Tag: community

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Thank you to our April Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

April’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, April 10 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 20 lawyers and 8 interpreters who volunteered their time to help 32 clients.

At this month’s clinic, we also presented videos created in partnership with AARP to prevent immigration fraud. In the videos, former Immigration Law Committee co-chairs Susan Akina and Amanda Bernardo provided tips and advice on how to avoid being a victim of immigration scams. Scammers pretend to provide quality legal advice, help with paperwork, or other tasks involved in the immigration process. The scammer usually asks for an upfront fee, takes the money, and disappears immediately. Or worse, they provide ineffective or even harmful representation by filing the wrong paperwork, using fraudulent measures, or misrepresenting facts. Susan and Amanda stressed how important it is to only work with qualified immigration lawyers.

To see Susan’s and Amanda’s videos, click on the following links:

https://blog.aabany.org/2019/02/22/preventing-immigration-fraud-in-the-chinese-community/

https://blog.aabany.org/2019/02/22/preventing-immigration-fraud-in-the-filipino-community/

We are asking every member to actively support AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic by making donations that are vital to its continuing operation. In a few short years, with the tireless and generous assistance of our volunteers, we have helped hundreds of low-income clients with free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. Together we have helped expand access to justice for underserved Asian American New Yorkers.

If you know family members, friends, or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Clinic, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at [email protected].

Or please urge them to make a donation directly. They can visit the website of Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s 501(c)(3) affiliate: https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/ AALFNY is accepting charitable donations on the Clinic’s behalf and can issue any donor a tax receipt. Any contribution, large or small, would help. Please be sure to indicate in the memo field that the donation is intended for the Pro Bono Clinic.

Thank you to all of the April Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Lawyers:

Kathy Yung
Beatrice Leong
Angela Wu
Gloria Tsui-Yip
Mayumi Cindy Iijima
Zhixian Liu
Anna Jinhua Wang
Eun Hye (Grace) Lee
Xianxiao Li (Emily)
Amanda Bernardo
Samantha Sumilang
Kevin Hsi
Barbara Hayes
Christopher Chin
Sae-Eun Ahn
Kwok Kei Ng
Pauline Yeung-Ha
Ming Chu Lee
Karen Kithan Yau
Asako Aiba

Interpreters:

Alva Lin
Justina Chen
Emily Arakawa
Derek Ting-Che Tai
Weiling Huang
Jessica Wang
Satoshi Kurita
Ruth Poon

Special thanks to Johnny Thach and Kwan Shun Jason Cheung for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Karen Kithan Yau, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy Lee and Asako Aiba for their leadership.

If you are interested in volunteering at next month’s Pro Bono Clinic on May 8, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected]. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

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Nassau County Executive Curran Warns Residents of Telephone Scam Targeting Chinese-American Community

Mineola, NY – Nassau County Executive Laura Curran [recently] issued a warning to residents about a telephone scam in which consumers receive calls from potential fraudsters impersonating the Chinese Consulate to demand payment in exchange for a package or to prevent punishment from the consulate office. As of this month, there have been continued reports of these scam calls targeting residents throughout Nassau County. Nassau residents who receive such calls should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP.

“These phone scams are more than just tedious; for many – especially our more vulnerable residents – they can be catastrophic,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. “I urge our residents to be vigilant, and immediately contact the FTC should they receive this scam call.”

For the full press release, click here.

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AABANY Joins NAPABA’s Amicus Brief in the Supreme Court Opposing the Addition of a Proposed Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census.

On April 1, 2019, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), joined by Sixty-four (64) bar associations and AAPI-serving community organizations, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of Commerce v. New York (18-966) opposing the addition of a proposed citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

In a press release, NAPABA stated:

On April 23, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal in Department of Commerce v. New York (18-966).  In January, the Southern District of New York found that the Administration’s decision to add the question was ‘arbitrary’ and ‘capricious,’ and that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In a related challenge, California v. Ross, the Northern District of California found the Administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Enumeration Clause of the Constitution. A decision is pending in a third challenge, involving AAPI and Hispanic plaintiffs, in the District of Maryland.

The AAPI organizations urge the Court to uphold the district court’s ruling to enjoin the addition of the citizenship question: Amici agree with the district court ’s finding that the addition of a citizenship question will likely lead to an undercount of noncitizen households of at least 5.8 percent. . . . This chilling of participation in the 2020 Census will have a disproportionate effect on the AAPI community. . . . These heightened concerns for the AAPI community come at a crucial moment, because Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the country and stand to make substantial gains in political representation based on that population growth.

AABANY is pleased to announce that it is a co-signatory to NAPABA’s amicus brief in the Supreme Court opposing the addition of a proposed citizenship question to the 2020 census. The addition of the citizenship question will negatively impact the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. It will depress response rates from Asian Americans, the fastest growing racial group and the largest segment of new immigrants in the country, and impact our ability to protect our rights and ensure political representation.

To read the full press release and the amicus brief, click here.

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Thank you to our March Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

March’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, March 13 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 21 lawyers and 11 interpreters who volunteered their time to help 31 clients.

We are asking every member to actively support AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic by making donations that are vital to its continuing operation. In a few short years, with the tireless and generous assistance of our volunteers, we have helped hundreds of low-income clients with free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. Together we have helped expand access to justice for underserved Asian American New Yorkers.

If you know family members, friends, or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Clinic, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at [email protected].

Or please urge them to make a donation directly. They can visit the website of Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s 501(c)(3) affiliate: https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/ AALFNY is accepting charitable donations on the Clinic’s behalf and can issue any donor a tax receipt. Any contribution, large or small, would help. Please be sure to indicate in the memo field that the donation is intended for the Pro Bono Clinic.

Thank you to all of the March Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Lawyers:

  • Samantha Sumilang
  • Kathy Yung
  • Beatrice Leong
  • Mayumi Cindy Iijima
  • Anna Jinhua Wang
  • Grace Pyun
  • Jonathan Hernandez
  • Ami Shah
  • Ricky He
  • Shengyang (John) Wu
  • Kevin Hsi
  • Kwok Kei Ng
  • Kelly Diep
  • Christopher Chin
  • Wei Li
  • Annie Tsao
  • Rina Gurung
  • Zhixian Liu
  • Pauline Yeung-Ha
  • Karen Kithan Yau
  • Asako Aiba

Interpreters:

  • Teresa Wai Yee Yeung
  • Eric W. Dang
  • Anna Chuen
  • Weiling Huang
  • Derek Ting-Che Tai
  • Satoshi Kurita
  • Bingzhen Song
  • Laura Tsang
  • Jessica Wang
  • Lindsay Hao
  • Justina Chen

Special thanks to Johnny Thach and Roger Chen for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Karen Kithan Yau, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy Lee and Asako Aiba for their leadership.

If you are interested in volunteering at next month’s Pro Bono Clinic on April 10, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected]. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

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Thank you to our February Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

February’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, February 13 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 14 lawyers and 6 interpreters who volunteered their time to help 27 clients.

We are asking every member to actively support AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic by making donations that are vital to its continuing operation. In a few short years, with the tireless and generous assistance of our volunteers, we have helped hundreds of low-income clients with free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. Together we have helped expand access to justice for underserved Asian American New Yorkers.

If you know family members, friends, or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Clinic, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at [email protected].

Or please urge them to make a donation directly. They can visit the website of Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s 501(c)(3) affiliate: https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/ AALFNY is accepting charitable donations on the Clinic’s behalf and can issue any donor a tax receipt. Any contribution, large or small, would help. Please be sure to indicate in the memo field that the donation is intended for the Pro Bono Clinic.

Thank you to all of the February Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Lawyers:

  • Gaye L. Chun
  • Zhixian Liu
  • Yan Sin
  • Xianxiao Li (Emily)
  • Wei Li
  • Soichiro Ishita
  • Kwok Kei Ng
  • Jonathan Hernandez
  • David Lu
  • Gloria Tsui-Yip
  • Pauline Yeung-Ha
  • Ming Chu Lee
  • Karen Kithan Yau
  • Asako Aiba

Interpreters:

  • JoJo Hwang
  • Frankie Lam
  • Satoshi Kurita
  • Hao Zhang
  • Derek Ting-Che Tai
  • Henry Man

Special thanks to Johnny Thach for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Karen Kithan Yau, Ming Chu Lee, and Asako Aiba for their leadership.

If you are interested in volunteering at next month’s Pro Bono Clinic on March 13, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected]. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

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New York Day of Remembrance 2019

On February 23, 2019, please join the New York Day of Remembrance Committee in remembering the concentration camps and to discuss our community’s role in standing up for human rights in the current political climate.

The program will feature Frank Abe speaking about the first Day of Remembrance in Seattle, Tribute to Aiko Herzig Yoshinaga, video presentation from the New York Japanese American Oral History Project, Candlelighting Ceremony to remember camp survivors, and a Community Potluck.

The program will be held at the Japanese American United Church, 255 7th Avenue, from 1pm to 4pm.

The Day of Remembrance Committee was a co-organizer of New York City’s Second Annual Korematsu Day Celebration, at which AABANY presented its Korematsu trial reenactment. Read more about the event here https://blog.aabany.org/2019/02/04/aabany-celebrates-2nd-annual-fred-korematsu-day-in-new-york-city0/

To learn more and to RSVP, click here.

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2018 NAPABA Law Foundation Summer Public Interest Internship Scholarship

2018 NAPABA Law Foundation Summer Public Interest Internship Scholarship

The NLF Public Interest Internship provides support for at least one law student to gain meaningful legal experience during a 2018 summer internship at a public interest organization that provides direct legal services, impact litigation, and/or legal advocacy on behalf of the AAPI community.

Who Applies: Host organizations

Deadline: May 14, 2018

Award Amount: $6000

Number of Awards: At least one award

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Serve the APA Community by Joining the AABANY Community Response Task Force

AABANY’s Issues Committee is pleased to invite you to join the newly formed AABANY Community Response Task Force!

The Community Response Task Force (CRTF) is AABANY’s answer to the rapidly changing legal landscape and the need for quick, effective, and coordinated responses to the emergent issues that affect our communities. AABANY is firmly committed to being a strong voice and steadfast advocate on behalf of the Asian-American/Pacific-Islander community. In the past several months, we have all been witness to sweeping changes that necessitated powerful legal responses. While there have been some great triumphs, there were often times when it was difficult to obtain information, to find ways to contribute, or to organize a response quickly enough to be effective.

The CRTF is specifically designed to address these needs. The CRTF will serve as a central clearinghouse for information and coordination – tailoring the alerts sent to each volunteer based on that volunteer’s preferences and the needs of the community. Alerts and actions will range from emergency legal services to direct non-legal service actions and from workshops to rallies. 

Furthermore, the CRTF will not simply be a reactive body but we will seek to proactively research and prepare for issues on the horizon by reaching out to experts and formulating effective responses. We will also be reaching out and collaborating with other organizing bodies in order to present a more united and broad-based response to issues that affect our communities.

So, where does that leave you?

The CRTF is seeking first and foremost to create a database of willing, ready, and able volunteers, like you, who want be a part of the response. We will activate volunteers based on the subject area, the type of response, and the interests of each volunteer. 

We are also looking for people to become members of the Task Force itself, helping to research and anticipate possible future issues, reaching out to experts and developing toolkits, and coordinating with
other organizations.

If you are interested, please fill out the this form or feel free to email us directly at [email protected]

We keep all responses and information confidential in the Task Force Database. Information contained therein will not be shared with anyone outside of the Task Force and are solely for the purpose of organizing and coordinating Task Force activities.

To learn more about the Issues Committee, visit http://www.aabany.org/?page=154

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