. The small airless space in the gallery grew increasingly more constricting as senators slowly trickled in, glanced at the bill, and cast their vote. Our small band of five lost count after around 40 votes were cast, so we resigned to watching the small figures of big individuals chat with other senators in attendance such as Senators Bernie Sanders, Harry Reid, John McCain, and other distinguished figures.
Ultimately, the amendment was rejected, with a final vote of 47-50. The weight and length of the day suddenly caught up to us, and we were all tired, upset, and a little discouraged. However, despite the outcome, I came away from this experience with three emotions in particular. First, gratitude towards the Senators who represent my home state of New Jersey, Senators Booker and Menendez, for demonstrating their dedication and support to serving the AAPI community. Second, pride in the voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represented by Senator Mazie Hirono, whose incredible leadership, activism, and perseverance resulted in this immense display of intersectional mobilization across the country. And finally, hope for the achievements to come for the AAPI community.
Attending the meetings and hearing the conversations surrounding the mobilization for this amendment helped reinvigorate my faith in these grassroot operations advocating for our community interests and reinforce my own decision to come to DC to fight for these small victories. As Parag Mehta, chief of staff to the Surgeon General, stated in his address to the WHIAAPI Youth Forum, “Progress doesn’t happen in a moment. Progress happens in a movement,” and if the past month is any indication of the determination of the our community, this movement is just beginning.
Angie Tran:
After learning the importance of data disaggregation when I arrived in DC three weeks ago, I began to reflect on my own experiences growing up in the Oklahoma City Public Schools system. It was only the past couple of weeks when everything clicked - Southeast Asian groups fall through the cracks because Asian communities are grouped into one category, obviously skewing the disparities. I am part of the Southeast Asian group. That’s why this amendment was extremely important for the AAPI community. And keep in mind, this would have impacted only 500 of 10,000 school districts. Of course, this is not ‘all’, but this is the compromise because ideally, we’d want all school districts to disaggregate data for the AAPI community.
One of the best parts was recognizing the Senators on the floor, especially those offices we lobbied.. Unfortunately, the offices we visited – majority voted ‘nay’, even the Oklahomies (Inhofe & Lankford). No doubt I was filled with anger inside, and I was tempted to stand up in the gallery and yell, “I’m an constituent from Oklahoma, and I cannot believe that you voted against this amendment.” As much as I was tempted to do so, I didn’t do it. However, we did get Senator Kirk from Illinois to vote in favor for the amendment. My heart was beyond happy.
Nonetheless, the amendment didn’t pass because we were short by three votes. See who voted for and against the amendment here. Afterwards, I had many, many emotions & questions going through me: disappointment, anger, empowerment.
What would have happened if this amendment passed?
Even though we have one more chance, what are our next steps to advocate for this bill?
Why didn’t three Senators vote? We could have had a chance.
To those who worked on data disaggregation, how are they feeling?
I helped scheduled the visits, what could have I done better?
I have been reflecting on these questions since last week, asking myself: “What could have I done better? What if I just emailed or called them one more time? What if I pushed the support out more on social media? What if I put more pressure on the Oklahoma Senators? Would it have made it difference?” This feeling is still lingering. However, my friends and the NCAPA staff & members have said this is “the closest” vote ever. The efforts that everyone has put in have made a difference. Then they would ask me, “What did you think? or “How was your experience?” At that moment, I reflect, and I tell them: this was probably one of the most valuable experiences because my role in this was important, and I learned that the preparation, the advocacy, the letters, the social media, the research, the support system, and the people do really make a difference. It may not be quick and easy as I want this amendment to pass and to give relief to those who have been working hard, but I realized that all of this cannot be done within one month, and this is a long process.
As the NCAPA education committee co-chair Monica Thammarath said: “The work we’re doing is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” She couldn’t have said that at a better moment because this is an ongoing experience, and I only got a taste of it.
The NCAPA Education Committee remains committed to advocate for data disaggregation in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We look forward to working with Members of Congress to address this important issue.
NCAPA National Director Mini Timmaraju’s farewell message
Dear NCAPA leaders and friends, Today is my last day serving as the National Director of NCAPA. I wanted to send you an update on NCAPA staffing while our hiring committee conducts their search for the next National Director.* Nisha Ramachandran will be our Policy and Operations Manager. In this role, she has oversight over our development and finance operation as well as policy work in civil rights, housing and economic justice and immigration. Nisha comes to us from Rep. Ami Bera's office where she was the APAICS fellow. Kelly Honda is our Policy and Membership Manager. In this role, she has oversight over our member services and programming as well as policy work in health, education and Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander issues. Kelly comes to us from Rep. Mike Honda's office where she was the JACL Mike M. Masaoka Fellow. Mary Tablante is our Communications Associate. She has been with NCAPA for almost two years and has served in several roles but most recently has worked closely with me to build NCAPA's internal communications capacity. Her undergraduate degree was in journalism and she has done extensive freelance writing. I'm particularly proud of the team we've put together and know the organization will be in excellent hands as we make this transition. Please feel to reach out to them with any comments, questions and concerns. It's been an honor to serve alongside the tremendous advocates that belong to our 34 outstanding member organizations. Thanks, again, for your support and for putting your trust in me. Best, Mini Please keep in touch! I can be reached after today on my personal email: [email protected] *As NCAPA searches for a new national director, please share the job posting widely at this link: http://bit.ly/NCAPA-National-Director
Thanks for your interest in participating in the #LiveTheWage challenge from July 24 - 30. Please fill out the form below to join NCAPA Chair Gregory Cendana in this 1-week movement to raise awareness for the need to increase the minimum wage. To learn more about how to budget and about the campaign, please go to http://www.livethewage.com.
ncapa replied to your panorama: Shipyard in South Korea
Gorgeous. What coast is this? Near Busan or somewhere else?
Thanks!
This is on Geoje Island in the southern province of Gyeongsangnam-do and is about 1.5 hours from Busan. Geoje is beautiful and it's finally warming up enough to where I can get out and get some good photos, though I sadly missed the cherry blossom season.
On the heels of the Pew Research Center study on the Rise of Asian Americans (see this post and this one), the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans has issued a response. Here is an excerpt:
The Pew Research Center’s study is an important conversation starter, but it should be balanced with a comprehensive understanding of community-based needs and concerns facing Asian Americans. We must acknowledge that there are a wide range of issues and concerns related to the economy, civil rights, and immigration that are on the minds of our communities. We need to move beyond one-dimensional narratives of exceptionalism about Asian Americans in order to better understand and address the diverse experiences facing our community members. NCAPA is committed to collaborating with researchers and policymakers to ensure that accurate and balanced information is provided about Asian American communities.
To read the entire statement click on the link in the title.
A communications coordinator for the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project said their spokespeople were too busy to comment on the NCAPA’s criticism.
