New York City: The Asian American Federation applauds President Obama’s announcement to provide temporary relief to immigrant families by deferring the deportation of the parents of children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. His plan is an important first step towards fixing our country’s broken immigration system. Ultimately, this executive action will impact over 4 million unauthorized immigrants in our country. Of the 4 million, over one-half million are from Asian countries.
As the city with the second largest Asian population in the country, we know that administrative relief is welcome news for many Asian New Yorkers and their families. The Asian population in NYC is now 1.2 million, making it the fastest growing group in the City. Rough estimates indicate that about 40,000 additional Asian immigrants in the city may be impacted by the relief plan.
We look forward to hearing the details in Spring 2015 when the actual process begins. We urge potential applicants to turn to our member agencies for accurate information.
Finally, many of our member agencies have been part of this important fight to recognize and include Asians in immigration legislation and reform, and the Asian American Federation applauds their leadership and dedication to this important issue.
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Established in 1989, the Federation is a pan-Asian non-profit organization representing a network of community service agencies in the Northeast. These agencies work in the fields of health & human services, education, economic development, civic participation, and social justice. The Asian American Federation’s mission is to raise the influence and well-being of the pan-Asian American community through research, policy advocacy, public awareness and organizational development.