Tag: immigrants

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Thank You to Our Volunteers at the October 2nd Pro Bono Clinic in Flushing, Queens!

On Wednesday, October 2nd, AABANY members had the opportunity to volunteer at the AABANY Queens Pro Bono Clinic hosted by the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) Community Center in Flushing. The clinic brought together AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee along with a team of dedicated volunteers to offer free legal consultations to community members facing pressing legal challenges. The volunteers met with 19 clients addressing a variety of issues including housing, divorce, and immigration law. These are the kinds of problems that weigh heavily on people’s lives, both financially and emotionally.

The clinic had a vibrant atmosphere of support and collaboration. Each client was paired with an attorney who took the time to provide thoughtful advice on their specific legal concerns. Shadowers observed the attorneys, eagerly taking notes and learning from real-world interactions. Interpreters fluent in Cantonese or Mandarin were also on hand, ensuring that language barriers didn’t hinder effective communication between clients and their attorneys. This collaborative effort made the clinic a true reflection of community engagement and empowerment.

These interactions went far beyond simple legal advice. Each conversation was a reminder that this clinic isn’t just about solving legal matters—it’s about giving people the power to reclaim control over situations that often feel overwhelming. For many clients, it was the first time they realized they weren’t alone, and that there were resources and options available. A consultation could shift the entire course of someone’s life, offering not just answers, but hope.

Clients expressed their gratitude with comments like, “Thank you very much to the clinic and lawyer Gary Yeung for their help,” and “I appreciate your effort.” These heartfelt messages show the impact of the clinic and the commitment of everyone involved in making it a success.

Thank you again to the following volunteers:

Volunteer attorneys

  • Beatrice Leong
  • Gary Yeung
  • Lina Lee
  • May Wong
  • Richard In
  • Shirley Luong

Interpreters & Shadowers

  • Jaymark Hawlader
  • Xuxia Zhao
  • Eugene Seong

If you’re interested in making a difference in the community through future Pro Bono clinics, we invite you to join us at the following upcoming events: 

November 9, 2024 [Brooklyn link here], from 12:00 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232

December 4, 2024, from 6:00 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355

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Celebrate Fred Korematsu Day on January 30

Since 2018, January 30 has been celebrated in New York City as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. Why do we commemorate Fred Korematsu and his fight for justice? Here is the answer from the Fred Korematsu Institute:

Fred Korematsu was an American civil rights activist who stood up to the U.S. government’s wrongful incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast during WWII. Even though Fred was vilified and ostracized by his Japanese American community and had no support from his family, he was not afraid to speak up. He knew the government had violated the civil rights of thousands of its citizens and immigrants when it forced them to leave their homes and live in remote incarceration camps.

To learn more, go to https://korematsuinstitute.org/what-is-fred-korematsu-day/.

For a list of events celebrating Korematsu Day from around the country, go to https://korematsuinstitute.org/2024-fkd-events/.

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AABANY Members: Please Complete Survey for CUNY Graduate Center Research Study on Second-Generation Chinese Americans

AABANY members have been invited to participate in a CUNY Graduate Center research study on second-generation Chinese Americans and their attitudes towards ethnic identity and New York City’s Chinatowns. If you identify as a child of Chinese immigrants, are between the ages of 18-35, and currently live in New York City, you are invited to take a 15-minute survey. You are also welcome to share this survey with any personal contacts who fit these criteria. The survey closes July 15. If you have any questions, please reach out to Annie Wang at [email protected].  

Survey link: https://bit.ly/chinatownsnyc    

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2023 NAPABA Convention| Early Bird Registration Opens June 15

2023 NAPABA Convention

November 9-12, 2023 | Indianapolis, IN

Register Now

Building relationships. Connecting with old friends. Finding inspiration. The NAPABA Convention is more than a conference. It is a critical platform to learn about cutting-edge areas in the law and to explore your unique path to professional success.

Join us in Indianapolis this year, where we will also act on core NAPABA values, such as supporting the LGBTQ+ community, the immigrant community, and opposing ill-advised policies that adversely impact the broader AANHPI community.

Early bird registration, housing, and scholarship opens June 15, 2023, and this is your chance for the best deal you will not want to miss.

Housing and A La Carte Options
Early bird registration lets you be first in line to take advantage of our special hotel rates and lets you purchase a la carte plenaries and gala tickets! A room block has been secured at the JW Marriott Indianapolis, the Convention host hotel, and Courtyard Indianapolis Downtown from November 9-12, 2023 for Convention attendees. The unique booking link will be provided to you AFTER you register for the 2023 NAPABA Convention.

To enhance your Convention experience and put you in control of your schedule, the Friday and Saturday Plenary Luncheons and the 35th Anniversary Gala will be available for purchase a la carte. To attend these ticketed events, you must add them to your registration for an additional fee.

Questions?
You can find additional resources about the Convention and Indianapolis on our website, but if you have additional questions, contact us at [email protected].

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In the News: AABANY Member Lina Lee Comments on Hurricane Ida Basement-Flooding Deaths

In early September, Hurricane Ida made landfall in New York City and left countless individuals to suffer the aftermath of flooded basements. A closer look into the eleven basement-flooding deaths reveals that a majority of them were Asian residents. A number of factors played into this tragedy including a lack of affordable housing, climate change, and pandemic change. These issues are prominent among low-income Asian immigrants who resort to illegal basement apartments that are deemed to have unsafe living conditions. 

“Realistically, a lot of these tenants would have family members, many who are clustered into very, very small rooms,” said Lina Lee, executive director of housing justice nonprofit organization Communities Resist. “When you have these natural disasters, there’s obviously going to be really a life-and-death situation, and when you have very limited or no access to leave your living space, these families really had no way out.”

Lee continues, “They cluster in small communities where they are able to access people who speak the same language, who are from the same culture and are living in the same conditions that they have to live in. For them, they have nowhere else to live with, except those small pockets in Queens.” 

Punishing tenants is not an ideal solution. Lee said reporting landlords for housing violations enforces building codes which could prompt agencies to issue a vacate order and inadvertently force a tenant to move out.The Mayor proposes an emergency warning system for basement-dwellers but the victims’ families are not convinced. 

To read the full NBC News article, click here. 

Lina Lee will also be the moderator for a program titled “Fighting for Housing And Community Justice: The Role of Lawyers In The Movement” at AABANY’s Fall Conference on Saturday, October 23. Click here for more information. 

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NAPABA Applauds Nomination of Senator Kamala Harris

For Immediate Release:
Date: August 19, 2020

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) recognizes the historic significance of Sen. Kamala Harris’ nomination as vice president on the Democratic ticket. Harris is the first woman of color to be nominated on a presidential ticket for a major party. If elected, she would become the highest ranking Asian Pacific American ever in line for presidential succession.

“Sen. Harris has defined herself as a leader and legislator in the U.S. Senate,” said Bonnie Lee Wolf, president of NAPABA. “Her nomination is not only historic, but deeply meaningful to the Asian Pacific American community. Sen. Harris is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, and she understands the priorities and concerns of Asian Pacific American and Black communities, which have been underrepresented at all levels of government. Since her tenure in the Senate, Sen. Harris has shown a strong commitment to diversity—including having one of the most diverse staff in the Senate and elevating people of color to leadership positions.”

“As a non-partisan organization, NAPABA works with presidential administrations and members of Congress from both parties to advance the interests of the Asian Pacific American community. NAPABA applauds Sen. Harris’ nomination and looks forward to greater representation and diversity of political candidates, executive branch appointees, and judges.”

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NAPABA Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on Protecting DREAMers

For Immediate Release: 
Date: June 18, 2020

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]

Today, in a 5-4 landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s decision in 2017 to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) violated federal law in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California. The DACA program, whose beneficiaries are also known as DREAMers, protects eligible undocumented youth from deportation and provides them with work permits. Approximately 650,000 individuals, including more than 16,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), benefit from this program and about 120,000 AAPIs are eligible for DACA. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauds the Court for its decision, which will protect these individuals, many of whom are the sole providers in their families.

“The Court’s decision ensures the protection of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. These DREAMers now know they are currently safe from being suddenly deported from the country in which they grew up, went to school, and now work,” said Bonnie Lee Wolf, President of NAPABA. “There has been strong bipartisan support in Congress to protect DREAMers, who significantly contribute to their communities in the United States. The Court’s decision is not a permanent fix and Congress needs to act. NAPABA remains committed to protecting DREAMers.”

NAPABA’s policy resolution to support the continuation of DACA recipients can be found here and the original resolution to support DACA recipients can be found here. The Supreme Court decision can be found here. 

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Refer Refugees to CCCS Refugee Resettlement

Please contact Kelly Agnew-Barajas for further assistance.

Kelly Agnew-Barajas

Director of Refugee Resettlement Catholic Charities Community Services

80 Maiden Lane, 14th Floor New York, NY 10038

Office: 212-419-3726 │Cell: 917-284-1179

[email protected]

New Americans Hotline: 800.566.7636

Pronouns: she, her, hers

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AABANY Comments on Public Charge Rule

On December 7, 2018, AABANY submitted comments to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in opposition to the rulemaking on Proposed Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds. AABANY wrote:

The Asian American Bar Association of New York believes that this rule change will cause irreparable harm to our community. Many of AABANY’s members are immigrants, or children of immigrants, and are personally impacted by this rule. The Proposed Rule changes the rules of the system in midstream and are directly intended to prevent immigrants from becoming American citizens.

To read the full text of the comments, click here.

AABANY thanks the Community Response Task Force of the Issues Committee for leading this effort on behalf of AABANY.

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NAPABA Opposes Plan to Redefine “Public Charge” and Limit Legal Immigration

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) opposes the proposed changes to “public charge” published Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). We urge our members and affiliated bar associations to join NAPABA in submitting public comments opposing the proposed policy.

Public charge policy has roots in long-time efforts to limit the admission of ‘undesirable immigrants,’ such as Chinese in the 19th century. The proposed rule would re-define a public charge as an immigrant who would be likely to receive government benefits from an expanded list of programs, including nutrition and housing assistance programs for children. The proposed rule will make it easier to designate an applicant as a public charge, and deny their admission to the United States or reject their permanent resident application. DHS also proposes stricter guidance for weighing certain factors when reviewing visa applications, such as age, income, health, English proficiency, and employability. NAPABA is greatly concerned with how these changes will negatively impact Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants, working families, and children’s health.

The proposal has already had a chilling effect on Asian Pacific American communities. Due to reports of these proposed changes, some immigrant families—including those with eligible U.S. citizen members—have unenrolled from important public services for which they qualify. If implemented, the new public charge rules would undermine the safety, health, and security of immigrant families by denying them the support historically provided to new Americans. Asian Pacific American communities will be particularly hard hit, as over 31% of new green card recipients are from Asian and Pacific Island nations and as there is significant variation in average income amongst Asian ethnic groups.

Take charge by submitting a comment on the proposed rule before the DHS proceeds with its final rulemaking by the deadline, December 10, 2018. NAPABA will be submitting comments as an organization, but individuals are encouraged to submit unique comments here. To see available resources, please click here. For more information, contact Oriene Shin, NAPABA Policy Counsel, at 202-775-9555 or [email protected].

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