Politics

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Six Asian Americans won seats at the New York City Council in the recent Democratic primaries, a rare feat of several candidates making history together. The general election will be held on November 3. The primary winners are Shahana Hanif, Shekar Krishnan, Felicia Singh, Sandra Ung and Julie Won and Linda Lee. Soma Syed won …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   For the first time, Asian American history will be taught in public schools across the country, starting with Illinois in the 2022-23 school year.   Illinois will become the first-ever state to require that Asian American history be taught in public schools, according to Politico, a leading newspaper in the nation’s capital. Illinois may be …

AAPI Victory Fund President Varun Nikore praised New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang “on his well-fought campaign,” although falling short in the recent Democratic Party primary.     Yang had conceded he would not be the city’s next mayor. Early results showed him in a distant fourth place. The primary will decide the party’s official candidate in the November …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Two American lawmakers of Asian ancestry have introduced “The Covid 19 Hate Crimes Act” in the 118th U.S. Congress to address the surge in racist acts against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPIs, which began when the pandemic started last year. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D, HI) said the bill would, among other things, …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Asian American leaders hailed the “historic” appointment of Assemblyman Rob Bonta as the first Filipino American California Attorney General, and linked it to addressing anti-Asian hate acts and violence.   In his first statements, Bonta indeed vowed to combat hatred. “This will be one of my first priorities as your Attorney General: to ensure those …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Successful technology entrepreneur Andrew Yang is running for mayor of New York City. He launched his candidacy on January 14, with the grandson of America’s civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. as co-chair of his mayoral campaign. At  the launch, US Congressman (NY-15) and campaign Co-Chair Ritchie Torres called Yang “a problem solver who’s …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Asian American advocates have lauded President Joe Biden’s policy changes addressing their urgent concerns, which they assert are Mainstream America issues as well. These are: 1) Immigration reform, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA; 2) anti-Asian American racism; 3) the Census; 4) a fast-tracked, concerted pandemic response, and 5) the $1.9 trillion economic …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   The year 2021 will see more Asian Americans take public office at all levels, some of them making history in the process. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was not the only American candidate of Asian ancestry who won big in the November elections. According to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), a total …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   President-elect Joe Biden’s promise to reverse immigration policies, and to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on Day One–after his noontime inauguration on January 20, 2021–is welcome news to some 700,000 DACA recipients. The figure includes 16, 000 Asians. The DACA and immigration reform issue is in Biden’s stack of Day One …

5 Ways Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris is a Winner   By Jennie L. Ilustre   Kamala Harris became the nation’s Vice President-Elect when unofficial count showed Joe Biden had topped the required 270 Electoral Votes to win this year’s presidential elections. Incumbent President Donald Trump got 232 Electoral Votes.Biden garnered a total of 306 Electoral Votes.  On December 14, the …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Signs point to a ‘Blue Wave, a Democratic sweep in this year’s elections, according to polls and analyses by political experts. Reason: The pandemic, as well as the narrowing of President Trump’s base as women, suburbanites, and seniors have flipped for his Democratic rival Joe Biden.   Three Asian American leaders, who have grassroots experience …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   A recent survey showed that Asian American voters would turn out in record-breaking numbers, by mail or in person on November 3, for this year’s presidential election – and could potentially provide the margin of victory in some battleground states.   “Asian Americans saw a record high level of midterm election turnout in 2018,” said …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Americans of Asian ancestry mourned the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, noting that the nation and the community not only lost a unique American, but a civil rights champion as well.   President Trump and the Senate have declared that a replacement would be named and confirmed sooner rather …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Asian American leaders and friends have hailed the “historic” and “inspiring” choice of US Senator Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate.   Former Vice President Joe Biden, the party’s candidate for president in the November 3 elections, announced Harris as his running mate on August 11. Harris was among Biden’s several rivals …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Nikki Haley’s star got even brighter with a knock-out speech on the first night of the Republican National Convention, which formally named President Trump as its standard bearer in the November 3 elections. One speech and Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor, further elevated her profile as a …

By Jennie L. Ilustre Across the country since the start of the year, Asian American healthcare professionals have been in the frontlines fighting the pandemic involving covid-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. They are doctors, nurses, hospital support staff, Emergency Medical Technicians or EMTS, and even volunteers. They are all dedicated and focused on healing their patients, day in and …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   The nation’s Asian American civil rights organizations have strongly denounced President Trump’s Memorandum to exclude the undocumented from the 2020 Census as “unconstitutional,” and would take legal action to nullify the executive order. Remarked John C. Yang, Executive Director of Advancing Justice–AAJC, based in the nation’s capital: “There is no end to this President’s attempts …

By Jennie L. Ilustre You are not alone. We are here to help you if you experience verbal or physical assault, hate crimes or racial discrimination due to coronavirus (Covid-19) misconceptions or xenophobia, defined as prejudice against people from other countries. This, in effect, was the message of coalitions of Asian American advocacy organizations nationwide. In the nation’s capital, the …

APAs are ‘amazing people,’ and  Virus Spread ‘is not their fault’ By Jennie L. Ilustre Asian American leaders welcomed the strong, categorical declaration by President Trump that it is “very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States,” noting growing verbal and physical attacks on Asian Americans across the country. The President stressed that the …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Americans of Asian descent, reflecting the nation’s increasing polarization, are strongly divided on the impeachment of President Trump by the House of Representatives on December 18. Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The impeachment issue has also galvanized Asian American groups from both political parties into intensifying their efforts in …

By Jennie L. Ilustre   Advocates and politicians like to emphasize the urgency of their causes by noting that it is about “the future of our children and our children’s children.” It is not a cliché at this turning point in the nation’s history.     Truly, too many issues have acquired fire-alarm urgency. And because globalization and technology have …

Last month,  district courts blocked the Trump administration’s rule that attempted to deny green cards to immigrants who fail to meet tough income tests or use public programs.  This victory for immigrants means that the rule that was supposed to take effect on October 15 will be stopped while the court battles proceed. It’s still important to understand how the …

By Jennie L. Ilustre American voters of Asian heritage can be a swing vote in battleground districts in the November 6 midterm elections, according to political observers in the community. “Where can Asian American and Pacific Islander voters have maximum impact in 2018?” is the title of Sono Shah and Karthick Ramakrishnan’s piece for Data Bits, the official blog of …

By Jennie L. Ilustre American candidates of Asian ancestry who won their recent Republican and Democratic primaries in Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island and New York were lauded by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS). The primaries determine the party’s nominees for the midterm elections on November 6. APAICS is led by Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, who succeeded Floyd …