As we kick off May 2026, the ritual of AANHPI Heritage Month feels less like a celebration and more like a desperate holding action. On April 30, Representative Grace Meng and Senator Mazie Hirono dropped a bicameral resolution (H.Res.1243) to officially recognize our month. But let’s be real: while Congress cites our history, the current administration is busy repeating the worst parts of it.
“Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! This year’s celebration precedes the 250th anniversary of the United States—a historic milestone and an opportunity to honor the generations of AANHPIs who have helped build and strengthen this nation," says Rep. Grace Meng, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).
FYI: Read the entire Resolution
"Our presence long predates America's founding, beginning with the first recorded arrival of Filipinos in what is now the continental United States at Morro Bay in 1587."
The resolution doesn't just list our "contributions" — it serves as a historical receipt. By explicitly citing the Page Act of 1875 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, it reminds the country that the US government has a long, ugly history of using law as a weapon against us. It’s a necessary jab at a political climate that feels increasingly like a 19th-century throwback.The "Hellhole" rhetoric
While Congress tries to "honor" us, the rhetoric coming from the top is pure vitriol. Just last month, Trump reportedly lumped China and India into a list of "hellholes," a move that does more than just offend—it signals to his base that people from these regions are "less than."
This isn't just talk; it's a green light for targeted harassment. In Minneapolis, we’ve seen a disturbing spike in anti-Asian incidents where residents are being told to "go back" to those very places. This atmosphere of xenophobia is exactly what the 2026 resolution warns against, yet it is being fueled daily by the White House.
The machinery of exclusion
The most brutal edge of this rhetoric is found in the surging number of AANHPIs in ICE detention. We are seeing a record-breaking crackdown, with families being torn apart as the administration aggressively moves to deport Southeast Asian refugees for minor, decades-old crimes—crimes for which they have already served their time. These are people who came here as children fleeing war, now being sent back to countries they don't even know.
The stakes are life and death. The rise in detention numbers has been accompanied by reports of preventable deaths in ICE custody, where language barriers and medical neglect have turned a "minor crime" into a death sentence.
View from the edge
For AANHPI Heritage Month 2026, let’s get one thing clear: we aren’t "guests" in this country, and we’re tired of being asked where we’re really from. This year, as we celebrate under the theme "Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together," we’re taking a hard look at the "perpetual foreigner" trope — that tired, racist myth that treats us as outsiders no matter how many generations our families have been here.
A fresh report from the Committee of 100 and NORC shows that 55% of Asian Americans still deal with people assuming they’re foreign. It’s a weight that hits U.S.-born and naturalized citizens almost equally, making it clear this isn’t about a passport—it’s about how we’re seen.
A resolution is a nice gesture, but it won’t stop a deportation bus or silence a racist trope. As the resolution’s 2026 theme reminds us, there is "Power in Unity," but that unity is being tested by an administration that treats our community as a political scapegoat.
If we want more than just a commemorative plaque, we have to keep fighting the policies that treat us like the the "perpetual foreigners" that the Exclusion Act intended us to be. From land bans to visa limitations and the gutting of DEI programs, the current administration is using policy to reinforce that trope. We're not simply the good little boys and girls that the "model minority" that separates us from other communities.
This May, we’re not just celebrating heritage; we’re asserting our belonging and integration into American society. We’re bridge builders, teachers, innovators, artists, healers and leaders, and — most importantly — neighbors who have been part of the American story from the start.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.
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