Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Blog

  • The Civil Rights Division and AAPI Communities

    Posted by Thomas E. Perez on May 25, 2012 at 9:00 AM EDT

    The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all individuals.  Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have made significant progress in expanding access to opportunity in recent decades.  However, discrimination persists, and access to opportunity all too frequently remains elusive.  As a result, the Civil Rights Division remains actively involved in the enforcement of civil rights laws in a variety of settings relevant to AAPI communities.

    The Civil Rights Division continues to work to ensure that all students have access to equal educational opportunity.  On December 2, 2011, the Departments of Justice and Education released two new guidance documents making clear that educators may consider race in carefully constructed plans to promote diversity or, in K-12 education, to reduce racial isolation.  The guidance recognizes the learning benefits to students when campuses and schools include students of diverse backgrounds.  On May 6, 2011, in conjunction with the Department of Education, the Division issued a letter clarifying school district obligations to enroll students regardless of their, or their parents’ or guardians’, actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status.  The guidance was disseminated nationwide to ensure that undocumented students are able to enroll and participate in school.

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  • Changing Faces, Changing Government

    Posted by Audrey Buehring on May 24, 2012 at 1:35 PM EDT

    I am hapa, half Chinese and half German.  To complicate my ethnicity even more, my mother – though ethnically Chinese – was born and raised in Vietnam.  When I was growing up, I often struggled with my ethnicity and my identity.  Because I look white, I never felt accepted by the Asian American community.  And because I was raised by a strong Chinese mother, I didn’t identify with American culture. 

    More recently, I realized that I actually relate to most Americans.  Because most of us have a common story, a common thread.  Our families came here to achieve the American dream.  Immigrating to this great nation of ours with hardly a dollar in their pockets, they worked hard and paved the way for the next generation to have better opportunities. 

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  • Advancing Justice: The Fight Against Human Trafficking

    Posted by A. Marisa Chun on May 23, 2012 at 9:00 AM EDT

    The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) mission is to “enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment . . . and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.” 

    Having spent part of my childhood in Seoul, Korea, only 35 miles from the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea and where fewer opportunities for girls and women were the norm, the Department’s mission resonates with special meaning.  It has been an honor to serve under several administrations to help advance DOJ’s critical mission. 

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  • Unprecedented Government/Community Engagement

    Posted by Miya Saika Chen on May 22, 2012 at 9:00 AM EDT

    I am honored to serve in this Administration’s White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which is grounded in the fundamental premise that no community is invisible to its government.  When President Obama re-established the Initiative, we embraced our charge to engage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) nationally and connect them with federal policymakers and resources.

    I have grown up in and around grassroots organizations that have molded my consciousness – community health centers, AAPI legal advocacy organizations and places of worship – institutions that are leading, innovating and building strategies in alignment with federal agencies’ priorities to improve the health and wellbeing of the community.  These organizations are effectively leveraging the unique cultural and communal assets that already exist within AAPI communities as tools to inform and empower.

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  • Social Security Benefits AAPIs

    Posted by Carolyn W. Colvin on May 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM EDT

    As Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, I am proud to be part of an agency that touches the lives of almost every American throughout the lifespan.  For many, we represent the “face of government,” and we take this responsibility very seriously. 

    We recently sponsored a roundtable in collaboration with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).  Many national advocates attended, including representatives from the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and other key AAPI organizations.

    We discussed the critical role that Social Security plays in the economic well-being of AAPIs, and we also explored issues related to service access.  In particular, we reviewed some of the unique communication challenges that AAPIs, who speak over one hundred languages and dialects, face when trying to utilize government services.

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  • Hepatitis B and the AAPI Community

    Posted by Ramey Ko on May 18, 2012 at 9:00 AM EDT

    Like many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, University of Texas student Ver Starr didn’t know much about viral hepatitis when his fraternity decided to make the disease the focus of their Spring 2012 Philanthropy Week.  Ver remembered getting vaccinated as a child, and he and his brothers had heard enough to know that Hepatitis B was a special concern for the AAPI community, but not much else.  After he began planning for Philanthropy Week, though, he was astonished to learn that although AAPIs make up approximately 5% of the US population, we comprise over 50% of Americans with chronic Hepatitis B.  This means approximately 1 in 12 AAPIs are living with Hepatitis B.

    Unfortunately, he also learned that despite these alarming statistics, many AAPIs are not tested for Hepatitis B, and most of those living with the disease do not know it.  For many, Hepatitis B is a "silent" disease, and decades can pass without any noticeable symptoms.  Tragically, many people find out about the infection for the first time the same way Ver's high school friend's mother did, only after developing Hepatitis B-related liver cancer.  For many patients, including Ver's friend's mother, it is often too late to save their lives.

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