12/30/2019: Anti-CAA protests spread in the U.S.
By: The Yappie
Tags: Politics, Activism, Issue, Asian American, Immigration

On the Agenda

FEDERAL DATA POINTS TO ESCALATING HOMELESSNESS CRISIS IN CA: A substantial spike in homelessness in California fueled a 2.7 percent increase in the nation’s homeless population in 2019, according to newly released data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development — suggesting that the homelessness and poverty crisis among AAPI communities in the state is worsening. Read more.

The details: Homelessness in California reached a “crisis level” in 2019 and increased by 21,306 people (16.4 percent), more than the total national increase of every other state combined. The release of the data comes after a November PRRI/AAPI Data survey found that one in four California AAPIs are working and struggling with poverty, and 2017 figures from HUD showed that homelessness among Asian Americans is growing faster than any other racial group.

UPDATE — AAPI GROUPS BLAST CUOMO OVER DISAGGREGATION BILL VETO: AAPI groups are expressing frustration following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) decision to veto legislation championed by Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou (D) that would require state agencies to collect and publish detailed data on AANHPI ethnic groups. In a petition led by the Chinese-American Planning Council, the groups alleged that Cuomo’s veto “shows a lack of willingness to stand up for our communities.” Read more.

CAMBODIAN REFUGEE GRANTED PAROLE BY GOV. NEWSOM DETAINED BY ICE: Tith Ton, a Cambodian refugee who was granted parole by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) after serving 22 years of a life sentence for the killing of a rival gang member, has been handed over to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation, the Sacramento Bee’s Theodora Yu writes. AAPI activists, the Asian Law Caucus, and the Asian Prisoner Support Committee had urged Newsom to halt the deportation of Cambodian refugees like Ton with past criminal convictions. Read more.

UPDATE — OFFICIALS REACH TRUCE WITH MAUNA KEA PROTESTERS: Activists protesting the planned construction of a $1.4 billion telescope on Mauna Kea have agreed to move part of their encampment off a major roadway, the Honolulu Civil Beat reports. Hawaii Governor David Ige ordered the withdrawal of law enforcement from Mauna Kea earlier this month and plans for construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope have been delayed until February. Read more.

WASHINGTON STATE’S AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OPPONENTS AREN’T GOING AWAY: Less than a month after Washingtonians narrowly rejected Referendum 88, which would have ended a two-decade ban on affirmative action, Chinese immigrant activists in the state are vowing to monitor the development of related executive orders or legislative bills “that would circumvent people’s will,” the Seattle Times reports. Read more.

AMERICAN SAMOANS’ CITIZENSHIP STATUS REMAINS IN LIMBO: The citizenship status of thousands of individuals born in American Samoa is still unclear after a federal judge in Utah, who previously ruled that they should be recognized as U.S. citizens instead of “noncitizen U.S. nationals,” put the order on hold pending appeal. The government of American Samoa joined U.S. attorneys in opposing the grant of birthright citizenship in court, while NBC Asian America’s Michelle Broder Van Dyke writes that some American Samoans are concerned about losing their indigenous political system and land rights. Read more.

THE LONG READ — THE CLIMATE CRISIS ISN’T JUST TAKING PACIFIC ISLANDERS’ HOMES, IT’S TAKING OUR IDENTITIES: Leilani Rania Ganser, a Kānaka Maoli and CHamoru activist, writes in VICE that indigenous communities are facing a loss of identity and culture as rising tides continue to swallow the Pacific Islands. Read more.