On June 27, 2025, Glow Cultural Center, Committee of 100, and The Foundation Center Inc. hosted the AAPI Youth Career Workshop, a networking reception for students to engage in networking conversations with their peers and experienced professionals from a wide range of industries. The panelists of speakers included:
Dr. Pauline Lau (Medicine) – Hematology & Oncology, Board of Directors of Coalition of Asian-American Independent Practice Association (CAIPA)
Mark Lee (Business) – Founder of RokStar Chicken
Gary L. Yeung (Law) – Litigation Associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel, Member of Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)
The panel was moderated by Dr. Teresa Hsu (Mental Health) – Founder of Supportive Place for Empowering Asian Americans & Kin (SPEAK)
Attendees heard from the speakers about their backgrounds, the challenges they faced pursuing their careers, their passion in giving back to the AAPI community, and their advice on how to build communication skills, confidence, and connection. This program also provided networking opportunities for high school students to learn from these professionals in the medical, business, and legal field.
We thank Gary Yeung, Co-Chair of the Mentorship Committee and Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, for sharing his personal experiences and community-facing work he has been able to do through AABANY. Gary also gave shout-outs to his fellow Pro Bono Clinic volunteers, some of whom were in the audience.
Yes, you too can give back to the community in different ways: whether speaking in public to inspire future young professionals or volunteering at community organizations, such as AABANY’s Pro Bono Legal Clinics! Please consider joining us at our upcoming clinics:
Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic on July 12, 2025 [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30pm – 2:00pm, at CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232.
Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic on July 16, 2025 [Manhattan link here], from 6:30pm – 8:30pm, at AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk St, New York, NY 10002.
Queens Pro Bono Clinic on August 6, 2025 [Queens link here], from 6:30pm – 8:30pm, at AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355.
Just over a month ago, NAPABA held its annual Lobby Day in Washington, DC. We convened our members in the Nation’s capital to support the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community, advance a fair and humane immigration system, defend the rule of law and the legal profession, and advance democracy and civil rights. With over 60 congressional meetings and over 20 states represented, NAPABA demonstrated its commitment to change the status quo for our community.
Since then, and since NAPABA’s last update to you, we have been tracking developments that impact our organization, our mission, our legal community, and the broader AANHPI community. Please find some of these updates below
I. NAPABA-Led Coalition Continues to Defend Birthright Citizenship
After our filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in April 2025, NAPABA continued to lead a coalition of nearly 50 of its affiliates and national associates from across the country to defend birthright citizenship. Besides our amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit, which is available here, NAPABA filed substantially similar amicus briefs defending birthright citizenship in matters pending in the First Circuit and the Fourth Circuit. Those briefs can be viewed here and here.
Our brief explains the critical historical context behind United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898). The case was decided during an era of intense anti-Chinese sentiment, immigration restrictions, widespread violence, and mass expulsions. In Wong Kim Ark, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that birthright citizenship is automatically conferred to children born on American soil, even to those whose parents were from the most disfavored migrant group in the country at the time. NAPABA’s amicus brief underscores the importance of understanding Asian American legal history as a critical part of American history. Wong Kim Ark and other cases involving Asian American litigants in the late 19th century are foundational precedents for today’s immigration and civil rights law.
On Friday, June 27, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the preliminary injunctions that can be available to pause the executive order limiting birthright citizenship. The Court did not address the constitutionality of the executive order. Thus, litigation will continue as does NAPABA’s advocacy. The question of a child’s citizenship in the United States ought not to be dependent on the stature or circumstances of their parents. Nor should it turn on whether a child is born in one state versus another. For the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment to be vindicated, birthright citizenship must apply to all children across the United States.
II. NAPABA Condemns Political Violence and Hate
In recent weeks, we have witnessed incidents of hate and political violence that are antithetical to the values of our community and our country. In the early morning hours of June 14, 2025, an armed perpetrator shot two Minnesota state legislators and their respective spouses in the suburbs outside of Minneapolis in an “act of targeted political violence,” according to the Governor of Minnesota. State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, died. State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, survived and sustained injuries from the attack.
Weeks earlier, on May 21, 2025, a deadly shooting in Washington, DC, targeted Israeli Embassy diplomats. And on June 1, 2025, eight people in Boulder, Colorado, were injured when a perpetrator threw incendiary devices into a crowd during a demonstration intended to remember hostages in the Middle East. One of those injured died from her wounds.
On top of these horrific acts, some elected leaders have sought divisiveness rather than inclusion. In a social media post, a member of Congress expressed that it was “deeply troubling” that a Sikh faith leader, Giani Surinder Singh, led a prayer on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The member, who had misidentified Giani Surinder Singh as Muslim, declared that Singh “should never have been allowed” to lead a prayer in Congress.
In the race for New York City’s mayor, some members of Congress have lodged Islamophobic comments against Zohran Mamdani, the winner of the primary election. One member of Congress posted an offensive cartoon of Mamdani, referred to Mamdani with a slur, and called on the Attorney General to institute denaturalization proceedings and remove him from the United States. Another member of Congress posted a photo on social media of Mamdani wearing a kurta and greeting others for an Eid service with the caption, “After 9/11, we said, ‘Never Forget.’ I think we sadly have forgotten.”
Further, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, revised the National Crime Victimization Survey and removed questions about gender identity and about hate crimes against transgender people. Previously, the questions on sexual orientation and gender identity allowed researchers, policymakers, and advocates to quantify the disproportionate victimization of the LGBTQ+ community. Comprehensive data collection surrounding hate crimes and hate incidents is critical in order to better combat such conduct and to take legislative action. NAPABA joined 90+ organizations opposing the decision. Following our advocacy, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reinstated the question pertaining to hate crimes involving gender identity.
The Justice Department’s action preceded a recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Tennessee law that banned hormone therapies for transgender minors.
Hate, regardless of the form, political violence, and the marginalization of vulnerable communities must be rejected. NAPABA will continue to oppose hate, support the diverse AANHPI community, and work to strengthen the rule of law and democracy.
III. NAPABA Calls for a Fair and Humane Immigration System
Fundamental to a fair and humane immigration system is one that is subject to constitutional limits, non-discriminatory, and ensures meaningful due process. Recent developments, however, brush against these values.
On May 28, 2025, the federal government announced that it would work to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.” This policy declaration has not only caused needless anxiety throughout our community, but it is also wholly misguided. While policymakers have the prerogative to address the legitimate national security concerns confronting the United States, they may not enact discriminatory policies like blanket visa revocations based only on national origin and alien land laws. Instead of measures that are tailored to an evidence-based, national security nexus, these recent policies foster an atmosphere of distrust that targets Asian Americans generally, not just the Chinese American community.
NAPABA is also concerned about the federal government’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. On June 2, 2025, NAPABA joined 60 other AANHPI organizations, led by the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), in filing an amicus brief that urged the court to fulfill its role in preserving the right to due process and ensuring meaningful judicial review of executive orders. The last invocation of the Alien Enemies Act justified the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. The amicus brief shared the stories of these Americans and their families. We urged the court to uphold the right of meaningful due process and judicial review of executive actions.
Lastly, starting on June 6, 2025, protests erupted in Los Angeles in response to federal immigration enforcement actions in the city. On June 7, 2025, for the first time in 33 years, the President deployed National Guard and military service members in Los Angeles to protect federal law enforcement and federal property. The protests continued until around June 15.
NAPABA recognizes the widespread anxiety throughout the AANHPI community and the broader immigrant community. Whether involving the changes in immigration enforcement policy or the announcement of new immigration policies generally, the shifting landscape of immigration law has created much uncertainty. This includes a recent policy change from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pertaining to the removability of certain Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in the United States prior to 1995. Please visit the Asian Law Caucus’s website for more information.
In the coming days, NAPABA will promote educational programming to cover many of these changes and more. Please stay tuned.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, and the NAPABA Policy Team will do its part. But we need your partnership, too. Engage in our committees and networks and register for the NAPABA Convention in Denver, which will be held on November 6-8, 2025. We look forward to seeing you.
NAPABA has extended the deadline to apply for two of the organization’s impactful, member-exclusive programs — the ADR Institute and the Prospective Partners Program (PPP). You now have until Wednesday, July 16, 2025, to submit your application.
Whether you’re looking to grow your career in Alternative Dispute Resolution or take that final step toward law firm partnership, these programs are designed to equip you with the skills, mentorship, and connections you need to succeed.
A multi-day hands-on training available to members who are interested in pursuing a career in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This program aims to diversify the pool of mediators and arbitrators in the United States and to increase the use of mediation and arbitration by those who attend the training.
Designed to increase the number of NAPABA attorney member partners at major law firms, this program provides 10 senior associates on the precipice of partnership with the opportunity to practice their pitch and receive immediate feedback from senior in-house counsel.
Note: Both programs take place at the 2025 NAPABA Convention in Denver and require Convention registration.
WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauds the nomination of Eric Tung to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Tung is a nationally respected litigator with a record of public service and experience at the highest levels of the legal profession.
“Eric Tung is an exceptional nominee whose distinguished career demonstrates a commitment to the law,” said Thy Bui, President of NAPABA. “From his time at the U.S. Department of Justice to his clerkships on the U.S. Supreme Court, Tung brings unparalleled experience to the federal bench.”
Tung is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Jones Day, where he focuses on appeals and motion practice in commercial litigation. He has briefed and argued matters in federal and state courts nationwide, including the Ninth Circuit, D.C. Circuit, Seventh Circuit, Florida Supreme Court, and the California Court of Appeals. His clients span a range of industries, including telecommunications, energy, banking, real estate, construction, entertainment, and digital currency.
Tung previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California and held positions at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., including serving as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General. He also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and the late Antonin Scalia.
“Eric Tung has excelled in every facet of the legal profession—as a prosecutor, government lawyer, private practitioner, and judicial clerk,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “His breadth of experience makes him a compelling choice for the Ninth Circuit.”
Tung earned his J.D. with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 2010, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif, named a Kirkland & Ellis Scholar, served as Managing Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review, and received multiple writing awards, including the Joseph Henry Beale Prize and the Bell, Boyd & Lloyd Award. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University in 2006.
NAPABA thanks President Trump for the nomination and urges the U.S. Senate to consider the nomination swiftly.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and over 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
The Honorable Dora L. Irizarry, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, is accepting applications for Fall 2025 internships.
Qualifications:
Must be a rising second or third year law student.
Must have good grades.
Must have good research, writing, and analytical skills, although participation in Law Review or a Journal is not a prerequisite.
Military and/or other life/career experience is a plus.
Interested law students should forward their application package in PDF format as a single document via email to [email protected].
Application package must include:
One-page cover letter briefly describing why you are interested in a legal career and why you are interested in an internship with Judge Irizarry specifically.
Resume.
Official law school transcript.
One recent writing sample no longer than 10 pages, double spaced. Journal or research articles will not be accepted.
Two to three letters of recommendation.
The deadline for receipt of materials is August 1, 2025.
Please note that, while these are not paid internships, the Judge will participate in any appropriate sponsored program that provides academic credit or stipends for interns.
If you have questions, please contact chambers at: 718-613-2150.
