Welcome to The Yappie's first Asian American politics and activism briefing! Let us know what you think by replying to this email, and you can also send tips, ideas, events, opportunities, and more to [email protected]. Your feedback will help us to perfect things over the coming months (the number of stories will vary and we may not publish some weeks).
The Big Story
2020 CENSUS—SCOTUS SET TO RULE ON TRUMP CITIZENSHIP QUERY DESPITE ‘SMOKING GUN’ EVIDENCE: Immigration advocates are mobilizing in a last-minute effort to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to delay issuing a ruling on whether the Trump administration can proceed with adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. But the court appears poised to ignore their pleas and could release a decision as soon as 10 a.m. EST on Monday. Here’s how we got here…
- Background: Three federal judges halted the Trump administration’s plans to add a citizenship question, saying that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross circumvented government procedures and violated the Constitution. The government asked for the Supreme Court to review the rulings, and the justices heard oral argument in late April.
- Documents obtained by the New York Times in late May appeared to show that deceased GOP operative Thomas Hofeller played a role in efforts to add the question to advantage whites and Republicans, undercutting claims by Sec. Ross that the U.S. Department of Justice needed it for “more effective enforcement” of the Voting Rights Act. The DOJ denied that Hofeller’s materials were used in drafting its citizenship query requests after challengers in the census case notified the Supreme Court of the new evidence.
- But a high-ranking Census Bureau official privately discussed the citizenship question issue with Hofeller in 2015, according to emails cited in a new court filing in Maryland by Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.
- How will SCOTUS rule? Advocacy groups have asked the Supreme Court to hold off on ruling on the citizenship query, but a delay is highly unlikely. In remarks to the Second Circuit Judicial Conference, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ominously linked the census case to the court’s decision last year to uphold the travel ban in Trump v. Hawaii, stating that the ruling “granted great deference to the Executive.”
- Why this matters: Census Bureau research shows that Asian Americans are the least likely group to complete their census questionnaires—and Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) could be the most impacted by the addition of a citizenship question. An undercount could result in reduced public funding and representation for Asian American communities, including for health care and interpretation services.
On the Agenda
AAPI GROUPS LAUNCH REPORT ON IMMIGRATION: A new 80-page report by Advancing Justice | AAJC and Advancing Justice-Los Angeles details the diversity of Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrant communities and examines how they have been affected by the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Read more.
JACL SLAMS PLAN TO DETAIN MIGRANT CHILDREN AT FORT SILL: The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-California) lambasted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to house 1,400 undocumented children in an Oklahoma military base that was once used to detain Japanese Americans during World War II, labeling the act “immoral” and “tone-deaf.” Read more.
NFALA BACKS BUMATAY TO BE TRUMP APPEALS COURT PICK: The National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA) is pushing for President Donald Trump to pick California’s Patrick Bumatay to fill an opening at the nation’s largest federal appeals court, the Washington Times reports. Bumatay was previously tapped for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but was pulled after opposition from Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein. Read more.
GUAM FUNDING COULD DECLINE IN FY2020 NDAA: The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act contains $403.487 million worth of military construction projects for Guam, Rep. Michael San Nicolas (D-Guam) says—approximately $45 million less than authorized 2019 spending. Read more.
FEDERAL PROBE OF MAR-A-LAGO INTRUDER APPEARS TO WIDEN: A request by federal prosecutors to file classified information under seal in the case of Yujing Zhang, a 32-year-old Chinese woman arrested for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago in March, suggests that there is now a national security component, the Miami Herald reports. Read more.
2020 Watch
AAPI CANDIDATES MAKE THE DEBATE STAGE: All three Asian American and Pacific Islander presidential hopefuls will appear at the first Democratic debates in Miami, NBC News announced Friday. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) will appear on June 26, while Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) and entrepreneur Andrew Yang are part of the June 27 lineup. The back-to-back nights of debates will air on NBC and Telemundo affiliates. Instant Twitter reactions from the candidates…
- Harris: “I can’t wait to take the debate stage on June 27 at 9 p.m. ET to discuss how we can build a better America together. #ForThePeople”
- Yang: “They’ve called me a long shot, a curiosity, the Internet candidate, the random man running for President. We’ve now made the debate stage alongside the top contenders and we are about to wake America up. We will only grow from here. In 2021 they will call me Mr. President.”
- Gabbard: “We’re officially in! We just got the line up for the first debates in Miami. See you on Wednesday, June 26th as I offer to serve you as president and commander in chief.”
HARRIS VOWS EXECUTIVE ACTION TO PROTECT DREAMERS: DREAMers would gain a pathway to citizenship through executive action and undocumented immigrant parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents would receive deportation relief under a new plan released by Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-California) campaign. Read more.
YANG ANNOUNCES SECOND ‘TRIAL RUN’ OF UBI PLAN: A family in Iowa will receive $1,000 a month for the next 12 months as part of Andrew Yang’s attempt to demonstrate how his campaign’s signature policy—the “Freedom Dividend”—would change lives. Yang awarded the same stipend to a New Hampshire family in February and is using his own money for the “trial run.” Read more.
The Trump Era
IMMIGRATION HARDLINERS TAKE THE HELM AT USCIS: Last week, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was named acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by acting Homeland Security Secretary Keven McAleenan. An immigration hardliner, Cuccinelli argued that states should invoke “war powers” to turn away an “invasion” of migrants from Central America seeking asylum in the U.S. and advocated for denying citizenship to American-born children of undocumented immigrants, NPR reports. Read more.
- John Zadrozny, an ally to White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, is also set to join Cuccinelli at USCIS, according to POLITICO. Read more.
U.S. PURGING CHINESE CANCER RESEARCHERS FROM TOP INSTITUTIONS: The National Institutes of Health and the FBI are targeting ethnic Chinese scientists, including U.S. citizens, searching for a cancer cure as part of a wider U.S. campaign against economic espionage, Bloomberg reports. Read more.
CHAO AIDE CREATED SPECIAL PATH FOR MCCONNELL’S FAVORED PROJECTS:The U.S. Department of Transportation under Secretary Elaine Chao designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and transportation projects in Kentucky as her husband Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) prepared to campaign for re-election,POLITICO reports. Read more.
On the Hill
CHU SEEKS TO BLOCK IMPLEMENTATION OF ‘PUBLIC CHARGE’ RULE: Rep. Judy Chu (D-California) introduced the No Federal Funds for Public Charge Act, H.R. 3222, which would prohibit federal funds from being used to implement a proposed rule change by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that would dramatically expand the categories of benefits that would deem an immigrant a “public charge.” Read more.
- Some context: The 2018 DHS proposal would allow officers to deny green cards if an applicant has used certain non-cash forms of public assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing assistance. Immigration advocates say this would force millions of immigrants to choose between financial help and seeking approval to live and work legally within the U.S. Read more.
DREAMERS BILL LIKELY WON’T GET SENATE VOTE: The American Dream and Promise Act, H.R. 6, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for more than two million undocumented people who came to the U.S. as children, will “probably not” get a vote in the Senate, according to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). The House passed the bill by a 237–187 vote; the White House has indicated that President Trump will veto the measure. Read more.
SENATORS PUSH FOR HEALTHCARE FUNDING IN U.S. TERRITORIES: Eight Democratic senators introduced the Territories Health Equity Act, S. 1773, which would boost federal funding for Medicaid and Medicare in U.S. territories, The Hill reports. 38 Democratic representatives also introduced companion legislation in the House. Read more.
U.S. LAWMAKERS BEGIN PUSH TO SUPPORT HONG KONG PROTESTS: Amid mass protests over Hong Kong’s controversial extradition bill, lawmakers have reintroduced the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require the State Department to certify Hong Kong’s autonomy from mainland China to justify special economic treatment. The Chinese government summoned Robert Forden, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, to protest the move. Read more.
- Also… The Senate voted 94–3 to confirm former Air Force General David Stilwell to be the next assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, a post that has been vacant since April 2017. Read more.
Representation Roundup
Notable activity from AAPI members of Congress (June 8–14):
- The Senate unanimously passed Rep. Mark Takano’s (D-California) Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, H.R. 299. Read more.
- A measure backed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) to strip the Hyde Amendment from an HHS funding bill was ruled “out of order” by the House Rules Committee. Rep. Jayapal also revealed she had an abortion in a New York Times op-ed. Read more.
- Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) reintroduced the Military Justice Improvement Act two days after Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) expressed support for a pilot program for prosecuting sexual assaults. Read more.
- Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) introduced a joint resolution that would halt the Trump administration’s push to expedite $8.1 billion in arms sales to Gulf countries. Read more.
- Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Florida) introduced H.R. 3094, which would make the Pulse Nightclub a national memorial site. Read more.
- A group of 50 House Democrats led by Rep. Grace Meng (D-New York) called on the State Department to reverse its policy against Pride flags at U.S. embassies. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) also slammed the Trump administration’s transgender military ban at the Pentagon. Read more.
- Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) reintroduced the DEFENSE Act, which expands tools available to victims of trade theft. Read more.
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) is drafting legislation to incentivize tech companies and law enforcement to participate in a consortium on disinformation. Read more.
- Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, launched a probe into e-cigarette giant Juul Labs. Read more.
- Rep. Ami Bera (D-California) joined three other representatives to introduce the Affordability is Access Act. Read more.
- Rep. TJ Cox (D-California) joined members of the Natural Resources committee to introduce The LWCF Permanent Funding Act. Read more.
- Rep. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) introduced the Safe Water for Military Families Act, H.R. 3226. Read more.
- A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee examined Rep. Doris Matsui’s (D-California) STORE Nuclear Fuel Act of 2019, H.R. 3136. Read more.
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