By MICHELLE TIO
Rafu Shimpo

On June 26, Asian American Pacific Islander community leaders and politicians held a press conference in Little Tokyo to express their support of undocumented immigrants and condemn recent actions by the Trump Administration to terrorize immigrant communities.

Speakers included members of the AAPI Equity Alliance, a coalition of community organizations that is “dedicated to improving the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through civic engagement, capacity building, and policy advocacy,” as well as members of the Los Angeles City Council and the chair of the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Conference.

In recent weeks, the world has watched as the Trump Administration’s deportation efforts have dramatically escalated, with White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller reportedly pushing for 3,000 detentions a day. Immigrant communities have been living in fear, with some cities becoming ghost towns as many immigrants have been terrified of leaving their homes.

Viral videos show unidentified, masked agents with assault rifles kidnapping people of color and even detaining citizens. Immigrants in Los Angeles have been detained at places once seemed safe, including workplaces, schools, outside of courthouses, and even churches.

Los Angeles is particularly vulnerable to these immigration enforcement actions due to its large undocumented population. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that 951,000 undocumented individuals lived in Los Angeles.

Additionally, while many targeted in recent immigration enforcement actions have been of Latino descent, City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado — a Filipino American representing District 14, which includes Little Tokyo — noted that this issue affects everyone.

“Make no mistake, this isn’t just a Latino issue,” said Jurado. “This is an AAPI issue and this is an L.A. issue. Our undocumented neighbors are not strangers, they’re co-workers, classmates, neighbors, family members and friends.”

Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, emphasized that AAPIs are also at risk. “Our AAPI community members and our immigrants are too being taken. They’re being taken in a way that is less public, yet it continues to be just as urgent and devastating as it is for any other community… When they go into (required annual immigration) check-ins with our attorneys, more often than not they get detained.”

Assemblymember Mike Fong of the 49^thAssembly District, chair of the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, spoke about the necessity of uplifting and protecting immigrants. “Immigrants have made and continue to make great contributions to our state and to our nation, and we must stand together against the federal administration’s targeting of workplaces, schools, hospitals, and protect the constitutional rights of all people in the United States regardless of immigration status.”

Peter Gee, co-executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center, tied recent events to America’s troubling history of racist incarceration. “I stand here… in Little Tokyo, where tens of thousands of families were forcibly removed and detained without due process. That history lives with us. And today we’re seeing the same forces at play, fear, racial scapegoating and unchecked government power.”

Other speakers included Manjusha P. Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance; City Councilmember Nithya Raman of District 4; John Kim, president and CEO of Catalyst California; Chanchanit (Chancee) Martorell, founder and executive director of Thai Community Development Center; and Oscar Zarate, director of external affairs of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

The AAPI Equity Alliance announced a July 1 call to action (“Stop the ICE Raids: Reclaim Our Streets”), stating, “‘Reclaim Our Streets’ actions will gather neighbors to honor the lives of our loved ones who have been stolen through a procession of art, music, and altars in their honor… We must continue to come together and tell one story — loud, unified, and impossible to ignore. Will you join us, to reclaim our streets?”

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