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#DACA #DAPA #immigration #not1more #enddeportations

ASPIRE-LA: Immigrant Lives In Debate

"Exploitation, Displacement, & Criminalization: The Stories of API Immigration." Thanks to @APSAUCI for giving us the opportunity to lift up the voices of #APIimmigrants and enagage our community. (at UC Irvine Student Center)

#apiimmigrants

FOR FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 25, 2014

CONTACT

Trina Lei Pasumbal

ASPIRE-LA Member

[email protected]

Justice Denied for Mike Brown and Family

Los Angeles, CA -In light of the of the grand jury’s decision on the lack of indictment on Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, we at ASPIRE LA feel incredibly enraged and heartbroken at the constant injustice the black community has faced in the hands of law enforcement. We stand in solidarity with Michael’s Brown’s family as well as the protesters in Ferguson and across the country who are demanding for justice for their own Michael Brown’s. We have seen countless situations where young black men’s lives have been cut short because of unjust police shootings.

We ask that the people in this country realize the failure of the law enforcement system, and how it oppresses people of color and disproportionately so, the black community. We believe that the police in this country needs to be demilitarized and we support the Brown family’s push for a requirement that all police officers must wear cameras to create accountability and to show how law enforcement agents treat people of color, especially those who are black, with little to no respect.

Let there be no confusion about the fact that a “post-racial” United States does not exist; everyday, people of color, as well as people living in poverty, immigrants, members of the LGBTQ community are being deported, incarcerated and murdered by this system that was built to oppress us. We as immigrants understand that just like how our immigration system was built to deny us of our rights, the criminal justice system was similarly built to target people of color and severely so, the black community.

No Justice no peace!

Demilitarize the police!

Fight on Ferguson!

Black Lives Matter!

# # #

ASPIRE Los Angeles is a pan-Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented youth organization in the Los Angeles area. We are a chapter of ASPIRE, the first pan-Asian undocumented youth organization in the nation. We are a space of support, advocacy, and leadership development for undocumented Asian and Pacific Islander youth. We fight for the rights our communities and families by advocating for inclusive pro-immigrant policies.

Facebook: facebook.com/AspireLosAngeles

Twitter: @ASPIRE_LA

Our members participating at the .@AAAJ_LA presser on #AdminReleif with .@RepJudyChu @NILC_org! Thanks for the pic @amadorlara #AAPIs4Relief #not1more #DeferredAction4All #ImmigrationAction (at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles)

#aapis4relief #not1more #deferredaction4all #adminreleif #immigrationaction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 21, 2014

CONTACT

Seth Ronquillo

ASPIRE-LA Member

[email protected]

6 Million Left Behind

Los Angeles, CA - As a collective of Asian-Pacific Islander undocumented immigrant youth, ASPIRE - Los Angeles challenges the extent of President Obama’s announcement to provide administrative relief for the undocumented community, as we recognize the many immigrant families that have already been torn apart by the delay of this announcement and continue to fight for the many more who are excluded by this narrow policy.

President Obama’s legacy of enacting over 2 million deportations during his administration cannot be undone. Even with this new administrative relief, families that have already been unjustly separated will not be reunited, nor will the trauma from detention and deportation be forgotten. Immigrant youth and our allies have called on the President time and time again during the past year to immediately end the inhumane deportations and the family separation that has plagued our community. So in spite of his recent announcement, the fact remains that the President delayed his action in favor of politics, thus ruining the lives of many immigrants and immigrant families seeking a better future.

We further denounce the president’s rhetoric which continues to defend the false narrative that immigrants do not pay taxes, when in fact, we contribute billions into the federal, state, and local taxes already without getting any benefit in return. This announcement also shows that deportations will not stop, as the president remarks on prioritizing the removal of “criminals,” even though it is known that our criminal justice system also needs to be fixed--a topic which, in itself is in need of dialogue, because the issue of criminalization and deportations are well intertwined.

While a significant number of undocumented immigrants will benefit from this new form of relief, the harsh reality that many more will remain ineligible for this policy makes it difficult for our community to celebrate this moment. The diverse circumstances of our community members have allowed us to form families beyond the traditional definition, and many of our fellow undocumented immigrants who have close ties to us and to this country will continue to be in threat of deportation and separation from their loved ones due to the confines of this new administrative relief’s qualifications.

The mother of ASPIRE - Los Angeles members, Madeleine and Madison Villanueva, who does not qualify for this new policy said, “I am driven by the hope of seeing my 86-year-old mother in the Philippines. Administrative relief will finally let her hug and kiss her granddaughters after 12 years. I still believe that this country could be a great place to live and work [in] if the immigration system is implemented in a more effective manner."

As the implementation of this administrative relief is finalized in the coming weeks, we urge the president and all the participating agencies to consider the feasibility of the application process and its fees for the undocumented immigrant community. Although the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy opened up new opportunities for undocumented youth throughout the country, the $465 application fee continue to deter many DACA eligibles from applying to this day, and the complexity of the required documents that would allow undocumented youth in underground economies to prove their continuous U.S. presence has also been a challenge. With the announcement of this new administrative relief, we wonder how we can call a policy true relief if those who need it the most are unable to avail it.

Already, we know that anti-immigrant groups--from the congressional to the local level--will attack what little this new administrative relief provides, but with the consciousness that deportations and the militarization of the border will continue in spite of this new policy, our desire to fight for the undocumented immigrant community only intensifies.

We cannot forget that no matter how this administrative relief may be portrayed, it is really the perseverance and the collective power of the diverse undocumented immigrant community that has brought about this change. We will continue to fight for the inclusion and the right of undocumented immigrants to live with dignity and to have the security they deserve as invaluable members of this society. We refuse to be criminalized and to be labeled as disposable by a government who has no problem harvesting the fruits of our labor, and yet refuse to recognize and value our lives as human beings. Until we do not have to prove the social and economic value of our community’s existence in order to be deemed deserving to stay in a country that boasts of freedom and equal opportunities for all, we will continue to fight and reject the idea that any type of exclusive relief is considered a victory.

# # #

ASPIRE Los Angeles is a pan-Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented youth organization in the Los Angeles area. We are a chapter of ASPIRE, the first pan-Asian undocumented youth organization in the nation. We are a space of support, advocacy, and leadership development for undocumented Asian and Pacific Islander youth. We fight for the rights our communities and families by advocating for inclusive pro-immigrant policies.

Facebook: facebook.com/AspireLosAngeles

Twitter: @ASPIRE_LA

More pictures from last night ! #AdvancingJusticeLA #ASPIRELa (at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles)

#advancingjusticela #aspirela

@ASPIRE_LA at the @AAAJ_LA dinner last night! #AdvancingJusticeLA (at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles)

#advancingjusticela

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus asked the Obama administration to make its delayed announcement to slow deportations before Thanksgiving, but was told it will be before the holidays at the end of...

Asian and Pacific Islander Immigrant Youth Denounce Political Game of the President and Democratic Party

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/6/2014

CONTACT Madison Villanueva ASPIRE-LA Core Member [email protected]

Asian and Pacific Islander Immigrant Youth Denounce Political Game of the President and Democratic Party

Los Angeles,CA - Asian Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education Los Angeles (ASPIRE-LA), a pan-Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented youth-led organization releases the following statement:

On Saturday, September 6, President Obama announced that he will delay taking action on providing administrative relief until after the midterm elections. The decision, as reported by numerous news outlets, was based on the fear that the Democratic Party would be hurt in elections if a change in immigration policy was enacted. Once again, the President has failed to protect migrant lives despite multiple promises. It has become clear to our community that the President has chosen to play politics rather than do what is right. This postponement of administrative relief perpetuates the violence of detention, deportation, and separation of families inflicted on our community. We demand the President and the Democratic Party to stop playing politics with our lives. We demand immigration to be treated as the human issue that it is, rather than as a political platform.

For every day administrative relief is delayed, 34,000 of our loved ones will fill detention centers to satisfy a horrendous and unjust quota. Every day, 1,100 people are violently separated from their loved ones and deported. “This is the reality our community faces,” said Josaen Ronquillo, ASPIRE-LA member.

It is shameful that the President callously disregards our lives, time and time again, for votes. Delaying comprehensive immigration reform, reviews of deportation conditions by the Department of Homeland Security, and executive action does not win seats–it destroys lives.

“Regardless of which party is in office, the safety of our community is always at risk,” said Kit Lee, ASPIRE-LA member. Our movement has never been about getting certain people in office. It has always been about bringing our community justice, something that the Democratic and Republican Parties have failed to do. Instead, both parties have been and are responsible for the separation of our families and communities, the criminalization and exploitation of our people, and the militarization of the border.

For this reason, we, as our own advocates, will continue to mobilize. Undocumented youth have made gains through their advocacy with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). It is time to expand administrative relief for all immigrants in the country. We will escalate our efforts to ensure that our community is treated with dignity, respect, and justice.

# # # ASPIRE-LA is a pan-Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented youth led organization. We are a chapter of ASPIRE, the first pan-Asian undocumented youth organization in the nation. We are a space of support, advocacy, and leadership development for undocumented Asian and Pacific Islander youth. We fight for the rights our communities and families by advocating for inclusive pro-immigrant policies.

Facebook: facebook.com/AspireLosAngeles Twitter: @ASPIRE_LA

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