Angelo Quinto's death spurs City Council to approve police reform measures

Angelo Quinto was handcuffed and not resisting police before police placed a knee on his neck.

Police reform measures were introduced during a marathon 7.5-hour special meeting of the Antioch City Council Friday, Feb. 27.

“It’s been a pretty turbulent week in the city of Antioch,” Mayor Lamar Thorope said to open the meeting, referring to several police-involved shootings that occurred last week.

Most of the Friday meeting was occupied hearing the hundreds of public comments submitted by residents, minority civil rights advocates, police supporters and family members of Angelo Quinto, the Filipino American who died Dec. 26 after police officers restrained him with a knee-to-the-neck, the same police technique that resulted in the death of George Floyd last Spring.

Thorpe offered seven proposals for police reform to the council including: Mental health crisis response, officer training, demilitarization of police, bodycams and dashcams, independent review of complaints, hiring and screening and public notification for major incidents.

All the proposals passed and were referred to staff for further study, basically to find the funding for the reform.

The first agenda item was hearing a presentation about an alternative to police responding to mental health episodes that has successfully been adopted in several cities. CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) involves sending out a mental health specialist and an EMT to deescalate those situations.

In their regularly scheduled city council meeting Tuesday, Police Chief Tammany Brooks said, “I do recognize that as devastated as we may feel, it does not compare to the pain felt by the family of the deceased,” Brooks said in part, stressing his interest in a transparent and trustworthy process.

“Should there be any violation of Antioch Police Department policies, I can assure the community I will hold these officers accountable for their actions. Regardless of the outcome, these investigations will be available for public review. Once completed, it is important that our community understand and have the opportunity to review the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident.”

The City Council, Quinto's famly and supporters are awaiting a coroner's report on the actual cause of Angelo Quinto's death.

On December 23, 2020, Quinto's sister Isabella Collins called Antioch police to their home, because he was acting erratically. When police arrived, Quinto was on the floor in his mother Maria Quinto-Collins's arms, and "he had already started to calm down." 

However, the two APD officers reportedly made no attempt to understand the situation and instead, immediately grabbed Quinto from his mother's arms, handcuffed him, and proceeded to "subdue" him by placing a knee on Quinto's neck for five minutes, according to his mother and sister.

By the time EMTs arrived, Quinto was already unconcious and bleeding from the mouth. He died in the hospital three days later.

The family is suing the Antioch Police Department for using excessive force  during a nonviolent incident.

AAPI scientists and engineers are among NASA's Martians who worked on Preserverance's Mars landing

Peseverance will look for signs of life on Mars.

Hollywood's version of NASA is so different from reality. For an agency that has long been depicted in movies, TV shows and in its own landing broadcasts as being predominantly built by white men, the Perseverance control room provided a striking new look for the National Aeronautics Space Agency.

The U.S. landing a rover on Mars last week could not have happened without the AAPI scientists and rengineers who have worked on the project.

In recent years, NASA has come a long way from its first diverse class of astronauts in 1978. On Feb. 18, many in the team of engineers that guided Perseverance on its journey were women and people of color. And most have worked for a decade to pull it off.

Swati Mohan

It was hard to miss Swati Mohan, an Indian American scientist in the front row, with a bindi on her forehead, who became the face of the Mars mission. She was the scientist who exclaimed, "Touchdown confirmed!" when the rover landed on the red planet's surface.

Mohan has been part of the Mars 2020 mission since it began in 2013. She explained to viewers the rover's mission milestones. She was the guidance, navigation and controls operations lead.

"Perseverance will be the first mission to use Terrain-Relative Navigation,” Mohan explained to KRTV. “While it’s descending on the parachute, it will actually be taking images of the surface of Mars and determining where to go based on what it sees. This is finally like landing with your eyes open. Having this new technology really allows Perseverance to land in much more challenging terrain than Curiosity, or any previous Mars mission, could." 

Mohan is an aerospace engineer and the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead responsible for Perseverance. Mohan was tasked to ensure the spacecraft that carried the rover was properly oriented during its travel and upon its landing on Mars, according to her NASA profile. 

She has also worked as an engineer on multiple other NASA missions, to Saturn and the moon.

SWATI MOHAN

NASA recognizes the value of diversity. 

"Diversity is a hallmark of NASA – after all, we wouldn’t be the agency we are without it." Clayton Turner, the first Black director of NASA’s Langley Research Center in a  February statement. 

Still, NASA has catching up to do on diversity: Recent employment numbers show 72% of NASA employees are white, with 12% Black, 7% Asian American, 8% Latino and 1% American Indian. Meanwhile, only 34% of NASA employees are women.

Allen Chen

Also working at JPL alongside Mohan is Chinese American systems engineer Allen Chen, who is currently the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Lead for the Mars 2020 project. As part of his role in the project, he co-led the joint science/engineering Mars atmosphere characterization team.

According to his bio profile on NASA, Chen conducted a number of advanced studies looking at landing capabilities, including opportunities such as Mars Sample Return architectures. During a NASA media briefing last month, Chen explained that the spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover will have to "slow from down to supersonic speeds using a 70-foot diameter parachute while still traveling at almost twice the speed of sound."

“Entry, descent and landing is the most critical and most dangerous part of the mission. Success is never assured. And that’s especially true when we’re trying to land the biggest heaviest and most complicated rover we’ve ever built,” Chen was quoted as saying.

Pauline Hwang

Pauline Hwang, who has worked for JPL for over 15 years, is the Strategic Mission Manager for Mars 2020 Surface Operations, according to her NASA profile. Hwang has previously worked on the Dawn Project, which studied the protoplanets of the asteroid belt, the prior Mars rover missions — Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity — and, most recently, a Martian lander project called InSight, which reached the planet in 2018.

In an interview with LA Parent, Hwang shared her experience in the space industry. "When I started working at JPL, it did not bother me that there were more males than females," she was quoted as saying. "My biggest challenge/epiphany was realizing that everyone, including me, has this internal unconscious bias of who could make a good manager (you automatically picture similar people who are currently managers) and how certain genders should behave in meetings. For example, it is accepted for a man to be loud, short and direct, but for a woman it can be poorly received and considered too blunt."

Ny Sou Okon

Ny Sou Okon is a Cambodian American flight system engineer who helped build the Perseverance rover alongside others at JPL, including her husband, who is also an engineer. Before she was born, Okon's family fled to Vietnam from their home in Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge, according to Press-Telegram. In 1984, when she was only 5 or 6, the family arrived in Texas. Her family eventually settled in Long Beach, where many Cambodians now live. She later went on to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering at UCLA.

Gregorio Villar III

Filipino American systems engineer Gregorio Villar III, who is head verification and validation engineer for the EDL phase of Perseverance, helped build and test a system that would land a car-sized rover on Mars. Villar also led an international council of atmospheric scientists to characterize the Martian atmosphere, according to PNA. Villar, who was awarded a NASA scholarship in his junior year of college, started his internship at JPL in 2010 and was hired full-time in 2012.

More AAPI scientists and engineers will continue the exploration of Mars through Preserverance. See who they are.

The team behind Perseverance. Zoom in.

Selena Gomez cooks Filipino food with chef Jordan Andino

Jordan Andino teaches Selena Gomez how to cook chicken adobo.

The second season of Selena + Chef is on HBO Max and she learns how to cook the Philippines' national dish -- adobo.

Pop singer Selena Gomez is learning how to cook curing the pandemic by inviting guest chefs to give her cooking lessons virtually. 

In the 6th episode of the unscripted Selena + Chef, Filipino Canadian chef Jordan Andino teaches her how to cook adobo chicken.

It's not surprising that Selena and her girlfriends love the results. It was the first time. they say, they had Filipino food, which is slowly coming gaining in popularity.

Andino, the charming and energetic Toronto native, grew up in a restaurant kitchen because his father was a professional chef and would often take his son to work. 

Andino's recipe includes oyster sauce, an ingredient that is not in my own recipe. I'm eager to try it. 

At one point, Andino Facetimes or Skypes his "lola," who gives a grandmotherly "It's OK," for Selena's results.

The other Filipino dish Andino teaches Selena to prepare is the mouth-watering turon, the plantain inside a lumpia wrap with generous amounts of sugar.

Andino is host of Late Nite Eats on the Cooking Channel. He’s also the Executive Chef at Flip Sigi, a Filipino taqueria in New York City, where he brings Filipino flavors and marries them with popular Mexican cuisine. Dishes include: adobo chicken tacos, adobo-rito and sinigang flip bowl. It's open for curbside pickup, if you're in the neighborhood.

Click here to watch full episodes of Selena + Chef.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Edited for clarity and headline fix Feb. 28, 12 p.m.

FilAm lawyers join veterans against Rescission Act

The call to abolish the infamous Rescission Act of 1946 is gaining momentum. Filipino WWII veterans have been asking to overturn the Congressional act that broke a promise from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA) renewed its call for the immediate repeal of the Rescission Act  and the proper recognition of the service of all Filipino World War II veterans.

Earlier, NFALA and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)  issued their support for repealing the act, which is still in the books. Filipino WWII veterans' groups have been calling to overturn the act as a matter of "honor" and "respect."

The Act effectively stripped thousands of Filipinos of their status as veterans and denied them the benefits they were promised by the United States government for their service. While under colonial rule of the United States, over 260,000 Filipinos answered the United States’ call to arms in World War II.

By the conclusion of World War II, there were four groups of Filipino World War II veterans: the Old Philippine Scouts, the Philippine Army, the recognized Philippine Guerilla forces, and the New Scouts.

The Philippine Army and guerilla forces suffered immensely during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

As noted by the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 

During the Japanese invasion, Philippine soldiers fought bravely alongside other members of the USAFFE. Both Americans and Filipinos suffered the terrible Bataan death march, indeed, Philippine soldiers endured particularly cruel treatment from the Japanese. Philippine guerrilla forces continued to fight during the Japanese occupation; their efforts undoubtedly made American reentry into the Philippines much less costly. As a foreshadow of what was to come, the Philippine Army and its guerrilla forces did not receive wages equal to those paid to the soldiers in the U.S. military and the Old Philippine Scouts. Sensing that the projected costs to pay Filipino veterans and their widows and children was nearing upwards of $3 billion, Congress passed the Rescission Act on February 18, 1946. At its core, the Rescission Act of 1946 retroactively annulled the service records of the Philippine Army, Guerrilla forces, and the New Scouts - making them ineligible to receive the benefits promised to them for their service. 

Importantly, of the 66 countries allied with the United States during WWII, the Philippines remains the only country specifically excluded from its soldiers receiving the promised military benefits from the United States. The excluded Filipino Veterans were effectively branded “second class veterans” resulting in these soldiers being disqualified from service benefits established by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. These benefits include “old age pensions” and access to free medical care at veterans’ hospitals and facilities. It also prevented these wartime veterans from obtaining U.S. citizenship as a member of the United States Armed Forces.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the passage of the Rescission Act of 1946, NFALA once again urges the immediate repeal of the Act and the proper recognition of the service of all Filipino World War II veterans. 

Specifically, NFALA calls upon Congress to: 

1. repeal the Rescission Act of 1946; 

2. reinstate the service records of all Filipino veterans affected by the Rescission Act of 1946; 

3. issue a statement recognizing the service of Filipino World War II veterans affected by the Rescission Act of 1946; and 

4. support efforts to extend benefits to and recognize the service of Filipino World War II veterans, including but not limited to supporting the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, Filipino Veterans Fairness Act, and the continuation of the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program. 

“For seventy-five years, America has turned its back on Filipino veterans affected by the Rescission Act of 1946,” said NFALA President Kristy Gonowon. “It is unconscionable that Filipino veterans never received their rightful benefits and the recognition they deserve for their bravery and service to this country. Repealing the Rescission Act is long overdue, and America must fulfill its contract with these veterans who fought for the United States.” 

NBA reportedly investigating racist incident against Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is currently playing with the Santa Cruz Warriors in his comeback attempt.

The National Basketball League is investigating a claim made by Jeremy Lin that he was called "coronavirus" during a game, an official from the NBA's G League told ESPN's Marc J. Spears on Friday.

Former NBA player and currently playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Lin took to Facebook on Thursday night to speak out against the surge of hate crimes experienced by Asians and Asian Americans in the United States.

In his Facebook post, Lin wrote: "Being a 9 year NBA veteran doesn't protect me from being called 'coronavirus' on the court."

“Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans,” Lin wrote on Facebook. “We are tired of being told that we don’t experience racism, we are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not make trouble. We are tired of Asian American kids growing up and being asked where they’re REALLY from, of having our eyes mocked, of being objectified as exotic or being told we’re inherently unattractive.

“We are tired of the stereotypes in Hollywood affecting our psyche and limiting who we think we can be. We are tired of being invisible, of being mistaken for our colleague or told our struggles aren’t as real. … I want better for my niece and nephew and future kids. I want better for the next generation of Asian American athletes than to have to work so hard to just be “deceptively athletic.”

Lin didn’t go into specific details about being called “coronavirus” on the court — without saying when or where this happened. Kerr said it was brought to his attention Friday night that Lin had expressed his dismay publicly.

Like most Asians and Asian Americans, Lin has watched the videos of people attacking Asian elderly and has been deeply affected.

"After a while, I feel bad,” Lin said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I feel bad for someone who harbors hate for somebody else who they’ve never met just based on skin color or, I don’t even know. It makes me want to do something and it makes me want to educate people, or I don’t know, speak out and find ways to make a difference. Honestly it goes from anger to just heartbreak.”

His entire social media posting follows:

Lin was the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. After graduating from Harvard in 2010, he signed up with the Golden State Warriors. 

In 2011, he played with the New York Knicks coming off the bench. for a stretch of games he was sensational and NYC's fans and media went crazy for him and Linsanity was born.

Hobbled by injuries, he bounced around the league, unable to capture the magic of Linsanity.

In 2019, no NBA team signed him up so he played for the Beijing Ducks, a  team in the Chinese professional basketball league. 

This year, the 32-year old turned down a multi-million offer from the Ducls to play in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors, affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. He hopes to prove that he still can play at a level that an NBA team would express interest in signing him up.

Biden opens the door for immigrants who have U.S. visas

President Joe Biden is reversing another Donald Trump executive order by lifting the ban that prevented many green card applicants from entering the country. Biden said that shutting the door on legal immigration did not help the U.S.

In issuing a new Presidential order, Biden has revoked Trump proclamation that blocked many green card applicants from entering the United States.

The order by former Trump, known as Presidential Proclamation 100014, cited a need to protect US jobs amid high unemployment rates caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump had frozen "green cards" for new immigrants and halted temporary work visas for skilled workers, managers and au pairs in the H-1B, H-4, H-2B, L-1 and J categories, he said to protect jobs.

The White House statement overturned Trump's order measure saying Trump’s ban separated families and “does not advance the interests of the United States”.

“To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here,” the statement reads.

"It also harms industries in the United States that utilize talent from around the world. And it harms individuals who were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for, and those who have likewise received, immigrant visas through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery. Proclamation 10014 has prevented these individuals from entering the United States, resulting, in some cases, in the delay and possible forfeiture of their opportunity to receive Fiscal Year 2020 diversity visas and to realize their dreams in the United States," the order continued.

Prior to the shutdown, about 65,000 of the visas were issued each year. The U.S. tech industry relied heavily on H-1B visa holders, most of them from South Asia, to fill jobs in the industry.

As many as 120,000 family-based preference visas will benefit from Biden's order allowing families to be reunited, according to the American Immigrant Lawyers Association. Immigrants could not bring over family members unless they were U.S. citizens applying for visas for their spouses or children under the age of 21.

Thin-skinned Senators might doom Neera Tanden's nomination

SCREEN CAPTURE / CNN

Neera Tanden's nomination is getting resistance in the Senate.

OPINION

The nomination of Neera Tanden appears to be in limbo, if not dead in the water. Two Senate committees which were supposed to vote on the Office of Management and Budget nominee Wednesday, had their votes postponed, presumably for the White House to garner more support for the embattled Indian American nominee.

Tanden's nomination is in trouble because of some combative tweets she sent out criticizing several senators on both sides of the aisle.

Who would have guessed that the senators had such thin skin, considering we've just gone through four years of one of the most offensive tweeters of all time. Donald Trump weaponized Twitter to viciously attack those who disagreed with him.

Some of the senators who were so offended by Tanden's tweets are the same senators who -- when asked about Trump's attacks -- said they hadn't seen the tweets or that they don't pay attention to social media.

At least three moderate Republicans the Democrats hoped would vote for Tanden said they would vote against her nomination.

Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania — have announced that they will vote against her nomination, citing her "mean tweets." They will be joined by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

“I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Senator (Bernie) Sanders to Senator (Mitch) McConnell and others,” Manchin said.

During a confirmation hearing in eaerly February, Sanders had grilled Tanden on her “vicious attacks”, to which she apologised and expressed regret over the statements she made on social media.

At another confirmation hearing, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, criticized Tanden on calling fellow Senator Susan Collins “the worst”, Republican Senator Tom Cotton a fraud, McConnell the “Moscow Mitch” and “Voldemort”, and for saying that vampires have more heart than Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

Tanden's tweets that offended the tender ears of the politicians don't even light a match when compared to the terrible things Trump said about his various critics or Republicans who dared question his policies.

When Romney voted to impeach Trump, Trump's resonse was, Utah “is the home of our worst senator ... Romney couldn’t be elected dogcatcher in Utah right now.”

"We can disagree with her tweets, but in the past, Trump nominees that they've confirmed and supported had much more serious issues and conflicts than just something that was written on Twitter,” Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) said in an interview after tweeting in frustration about Manchin’s reported hesitancy around some nominations. “This is not just about any one nominee like Neera, or whoever else — it's just about this pattern that is happening and increasingly hard to ignore.”

So far, the White House has stood fast in supporting Tanden. 

"We're continuing to fight for her confirmation," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday night, White House chief of staff Ron Klain told CNN, "we're fighting our guts out" to confirm Tanden.

Asian Americans, already stung by not having an AAPI named as a Cabinet Secretary, rallied to Tanden's support,

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus sent a letter  to the 100 senators. In the letter they cited her qualifications and the fact that AAPI need representation in the Cabinet.

“Ms. Tanden’s substantial policy, legislative, and executive branch experience makes her exceptionally qualified to lead the OMB and ensure that our nation’s budgets and programs reflect our shared values of hard work, fairness, and respect. As a daughter of a single mother who relied on public housing and food stamps to survive, Ms. Tanden understands firsthand the struggles that many Americans face every day and the pivotal role that government can play in leveling the playing field and creating an economy that works for working families,” wrote the Members. 

“As a former senior advisor during the Clinton and Obama administrations, a former legislative director in the U.S. Senate, and in her role as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for American Progress, Ms. Tanden is widely recognized as an expert in domestic, economic, and foreign policy. Not only is she a leading architect of bold policies designed to support working families, foster broad-based economic growth, and curb rampant inequality, but she is also a pragmatic policy maker who understands the importance of working across the aisle to find common ground on initiatives that will move our nation forward.”

Social media activity by AAPI groups ramped up using hashtags, such as #IStandWithNeera. A #YESNeera campaign that used the words “Yes to Progress Yes to Women Yes to AAPIs” reached more than 77.2 million people, according to the AAPI Victory Fund.

“She is being held to a much higher standard, even though nobody disputes her background and qualifications to be OMB director,” said Shekar Narasimhan, AAPI Victory Fund chair to Politico. “It’s becoming apparent this higher standard applies primarily to nominees of color, and it particularly hurts with historic nominations like Neera’s.”

Say their names: Number of Filipino Americans who have died at the hads of police is shocking

OPINION

It was the video of George Floyd that allowed America to watch a man gasp his last breathe that spurred a summer of demonstrations and calls for police reform and even "defund" law enforcement.

Floyd's death also reminded America of other African Americans who died at the hands of the police, starting with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Dion Johnson, and so many more.

Now we can add the names of Filipino Americans Laudemer Arboleda, Warren Ragudo, Bernie Villegas,  AJ Devillena, Mharloun Vverdejo Saycon, Mylene de Leon, and the latest victim, Angelo Quinto.

EJR David and Kevin Nadal wrote an article in Medium about the race-based violence and the death of Quinto who died after an Antioch, CA police officer placed his knee on his neck, the same technique that killed George Floyd. The authors compiled the list of Filipino American victims of recent police violence.

They wrote:

"Recent examples include 33 year-old Laudemer Arboleda, whose “suspiciousness” caused Danville, CA residents to call 911. Though he was not engaging in any criminal activity, nor was he armed, police chased him and shot him while in his car without any verbal warning. Warren Ragudo was a 34 year-old man in Daly City, CA, whose family called 911 after he began acting strangely. Upon using a taser gun on him twice, Ragudo stopped breathing and died. Family members say the officers did not even perform CPR on him. In Anaheim, CA, 36 year-old Bernie Villegas was killed by police after reports of a “suspected drug dealer” wielding a shotgun; after killing him, it was discovered that Villegas was carrying a BB gun. Then there were AJ Devillena (a 22 year-old war veteran in Palm Springs, CA) — who was believed to be drunk — and Mharloun Verdejo Saycon (a 39 year-old in Long Beach, CA) — a person diagnosed with schizophrenia described as “acting erratically” — who were both shot and killed by police officers. There was also Mylene de Leon Scott, a 38 year-old Filipina American from Virginia who was shot by police after her coworkers called 911 for her “strange” behavior."

This blog wrote about some of their individual deaths and other news outlets wrote about the incidents that caused their deaths. However, when put together in one paragraph, it becomes evident that Filipino Americans have become victimized by police force much in the way African Americans have been telling us for -- well, for centuries.

Perhaps, because the Filipino victims are Asians, no one, -- mainstream media, included, -- could believe police were acting out their racial biases when they confront the Filipino Americans.

I hate to say racism may be behind the way Antioch police responded to Quinto's crisis, or the fact it took a month before APD issued a press release about Quinto's death, or that it has been almost three months and no cause of death has been determined. But can we be blamed for wondering? 

I want to thank David and Nadal for putting the names of the Filipino American victims of police violence together. Individually, their stories are sad for family, friends and coworkers. But when listed together, it's shocking and should ring alarm bells with all AAPI communities.

Is their something more sinister at play?

Critics might say using the the "race card" in these incidents is an overreaction. Use of the term "race card" is a way of minimalizing very real concerns and pain.

Seeing the names of the Filipino American victims of police violence should make AAPI see the parallels with the Black Lives Matter movement. In fact, as the surge in anti-Asian hate incidents have shown, we have plenty in common with Black Lives Matter and more reason to strengthen the bonds between communities of color. 

Lawsuit filed against ICE use of contractors to arrest immigrants for deportation

Ny Nourn upon her release from ICE custody.

A private contractor which arrests immigrants released from state and local custody only to put them back behind bars in federal facilities faces a class action filed by a woman who has lived in the United States since she was 2-years old and fears being arrested and deported after serving 22 years in state custody.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus and the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a class-action lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on behalf of Gabriela Solano.

The suit asks a judge to find that policies by ICE allowing private contractor G4S Secure Solutions to arrest immigrants for deportation violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits using private security companies to make immigration arrests.

“Fully aware that ICE’s use of contractors is unlawful and dangerous, Governor Newsom has refused to stop collaborating with ICE,” said Jenny Zhao, a litigation staff attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus.

“Instead, he vetoed a bill in 2019, that would have prohibited state prisons from facilitating these arrests. We don’t need more rhetoric about California’s leadership; we need the Governor to take action and stop criminalizing immigrants and refugees."

Solano is a 48-year-old lawful permanent resident and survivor of domestic violence who was granted parole because of her demonstrated rehabilitation during her 22 years of incarceration. However, because of ICE’s unlawful private contractor policy, she faces imminent arrest by G4s once released from prison.

"I've been dreaming of being reunited with my family and community for so long, and now it could finally happen. But the fear of being arrested by G4S, locked in an ICE detention center, and possibly deported to Mexico, keeps me up at night,” Solano said. “I was brought here to the U.S. at the age of two and my closest family is here. This is where I hope to build a new life with the second chance I've been given."

According to the complaint, since at least 2016, ICE has sent G4S contractors to prisons and jails throughout most of California to arrest hundreds of people and transfer them from state and local custody to immigration custody. Many have been cruelly ripped away from their families and sent to out-of-state ICE prisons ravaged by COVID-19.

Many of those arrested have been children from refugees families who fled war-torn Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Some have been deported even though they have never set foot in those countries.

Ny Nourn was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after her mother fled genocide in Cambodia. She was sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop a murder committed by her abusive partner weeks after she turned 18. In May 2017, after the state of California deemed her suitable for release, she was arrested by a G4S employee and detained by ICE for six months.

She was granted protection from removal by an immigration judge and was later granted a full and unconditional pardon of her conviction by Governor Newsom. Nourn currently works at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus as a community advocate.

“For weeks up until my release, I was overwhelmed with stress and fear that I was going to be re-arrested all over again by ICE, face worse prison conditions in immigration detention, and may never see freedom in America again, the only home I’ve known since I was 5 years old,” Nourn said.

“On the day of my release, instead of being reunited with my family, I was arrested by a G4S officer who placed me in chains and an unmarked vehicle. All I could do was hold back my tears with feelings of shock, fear, numbness, and disappointment.”

The State of California is aware of G4S’s abusive practices yet continues to voluntarily collaborate and turn Californians over to G4S, claim the public interest attorneys. Further, state officials’ practice of continuing transfers to ICE during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the widely documented, gruesome conditions in ICE detention centers, exhibits a blatant disregard for their constitutional obligation to safeguard the welfare of those in their custody.

“Government funds shouldn’t be used to break up California families,” said Vasudha Talla, Immigrants' Rights Program Director at the ACLU of Northern California. “The Biden administration should revisit the current policies and ultimately cut off these pathways to deportation.”

Neera Tanden's spot on Biden's Cabinet as head of the OMB in trouble

SCREEN CAPTURE

Neera Tanden's nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget is in jeopardy.

Asian American activists and lawmakers rallied around Neera Tanden's nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget, which appears to be in trouble in the Senate.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, indicated Monday that they plan to vote against Tanden, citing her intemperate and now-deleted social media posts attacking GOP lawmakers.

Since the Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, Vice President Harris could cast the deciding vote, however that requires that all Democrats vote for Tanden. However, her nomination may be in jeopardy after Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., announced his opposition to Tanden late last week.

“Neera Tanden was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded healthcare to millions of American families, and has served as a senior policy advisor to Democratic Presidential campaigns and administrations…Ms. Tanden’s longstanding commitment to advancing policies that improve American lives makes her an ideal choice to serve as President Biden’s top budget advisor,” said Neha Dewan, national director of South Asians for Biden.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, already upset that an AAPI was not named to a Secretary position in Biden's Cabinet, sent a letter to all 100 senators indicating their support for Tanden.

“As a former senior advisor during the Clinton and Obama administrations, a former legislative director in the U.S. Senate, and in her role as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for American Progress, Ms. Tanden is widely recognized as an expert in domestic, economic, and foreign policy. Not only is she a leading architect of bold policies designed to support working families, foster broad-based economic growth, and curb rampant inequality, but she is also a pragmatic policy maker who understands the importance of working across the aisle to find common ground on initiatives that will move our nation forward,” said the letter.

Although the OMB is not a Secretary-level post, the OMB director is part of the Cabinet. Hoping to find some Republican support, the letter continued: 

"Throughout her career, Ms. Tanden has worked with both Republicans and Democrats to advance critical bipartisan policy initiatives from expanding the Child Tax Credit to pushing for greater healthcare access to advocating for robust skills training and innovation in education. She has also advanced practical policy solutions by working with organizations like the American Enterprise Institute, the McCain Institute for International Leadership, and R Street Institute, and will continue to prioritize commonsense policy solutions over politics as OMB Director."

Biden’s allies are encouraging his advisors to prepare for the possibility that the Senate may not confirm Tanden, according to CNBC sources.

The White House, however, has stood fast with Tanden despite the criticism. “I think the fact that the president nominated her to…be running OMB reflects his view that she’s the right person to be in his cabinet,” said spokesperson Jen Psaki, adding that the White House believed “her qualifications, her history of working across the aisle with people from different groups who have different points of view is a reflection of how she would do that role.”

What appears to be the issue are the numerous tweets issued by Tanden lambasting some of the current Senators is coming back to haunt the Indian American nominee. Most of the tweets have been deleted but senators have long memories and thin skins, it appears.

In a tweet which has since been deleted, Tanden called Collins ‘the worst’ and attacked her in another tweet for her questioning of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.

"Susan Collins' terrible treatment of Dr. Ford should haunt Collins the rest of her days," Tanden tweeted during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, when Blasey Ford raised allegations against him.

“The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms. Tanden,” said Maine's senior senator in a statement Monday morning.

Biden reportedly called Manchin to calm him down and the White House is looking at other Republicans for support. That includes Sen. Lisa Murkowski, D-Alaska, who hasn't publicly stated her vote.

A confidant Naomi Osaka wins her fourth Grand Slam

TWITTER

Naomi Osaka celebrates the final point in her Australian Open victory.

After winning her fourth Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open over the weekend, Naomi Osaka shows signs of becoming a superstar. With each passing year, she grows more mature and more comfortable with herself. 

The Japanese American tennis pro, who now lives in Los Angeles, decisively defeated fellow American Jennifer Brady. 6-4, 6-3 Saturday.

“The last time I won here I was kind of playing off anger, in a way. Just because I felt like I wanted to stamp my place on the tour,” she said of her 2019 title. “This time around I’m more at peace with where I am, and I’m honestly just happy to be playing a Grand Slam in a pandemic.”

Osaka may be the dominant force in women’s tennis. Seven-time Slam-winner Mats Wilander said he believes Osaka can win 10 Grand Slams.

“I feel like Naomi Osaka is starting to form an aura around her now of almost invincibility,” on hard courts, tennis legend Chris Evert said on ESPN. “Something we’ve seen for 20, 25 years with Serena.”

Later, showing how much she has grown from earlier in career when she left press conferences in tears, Osaka brushed off the compliments. She promised not to be weighed down by “pressure and expectation” after her fourth Grand Slam victory sparked talk she could end up winning 10 majors.

Osaka becomes only the third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win their first four major finals, and will rise to second in the world rankings.

As 23-year old player matures and her career continues more victories are sure to come. The highest-earning women's player in the world hopes to be an inspiration to the next generation.

“Hopefully I play long enough to play a girl that said that I was once her favorite player,” she said.

Filipino American dies after police apply knee on his neck

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

The family of Angelo Quinto held a press conference Thursday.

The deadly knee-to-the-neck technique that killed George Floyd was used by police against a Filipino American and might have caused his death. 

The family of a 30-year-old Angelo Quinto is filing a wrongful death suit against officers in Antioch, California who answered a 911 call Dec. 23. Quinto was rendered unconscious and bloody. He was pronounced dead at a hospital three days later.

"He said ‘Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me,’" Quinto’s mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins told KTVU, describing her son's last words. "I was there. I was watching them. I trusted them. I thought they know what they’re doing."

ANGELO QUINTO

“His biggest fear was death and his second biggest fear was the police,” said Quinto's sister, Isabella Collins, who made the 911 call when her brother was having a mental health episode. “That’s where my guilt comes from.”

Tactics used by Antioch police are in question here, says the family's attorney, John Burris.

“He was snatched from his mother’s arms, thrown to the ground. Police jumped on him and literally put a George Floyd-tight hold on the back of his neck,” said Burris during a Thursday press conference.

Antioch police have released almost no information about the case. A press release about the incident wasn't released until Jan. 25 when the East Bay Times inquired about Quinto's death. It has been almost three months and the coroner still hasn't released a cause of death report. APD and the city have been silent except to say no violence was used. In a statement Thursday (Feb. 15), APD's Lt. John Fortner said the investigation is still open.

Antioch police went to Quinto-Collins's home in December when her son Angelo Quinto was having what she calls a mental health crisis. Two days before Christmas, the former Navy sailor was suffering an episode of paranoia, which he began having after a recent head injury, says his family.

His sister called 911 when she and her mother had trouble calming Quinto. When police arrived, his mother had him a bear hug to prevent him from injuring himself or others.

"One officer was holding his legs and the other officer had his knee or lower leg here," the mother told KTVU, indicating the back of her neck.

By the time paramedics arrived, Quinto wasn’t moving and blood was coming out of his mouth, say family members. When paramedics transferred him to their ambulance, Quinto was already unconscious.

APD told The Mercury News that the cause of death is still unknown and a toxicology report can take weeks.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Edited 10:45 a.m., Feb. 21 for clarity.

Three siblings and their grandmother die trying to stay warm in their powerless Texas home

NGUYEN FAMILY

The Nguyen children who perished in a house fire.

Three siblings and their grandmother died in a fire as they tried to keep warm against the freezing weather experienced by Texas Feb. 16.

The Nguyen children -- Olivia, 11; Edison, 8, Colette, 5 -- and their grandmother, 75-year old Loan Le, died in a blaze firefighters suspect spread from their fireplace Tuesday.

By the time firefighters arrived at their Sugar Land house at 2 am. the Nguyen hoe was already engulfed in flames. Firefighters had to restrain their mother, Jackie from rushing back into the house.

The fireplace was being used to provide warmth. The neighborhood had been without power since the freeze gripped the state and forced power and water plants to shut down.

The father, Nathan Nguyen, is separated from Jackie and lives in another home in Sugar Land.

Two GoFundMe pages have been established to aid the family. One will raise funds for a foundation to provide tuition assistance to students of their school. St. LaurencelCatholic School. The second GoFundMe page is to raise funds to be directed to the children's topics of interest.

The Nguyen children are part of the 30 deaths as a result of the frigid temperatures and power outages that have plagued Texas for over a week.

"These angels were witty, funny, each with their owners funky and sassy attitudes, and each were extremely loved by me and the entire family," the children's uncle said. "This is a tremendous loss to my brother, their father, to all of us, and we are trying to live and deal with this unbearable pain."  

Congressional leaders call for action against attacks on Asian Americans

Members of Congress held a virtual press conference denouncing anti-Asian violence.

The outcry against the continuing acts of violence directed at Asian Americans has reached the U.S. capitol.

Friday, members of the Congressional Tri-Caucus – composed of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) – held a press conference with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries to condemn the recent spike in anti-Asian hate crimes and violence in recent weeks.

“It is a profound and unacceptable injustice that the AAPI community faces not only the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis right now, but also the growing threat of bigoted attacks against their community," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "This epidemic of violence is a challenge to the conscience of our country, which our Democratic Congress is committed to combating, confronting and ending.”

Since March last year when Stop AAPI Hate began accepting reports of hate acts against Asians, there have been about 3,000 incidents reported.

The recent unprovoked attacks against AAPI elderly, some of which were videotaped by security cameras, struck an emotional chord with the Asian American community. Respecting and honoring seniors is part of most Asian cultures.

Members of Congress and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice issued the following statements:

“Attacks on Asian Americans have become an almost daily tragedy in our country. My heart breaks for the thousands of Asian American families that have been terrorized by this xenophobic violence since the start of the pandemic. But I am also encouraged by the support from other communities of color, Congressional leadership, and the Biden Administration,” said Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), CAPAC Chair. 

“This terrible violence is the deliberate result of a party that put xenophobia and blame shifting ahead of the health and safety of fellow Americans, and that is why it means so much to have a new President and elected leaders at all levels of government who are willing to condemn attacks against the Asian American community and push back on racist slurs like ‘Kung flu’ and ‘China virus’ that have put lives in danger," continued Chu.

“Hate has no place in America, but rates of harassment, bullying and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have risen dramatically in the past year. President Biden condemns and denounces anti-Asian xenophobia,” said Ambassador Susan Rice, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. 

Biden has made racial equity a cornerstone of his administration. Days after taking office the President signed a Presidential Memorandum on combating anti-Asian xenophobia, which directed departments and agencies within the federal government to take steps to combat anti-Asian bias, and partner with AAPI communities to prevent hate crimes and harassment. 

"As part of the Administration’s whole of government approach to advancing equity, we are focused on improving federal data disaggregation, removing language access barriers, and ensuring equal opportunities for AAPI communities,” said Rice.

The press conference was held on the Day Remembrance to recount the injustice towards Japanese Americans when they were incarcerated during WWII.

"As we shed light on the rise in hate crimes against the AAPI community, we dedicate this day to the nearly 120,000 innocent people who were wrongfully interned by our government solely because of the color of their skin, the shape of their eyes, and their Japanese heritage. What the AAPI community is experiencing today compared to what Japanese Americans experienced almost 80 years ago may be different, but the root cause of it is the same: scapegoating and mass blame,” said Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41), CAPAC Second Vice Chair. 

“Hate and discrimination against the AAPI community has been a long-standing problem, but it has been made far worse by the pandemic and because powerful leaders, like Trump and Republicans who enabled him, spread fear, misinformation, and racist rhetoric to advance their political agenda and cover up their incompetency in response to this virus, said the California representative.

“My heart goes out to the families of Vicha Ratanapakdee, the 61-year old Filipino man whose face was slashed with a knife in New York City, and any family or individual who has been impacted by the sickening and disturbing violence we’re seeing against Asian Americans,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33), CAPAC Whip. 

“These racist acts of violence have been fueled by the hateful rhetoric of the previous administration, who in an attempt to scapegoat, wrongfully blamed an entire community for spreading the coronavirus," said Lieu. 

"When the leaders of our country use terms such as ‘Kung-Flu’ – there are real world consequences. Asian American families are afraid to send their children to school and families are worried about their elderly parents or grandparents leaving their homes. This is not right. We will not stand for this senseless violence nor any form of discrimination or harassment against Asian Americans.”

“It is incredibly tragic that, as we just celebrated the Lunar New Year, we are still seeing a surge in Anti-AAPI hate crimes and violence,” said Rep. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10). “Whenever there is a crisis in America, there is a history of wanting to blame someone, and in this case, it is the AAPI-community. 

"Because of the honor and respect our culture has for elders, watching them become the victims of this violence is even more painful and horrifying," said the first-term member of Congress. "In addition to the physical violence, we must also condemn the verbal abuse we have seen. We need action now, and we want to see consequences so that this behavior does not continue."

NYC rally planned for Black, Latinx & Asian Americans condemning wave of racist attacks

In response to the recent spate of attacks against Asians, a rally organized by activists from the Black, Latinx and Asian American communities is planned in New York City will be held Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. in Washington Square Park.

 

“The current justice system is pitting Black and Asian communities against one another, just like how news sources did during the L.A. Riots,” Rohan Zhou-Lee, one of the organizers of the rally who is of Black and Asian descent, said. “We can fight Anti-Asian and Anti-Black hate at the same time.”

Since the start of the pandemic to the end of 2020, about 3,000 attacks against Asians have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a community group that began collecting hate reports against Asians. 

A recent report by the Asian American Bar Association of New York stated: 

"Anti-Asian hate incidents increased dramatically in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and then surged after the election of Donald J. Trump. South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Middle Eastern communities all faced recurring cycles of harassment and violence. Since the onset of the pandemic, however, anti-Asian hate incidents now primarily directed at East Asians have skyrocketed according to both official and unofficial reports. Across the country, there were more than 2,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents related to COVID-19 between March and September 2020. And this number understates the actual number of anti-Asian hate incidents because most incidents are not reported."

In recent weeks, violent attacks against Asian American elderly have spurred people to express their outrage beyond social media in the form of rallies to bring attention to the racist attacks against Asian Americans that have skyrocketed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the attacks included:

• In New York City, a 61-year old Filipino American, Noel Quintana, was slashed across his face as he rode the subway on his way to work. Police are asking for tips to identify the attacker.

• Earlier this week, on Tuesday, a 52-year old woman was attacked in Flushing, New York City and shoved to the pavement gashing her head that required 12 stitches. Police have arrested a 42-year old suspect who was taped on surveillance video.

• Two Asian women were attacked in the NYC subway system on Tuesday: Just before 7 a.m. at the 125th and St. Nicholas Avenue station, a 68-year-old woman was punched in the back of the head while she waited for an train. In the second assault, at 11:45 a.m., a 71-year-old woman on a southbound train was punched in the face while the train was between 5th and 7th Avenues.

• Also this week, a woman was punched while riding a trolley in San Diego. The  attacker was identified by witnesses and police arrested the suspect two days later.

• Earlier this month, a security video captured an attack on a 91-year old man who was violently shoved to the ground in Chinatown of Oakland, CA. A suspect  with a criminal record has been arrested

• Across the bay in San Francisco, an 84-year old Thai American Vicha Ratanapakdee died after being pushed to the ground banging his head on the sidewalk. His attack was arrested.

What is troubling is in that none of these incidents were provoked by the victim. They appeared to be random attacks, simply because their victims were Asian and not likely to fight back.

“All this extrajudicial violence has killed people of color indiscriminately,” Zhou-Lee, who is also part of the LGBTQ+ community, added. “We have to imagine a new world of justice rooted in compassion, not a system built on the slavery of Africans, the genocide of the Indigenous, the exploited labor of Asians, and the lynching of all the above.”

The gathering on Saturday is free and open to the public, but wearing a mask and practicing social distancing is required.