Politics briefing: As Title 42 nears end, Biden weighs migrant family detentions

? Good morning, and welcome to The Yappie’s AAPI politics briefing — your guide to the policy news and activism affecting Asian Americans + Pacific Islanders. Send tips and feedback to [email protected] and support our work by making a donation. 

— Edited by Shawna Chen

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The Biden Era

POSSIBLE REINSTATEMENT OF MIGRANT FAMILY DETENTION DRAWS BACKLASH: With Title 42 ending on May 11, President Joe Biden is facing pressure to mitigate a potential influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

• What’s happening: The Biden administration is considering reinstating the procedure of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally. This comes on the heels of another recently proposed restriction cracking down on certain asylum seekers, a rule that echoes the Trump-era approach.

• Why it matters: Talk of possible plans to reinstate family detentions, a stark contrast to Biden’s campaign promises, has drawn criticism from advocacy groups and congressional Democrats. 

• At the moment, migrant families who cross the border illegally are released into the U.S. and given a court date where they can make their case for asylum. The Biden administration would hold the families for a few days and expedite their immigration court proceedings, officials told AP’s Colleen Long and Elliot Spagat.

• The Japanese American Citizens League released a statement condemning the potential move. “The Japanese American community knows all too well the impact of indefinite family incarceration,” the organization stated. “The traumas inflicted upon the families will carry on for generations.”

• Context: Title 42 is an immigration policy that allows border patrol agents to expel migrants from the United States as a public health measure or in other emergency situations. It was invoked in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since resulted in the expulsion of more than two million migrants. 

? COFA RENEWALS HIGHLIGHTED IN PROPOSED FY2024 BUDGET: The Biden administration has announced its intention to renew the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with three Pacific nations—Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.

• The budget proposes a total of $7.1 billion in funding over 20 years to provide continued economic assistance to the Pacific Islands. “The Administration supports allowing Compact migrants to become eligible for key federal social safety net programs while residing in the United States, as a long-term solution to the financial impacts of Compact migrants on state and territorial governments,” the Department of the Interior said in a press release.

• The initiatives in the proposal would also benefit Americans living in U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

CENSUS MOVES TO REMOVE OUTDATED RACE LANGUAGE: A proposal released by the Office of Management and Budget would remove from the Census outdated racial language written in 1977, which describes Asian Americans as “far east” and African Americans as “negro,” The Washington Post’s Silvia Foster-Frau reports. The proposal also calls for the removal of "Other" in "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander."

• U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos, the first Latino to hold the position and the bureau’s first Senate-confirmed person of color, has expressed a desire to improve the way communities of color are counted in the Census.

• In 2020, roughly 50 million people selected “Some other race” while filling out the Census, Foster-Frau notes—an indication of the current form’s failure to accurately reflect America’s range of racial identities. 

ON OUR RADAR — Biden to visit Monterey Park today: Biden’s Southern California trip will include a stop in Monterey Park, where 11 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration on Jan. 21. He is expected to highlight gun control efforts during his visit, the White House says.

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On The Hill

MOYLAN PRESSES DOD TO SEND MILITARY KIDS BACK TO GUAM SCHOOLS: Guam Del. James Moylan (R) is asking the Department of Defense to integrate children of U.S. military troops deployed on Guam into the territory’s public schools instead of funding separate education systems. 

• Across the Pacific, more than 21,000 students are currently enrolled in schools run by Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), a federally operated schools system catering to children of military service members, according to DoDEA. In his letter, Moylan proposed a five-year plan that would integrate students into Guam public schools and divert about $1 billion of funds to the Guam Department of Education.

• “This letter was just to open discussion,” Moylan told reporters during a press conference. “We understand it doesn't materialize overnight … And this process will be very tedious.”

• In 1997, the U.S. military withdrew its students from Guam public schools to provide what it considered a higher-quality education for service members’ children. The move was met with significant backlash. “Our relationship is built upon people relating to other people, and the military will destroy this with their effort to divide our youth and to promote separate communities,” then-Guam Del. Robert Underwood (D) said in a 1997 congressional floor speech. “Guam has to be seen as part of America by our fellow Americans.”

• Worth noting: Moylan said he favors statehood for Guam, but many locals on the island believe the decision should be left to the Indigenous Chamorro people, writes POLITICO’s Jesús A. Rodríguez.

? PACIFIC ISLAND DELEGATES MEET WITH AAPI LEADERS ON EDUCATION: Dels. Uifa’atali Aumua Amata (R-American Samoa), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), and Moylan met with the nonprofit APIA Scholars last week to discuss student needs among Pacific Islanders in the U.S. 

• Only 22% of Pacific Islanders ages 25 to 29 held a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2019, compared with 71% of Asian Americans in the same age category, according to a 2022 report from the Center for American Progress. Nationally, that figure is 39%.

• In their words: “Our Pacific Islander youth can face geographic and economic obstacles to higher education. It’s important to continue to build better access, and keep encouraging our young people from the islands or our islander communities here in the U.S. with educational possibilities,” Aumua Amata said in a statement after the meeting.

 KHANNA SPEAKS OUT ON BANK RUN: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) called on the federal government to act swiftly to protect Silicon Valley Bank depositors, many of whom are his constituents, after the bank collapsed last week. 

• Silicon Valley Bank served as a major holder for tech companies across the Bay, and its collapse has sent lawmakers scrambling to mitigate the crisis. Khanna, a leading voice on technology and industry regulations, represents the district where the bank was headquartered. 

• Startups were hit particularly hard after losing access to their accounts, noted Khanna. “They're employing Americans across the country, and they didn’t take risks. They just had their money in a bank, and we’re saying those need to be guaranteed," Khanna said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.

• Biden said all depositors’ money would be protected during a press conference Monday.

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Campaign Watch

? WHERE ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE SHIFTED RIGHT: A New York Times analysis has found that more Asian Americans voted for Republicans in the 2022 gubernatorial election than they have since 2006, mirroring a national rightward shift among a community that has traditionally supported Democratic candidates.

• One example: In Texas, 51.5% of Asian voters voted for Gov. Greg Abbott (R) compared to 47.5% who voted for Beto O’Rourke (D) in 2022, according to exit poll results compiled by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Statewide, Abbott won the election with 54.8% of the vote compared to O’Rourke’s 43.9%, per the Times.

• GOP candidates have increased their presence in predominantly Asian areas, community leaders and local politicians told the Times’ Jason Kao. Experts say that’s partly because Republicans’ tough-on-crime stance has attracted Asian voters amid an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.

• A national survey found that crime was one of the top issues for Asian American voters in 2022, along with health care, jobs and the economy, and education.

• Don’t forget: In 2022, Republican Rep. Michelle Steel narrowly edged out Democratic challenger Jay Chen in a closely watched race between two Asian American candidates in a largely Asian and immigrant community in California. 

• “Over one-third of my district is Asian American,” Steel told Fox News’ Kelly Laco in response to the Times’ report. “They tell me consistently that they simply want the government out of their way. Leftist priorities of high taxes and over regulation are working to the exact opposite of that end.”

ELECTION 2024 — DAVE MIN SEEKS ORANGE COUNTY HOUSE SEAT: California state Sen. Dave Min (D) has announced he is running to represent California’s 47th district in the House after Rep. Katie Porter (D), the district’s current lawmaker, declared her 2024 Senate bid earlier this month. Porter, who won re-election with 51.7% of the vote compared to Republican challenger Scott Baugh’s 48.3% in November, endorsed Min in what could be another close race.

• Min, who is Korean American and a former business law professor, was recently named chair of California’s Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water. Min also serves as the vice chair of the state’s Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

• About 19% of voters in California’s 47th congressional district identify as AAPI, according to Min. Baugh and Rep. Harley Rouda (D) have also said they will vie for the seat in 2024.

?️ ROAD TO 2024 — NIKKI HALEY’S FIRST MONTH: The former South Carolina governor announced her campaign for president last month, becoming the first major GOP candidate to challenge Donald Trump for the party nomination. Here’s what has happened on the trail so far…

• Raising retirement: At a town hall last week, Haley signaled she would consider changing the retirement age for “those in their 20s … so that it matches life expectancy” but would not touch benefits or programs such as Social Security and Medicare for older Americans. 

• GOP overspending: In a speech at a private donor club, Haley called out both Democrats and Republicans for overspending that has led to a ballooning of the national debt and record-high inflation.

• Spotlight on race: Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is the first Asian American woman to seek the GOP presidential nomination—and the candidate has leaned into her racial identity on the campaign trail. While she has spoken of her experiences with racism, she holds that “America is not a racist country.”

• The first Asian American Republican nominated for president was Hiram Fong, a GOP senator from Hawai‘i and the first Asian American elected to the Senate. He received delegate votes for the GOP’s presidential nominee in 1964, writes Vivian Yan-Gonzalez for The Washington Post.

? UPDATE — PHILADELPHIA’S MAYORAL RACE HEATS UP: Two former Asian American Philadelphia City Council members could face off in the general election after resigning to run for mayor in the 2023 election cycle on separate sides of the aisle.

• David Oh, who is Korean American, is the only Republican to enter the city’s mayoral race so far. The former lawyer and military veteran became the first Asian American elected to the City Council when he won the seat in 2011. His campaign will aim to focus on curbing crime, boosting funding for public schools, and increasing government transparency on taxpayer spending, reports WHYY’s Nicole Leonard.

• On the other hand: Democratic frontrunner Helen Gym has led candidates in fundraising while campaigning on a progressive platform. She could face a challenge in the crowded primary, however, where 12 Democrats are contending for the party nomination.

• Context: Philadelphia is a Democratic stronghold, and the winner of the May Democratic primary will likely win the office. The city has elected 10 consecutive Democrats. The last Republican mayor of Philadelphia was Bernard Samuel, who left office in 1952.

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