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THE WHITE HOUSE Leaders of AANHPI civil rights advocacy organizations met with President Biden and top staff at the White House on Thursday. |
Biden wanted to stress to the group, that his administration is doing its best to advance his campaign promises. The meeting with AAPI leaders Thursday was the third such meeting after Biden and Harris met with Black and Latino community leaders.
"Let me start by acknowledging that on this day, in 2012, I was with another friend who’s half Sikh — he’s a Sikh. And we were on — dealing with the 10 people shot in a hateful act of bigotry at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Seven people lost their lives that day," said Biden as he opened the meeting.
"Today, we honor everyone impacted by this tragedy. And we think about all the pain during this pandemic, with the rise of hate crimes, harassment, bullying, and other forms of bias against Asian Americans. It seems not to stop," he said.
"Let me start by acknowledging that on this day, in 2012, I was with another friend who’s half Sikh — he’s a Sikh. And we were on — dealing with the 10 people shot in a hateful act of bigotry at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Seven people lost their lives that day," said Biden as he opened the meeting.
"Today, we honor everyone impacted by this tragedy. And we think about all the pain during this pandemic, with the rise of hate crimes, harassment, bullying, and other forms of bias against Asian Americans. It seems not to stop," he said.
He also paid recognized the role of AANHPI frontliners in combatting the coronavirus pandemic. The Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community has “been on the front lines from the beginning and is critical to helping us vaccinate America,” Biden said.
Despite the executive order condemning the attacks against Asians and signing of the Hate Crimes Act, and the appointment of AANHPI to top-level positions in his administration, the President acknowledged that there is much more to be done to address AAPI concerns.
"The community is also critical in keeping the U.S. economy strong. In six months, we’re seeing the fastest growth at this point in any administration’s history — in no small part because of this community.," said Biden. "The fastest-growing economic growth in nearly 40 years."
"The community is also critical in keeping the U.S. economy strong. In six months, we’re seeing the fastest growth at this point in any administration’s history — in no small part because of this community.," said Biden. "The fastest-growing economic growth in nearly 40 years."
The definition of what constitutes a hate crime came up for discussion after the shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis earlier this year did not meet the criteria for a hate crime by the prosecuting attorney despite the victims included Sikh workers; and one of the county District Attorneys in Georgia did not seek hate crime charges against the Atlanta shooter who killed eight people, six of whom were Asian.
Satjeet Kaur, Executive Director of the Sikh Coalition, brought up the case of a shooting in Seattle where hate crime charges were also not sought.
“One thing we have to understand is that hate crimes should not require a singular motive of bias,” said Kaur. “Oftentimes with crimes you have multiple reasons as to why that happened and so we need to close the federal loophole and that was absolutely discussed.”
“We discussed the importance of protecting the right to vote and how South Asian and Asian American communities—which turned out in record numbers in 2020—are now the target of voter suppression efforts,” Indian Impact Fund executive director Neil Makhija told The Yappie. “The president acknowledges that our communities are essential to the fabric of America, but our current laws undermine these values.”
Makhija said that the topic of Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act was brought forth by those at the meeting, as well as the America’s Children Act, according to The Yappie.
“It was an honor to be able to thank President Biden for his legacy in passing the 1980 Refugee Act, which allowed my family and our refugee community to find safe haven in the United States — and to share the heartbreaking condition of those same refugees who today have final orders of removal for crimes of youth and poverty committed decades ago,” said Quyen Dinh, Executive Director of South East Asian Refugee Action Committee (SEARAC).
"he Biden-Harris Administration expressed their commitment to protecting democracy amidst a rise in autocracy," said Christine Chen of APIAVote.
"We support the Administration’s efforts to pass the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancements Act. While they may not take a straightforward path, we were reassured that it remains a high priority. We will continue to work with the Administration to ensure stories from our community are used as examples of the danger these anti-voter laws have."
Also on Thursday, Biden offered an 18-month “safe haven” to thousands of Hong Kong residents to remain living in the U.S. rather than to face repression by being deported to the Chinese-controlled territory affecting approximately 330,000 visitors, students and workers from Hong Kong who are currently in the U.s., according to a senior administration official.
Also on Thursday, Biden offered an 18-month “safe haven” to thousands of Hong Kong residents to remain living in the U.S. rather than to face repression by being deported to the Chinese-controlled territory affecting approximately 330,000 visitors, students and workers from Hong Kong who are currently in the U.s., according to a senior administration official.
“The level of engagement with our communities shown by this Administration is something we have not seen in four years, and we greatly appreciate the attention that the President, Vice President, and their teams have given this issue," said Dinh.
The AANHPI leaders in attendance Thursday included:
- Seema Agnani, Executive Director, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
- Christine Chen, Executive Director, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)
- Quyen Dinh, Executive Director, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
- Satjeet Kaur, Executive Director, Sikh Coalition
- Kiran Kaur Gill, Executive Director, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)
- Kūhiō Lewis, President & CEO, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA)
- Neil Makhija, Executive Director, Indian American Impact
- Gregg Orton, National Director, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
- Tavae Samuelu, Executive Director, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
- Chiling Tong, President & CEO, Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE)
- Alvina Yeh, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)
- Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)
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