Hmong Americans’ lawsuit alleges racist treatment by California sheriff

KRCR PHOTO

Hmong Americans protest attempt to restrict water deliveries to their properties in California.

Hmong residents of Siskiyou County in California filed a civil rights lawsuit Monday against the County Sheriff alleging "a sweeping campaign to harass and intimidate Hmong and other Asian Americans."

"In 2022, as more and more people are reckoning with systemic racism in our country, Siskiyou County officials are choosing to create a humanitarian crisis, persecute Hmong Americans and Asian Americans, and create divisions among neighbors,” said Emi Young, staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Siskiyou County and its sheriff on behalf of members of the Hmong community. The complaint seeks to hold Siskiyou officials accountable for their alleged systematic racial targeting and for the violation of Asian Americans’ US and California constitutional rights, including an order prohibiting Siskiyou County and Sheriff LaRue from engaging in race, color, and ethnicity-based discrimination with safeguards to ensure that such discrimination does not continue in the future. 

The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus, and Covington & Burling LLP.

Siskiyou County is far from
California's urban centers.

The county has struggled for years to rein in an explosion of cannabis grows in areas like Mount Shasta Vista, many of which are owned by the Hmong. Although growing is permitted for personal use, commercial cultivation is banned in Siskiyou.

The complaint alleges that county officials “view Asian Americans as a monolithic group of which every single person is part of a violent drug cartel and blame the County’s widespread cannabis cultivation on Asian Americans in explicitly racialized terms, notwithstanding that cannabis has been grown in the County for decades,” according to the complaint.

The complaint cites former Sheriff Jon Lopey comparing the fight against illegal cannabis to war in a foreign country. The complaint also cites remarks made by Siskiyou County Supervisor Ray Haupt in a July 2020 email to a colleague in which he compared the situation to Sharia Law, referring to Islamic law based on the writings of the Quran, Islam's holy book. The majority of Hmong are not Muslims.

The situation involving Hmong farms has devolved into “complete lawlessness,” Haupt wrote. “I am fearful that we are losing a portion of our county and being turned into a no go zone, similar to what we see in foreign countries like Europe where Sharia Law has replaced local governance.”

As the complaint details, Siskiyou County officials and Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue have made their intentions explicit in public meetings and documents, characterizing Asian Americans as people “who thumb their nose at our society, at our way of life” and singling out “the Hmong residents” at a Board of Supervisors meeting before asking for a vote of “those County residents present.” 

The Sheriff’s Department targets Asian American drivers at a rate 12 times greater than the Asian American driving-age population. 

At the same time, as the region faces hotter temperatures and more extreme wildfires, Siskiyou County officials have created a humanitarian crisis that disproportionately deprives Asian American residents of water needed for health and hygiene and to protect themselves and their homes from wildfires.

“Like many of our neighbors, my husband, my son, and I love the beauty of Siskiyou County and want to enjoy a safe, healthy life with our friends and family,” said Mai Nou Vang, one of the Hmong American plaintiffs in the case who owns property in the area. 

“Last year, my family and I were driving outside of Shasta Vista and were stopped by two sheriff’s deputies," said Vang. "For a half hour, we were questioned about what we were doing and where we had come from. They searched our car without a warrant, and then finally let us go with a ticket to fix a light cover. My story isn’t unique. So many of my Asian neighbors have been stopped like this by the police while we try to go about our days, run errands, and visit loved ones.”

Rural Siskiyou County, located along California's border with Oregon, is home to fewer than 45,000 people, of whom 85% are white and 1.6% are Asian American, according to the latest US Census. Residents, most of whom are registered Republican, have attempted unsuccessfully to secede from the state to form a new state to be called Jefferson.

Many Asian American residents in Siskiyou County are Hmong and came to the US. as refugees after fighting alongside the US government in the Vietnam War. The Hmong, most of whom were farmers in their homeland, have bought land, which is relatively inexpensive in the rocky and mountainous county. 

The lawsuit filed with the Eastern District Court of California details the findings of a year-long investigation into the county’s disturbing treatment of Asian American residents, including interviews with community members, public records requests, and review of thousands of Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Department documents.

• Over 28% of traffic stops conducted by the Sheriff’s Department in 2021 were of Asian American drivers. The department stops drivers of Asian descent at a rate nearly 12 times greater than their proportion of the driving-age population.

• An Asian American in Siskiyou County is about 17 times more likely to be pulled over by the Sheriff’s Department than a white individual, and the median stop length for Asian American drivers was 56% longer than for other drivers.

• The Sheriff’s Department stops Asian Americans during the day, when a driver’s race is more readily visible, at a nearly 60% higher rate than at night.

• Several water ordinances have created a humanitarian crisis that severely impacts Asian American residents, particularly in Shasta Vista, Dorris, and Macdoel. While a judge recently issued a preliminary injunction against two of the ordinances, the county’s measures have collectively degraded community members’ health, resulted in the loss of livestock and gardens, left people unable to fend off wildfires, and forced many to leave their homes in the past year.

• Over 80% of property liens issued by the county have been issued against Asian American residents, many of which are more than double the assessed property value.

Siskiyou County dominated by forests and mountains.

“Since more Hmong residents began moving to Siskiyou County in 2015, county officials and Sheriff LaRue have orchestrated a sweeping campaign to push out the Asian American community,” said the ACLU's Young.

Earlier this year, a federal judge in Sacramento affirmed that the preliminary injunction for two of the discriminatory water ordinances must stay in place after the county attempted to end the injunction. In her ruling, the judge wrote that “the passage of time has erased neither the concerning language County officials used to describe their purposes nor the racial animosity Hmong people in Shasta Vista have faced.”

“We are a group of people who came to the United States in the late 70s as refugees because of our involvement in helping the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Many of us have since moved to Siskiyou County because we love the landscape and rural nature of the region,” said Peter Thao, Hmong community member in Siskiyou County. 

“We want to build a good rapport with the community here and the local government," Thao continued. "Hmong people are very family oriented. We are not here to cause hardship or burden to this community. I would like to see our communities understand each other better. If the local government would give us a seat at the table, we could work together to build a better relationship between our communities.”

Members of the ACLU cite that “Sharia Law” comment as further evidence of county officials’ racial animus and motivations.

The ACLU says county logs demonstrate “widespread racial profiling in traffic stops,” in the county, as well as concerted effort “to dispossess Asian Americans of their land.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Community agency changes name to broaden its outreach and clientele

Staff of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California.

One of the leading civil rights advocacy organizations for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities is changing its name to more accurately reflect is service area and clientele.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) is now officially named Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL).

“As part of the Advancing Justice affiliation, we have always served both Orange and Los Angeles counties, so this change simply better represents us,” said Connie Chung Joe, CEO of AJSOCAL. 

With offices in Los Angeles and Orange counties, the name change recognizes the agency's presence and service in both counties. Los Angeles and Orange County represent the largest and third largest AANHPI communities in the mainland United States, according to the US Census. Combined, the two counties have almost 3 million AANHPI residents.

The AANHPI population in both counties are the fastest growing demographic of the region and as their needs grow, their political presence also is growing. Five of the region's Congressional representatives are Asian American and AANHPI are sprinkled throughout the area's school boards and city councils.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year. Through direct services, impact litigation and policy advocacy, AJSOCAL focuses on the most vulnerable members of Asian American communities while building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice.

"AJSOCAL remains an active part of the network of sister organizations that comprise the national affiliation named Asian Americans Advancing Justice. We are separate but equal, joined by the same mission," states a press release. They independently operated and funded nonprofit advocacy organizations include: 

• In Southern California: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL);
• In San Francisco: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (Advancing Justice – ALC);
• In DC: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center (Advancing Justice | AAJC);
• In Chicago: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago (Advancing Justice | Chicago);
• In Atlanta: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta (Advancing Justice – Atlanta)

The agency's website is now www.ajsocal.org. The organization has also changed its social media to reflect the name change.

• Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn: @AdvancingJusticeSOCAL (Please note that from Jul. 18-Aug. 18 this temporary LinkedIn handle will be used: @advancingjustice-socal, and this temporary instagram handle will be used: @advancingjustice_socal)
• Twitter: @ajsocal_
• YouTube: AdvancingJusticeSouthernCalifornia

“Our help and advocacy for Asian Americans have not changed," CEO Joe concludes. "We continue to strive for equity and justice.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Georgia On My Mind: AAPI voters could decide who will rule the U.S. Senate

NPR

ANALYSIS:

Asian American voters played a key role in battleground states, according to exit polls taken during the Nov. 3 elections, according to an analysis by a an AAPI advocacy coalition. They can again play a crucial role in Georgia's Jan. 5 runoff elections for U.S. Senate.

Georgia's two senate  runoff between the GOP's Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock and Republican Sen. David Perdue against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoffs could determine which party will have the majority in the U.S. Senate during Joe Biden's first term as President starting Jan. 20, 2021.

Bloomberg News quoted  Sam Park, the first Asian American Democrat elected to the Georgia General Assembly: “There’s a saying that the Asian American community has gone from being a marginalized community to being the margin of victory.That could be very true here in Georgia.”

New data released by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) noted the importance of the AAPI vote in Georgia and three other battleground states: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada.

“Asian Americans, especially new voters, were part of the record turnout of communities of color in the 2020 elections. Asian American voters played an important role in close races in several battleground states, and our voices must not be overlooked in the political process,” said AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung.

Except for the Vietnamese and Hmong communities, all other Asian ethnic groups and nationalities voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over the Republican incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

The four states in the survey, which for voted for Trump in 2016, flipped and went Democratic earlier this month.

The states were among the last counted and their electoral votes pushed Biden-Harris over the top, giving him enough electoral votes to proclaim the Democrats victors in the closer-than-expected presidential contest.

Georgia's flip is a tribute to the groundwork in registering voters by Stacey Abrams, a former member of the state's House of Representatives and who barely lost in her gubernatorial bid. 

None of the state's top-two vote-getters in the Senate races achieved more than 50% of the votes so by state law, a runoff is necessary. Survey findings may give an indication how Georgia's AAPI electorate will vote in the Jan. 5 runoff. 

The Asian American population has soared in counties surrounding Atlanta in recent years, drawn to the area by jobs in tech, science and medicine. The surge in AAPI voters -- almost a quarter million registered voters, or about 5% of the total voters -- have made them a critical demographic for politicians and marketers.

Highlights of the AALDEF survey of AAPI voters in Georgia:

• Asian Americans decisively chose Joe Biden over Donald Trump by a margin of 62% to 36%.
• In the U.S. Senate races, Asian Americans voted for Democratic candidates over Republicans by a margin of 61% to 34%.
• All Asian ethnic groups in the state supported Biden over Trump except for Korean American voters (60% for Trump and 39% for Biden).
• Among voters not enrolled in any party, the breakout was 63% for Biden and 30% for Trump, and among voters affiliated with other parties, 60% for Biden and 20% for Trump.
• First-time voters supported Biden by a wide margin 61% to 36%.

For the Presidential election, AAPI voters turned out in historic numbers. Despite facing a pandemic, hours-long lines at the polls, language barriers, and heightened fear and intimidation about voting, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities overcame unacceptable barriers to exercise their right to vote. 

Leaning heavily towards Democrats, the chief concerns of AAPI voters are in line with most other Democrats centering on economic issues income inequality and the call for higher taxes on the rich, pollsters say.

They heard the racist rhetoric from the White House and aware of the rise of attacks against their kids in school, the flagging economy shutting down their businesses and the toll the coronavirus has taken on healthcare providers.

Early voting was favored by many of elderly who had to overcome their fear of contracting COVID-19 in order to cat their ballots. 

"Being able to cast my vote with an absentee ballot means my voice still counts.” said 76-year-old Ok Hui Kim, who chose to vote absentee to decrease the risk of being exposed to the virus

The high vote total among AAPI can be attributed to an aggressive and unprecedented multi-lingual registration and get-out-the-vote drive. In the three months prior to the November vote, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta (Advancing Justice-Atlanta) dialed 92% of the estimated 238,000 eligible AAPI voters across the state. 

AAPI communities across Georgia showed up to vote early and began Election Day having already flexed our power - 50% of registered Asian American voters had already cast their ballots, increasing turnout by 141% since 2016. In Gwinnett County alone, there were three times more AAPI early voters than in 2016, over 30,000 compared to 9,500. Of those, 43% did not vote in 2012, 2016 or 2018, according to Advancing Justice. 

Besides having an impact on the Presidential and Georgia's U.S. Senate races, the huge turnout helped elect Marvin Lim, the first Filipino American to the state legislature. Lim won the primary with 62% of the vote and since the GOP didn't have a candidate to run against him, Lim's Nov. 7 victory was a foregone conclusion.

Lim will represent House District 99, an Atlanta suburb comprised of 85% minorities, 53% of whom are immigrants.

The nation's attention will be on Georgia this Jan. 5, 2021. Both Republicans and Democrats are mobilizing their people and devoting resources to the runoff contest. Already, 6e00,000 voters have requested absentee ballots, tweeted Abrams.

Georgians who didn’t get signed up in time to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election now have until Dec. 7 to register to vote in the Jan. 5 runoffs. Early voting for the runoffs starts Dec. 14 after a record of nearly 5 million Georgians voted in the general election. Qualified voters can register online with a valid ID through the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

Democrats worry that without Donald Trump on the ballot to motivate anti-Trump voters, it will be difficult to energize Democratic voters for the Jan. 5 runoffs. Historically, conservative voters tend to turn out more in extra-inning contests.

Andrew Yang, a Presidential candidate during the Democratic primaries, said he'll be going to Georgia to help drum up excitement in the January election. “It looks like Democrats have an uphill climb in Georgia,” Yang told Yahoo Finance Live last week. “It seems like it’s because Democratic voters actually need a little bit more awareness raising to the fact that there is a special election on January 5, and conservatives are more plugged in to voting in Georgia.”

“The case to make in Georgia is exactly identical to the case that was just made with Joe at the top line,” continued Yang. He argues that the Democrats message should be getting a functional government.  “In this case, we need to deliver a Senate that will actually be looking to pass laws and not have a replay of Mitch McConnell being the obstructionist during the Obama years.”

 “AAPI communities are showing up at the polls and redefining what Georgia’s electorate looks like, said Stephanie Cho, executive director of Advancing Justice-Atlanta. "As the nation’s fastest growing population of immigrants eligible to vote, AAPI communities in Georgia will continue to grow in influence. We are only just beginning to come into our power. We will continue to show up and vote up and down the ballot for our issues, our rights, and our communities.” 

Census citizenship question case goes before Supreme Court

New immigrants might not respond to any question asking about citizenship, says a report from the US Census.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday for and against the Trump administrations efforts to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census which will be conducted in 2020.

With three lower court judges blocking the citizenship question from being added to the census, Tuesday's arguments will present the High Ccourt with one of it's biggest cases of the term.

"The administration’s clear intent was — to strip federal resources and political representation from those needing it most,” said Dale Ho, in charge of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, after a New York court ruled against using the question earlier this year.

"Adding a citizenship question to the census would cause incalculable damage to our democracy. The evidence presented at trial exposed this was the Trump administration’s plan from the get-go. We look forward to defending our trial court victory in the Supreme Court,” said Ho, who will present arguements against the administration.

The controversial question would be included at the request of the DOJ, according to a memo by Wilbur Ross, secretary of the Commerce Department (which oversees the Census Bureau). It would supply block-level data on the citizen and noncitizen voting age population.

The Justice Department claims it needs the information provided by the question in order to enforce the Voting Rights Act. Critics have said that they suspect the real reason is to help suppress the vote of immigrants and people of color and is just an extension of Trump's anti-immigrant policies.

"Make no mistake – immigrants and citizens who have immigrants in their household will be reluctant to participate in a census that asks about citizenship," one of the dozens of immigrant advocates who have joined the case as plaintiffs, Advancing Justice l AAJC said in a statement.  

"The resulting undercount will be devastating to the Asian Pacific American community because as a whole, they are the 'newest' Americans, with 92% of the community comprised of individuals who are foreign-born or are the children of immigrants."

According to the Census' own analysis, the decision to add a citizenship question would stop “approximately 6.5 additional million people” from participating in the Census. In the New York case, the district court found that, as a result, California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, New York, and Illinois face a “certainly impending” or “substantial risk of losing a seat” in the House of Representatives and that numerous states would “lose funds from several federal programs.”

The ACLU prepared the following the video that explains what's at stake:

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