Good afternoon from the Golden State, and welcome to The Yappie’s Asian American politics and activism briefing. We want to thank Adriana Lacy for providing our team with the opportunity to share our mission and future plans (read the interview here and subscribe to The Intersection). Support our work by making a donation and send tips to [email protected].
The Big Story
? DEEP DIVE — GARLAND’S BIG TEST: Days after President Joe Biden used his first prime-time address to condemn attacks against Asian Americans, focus has shifted to newly sworn-in Attorney General Merrick Garland and how he could potentially stem the violence. Here’s what you need to know…
- Renewed urgency: AAPI advocates have been pressing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take stronger action since the start of the pandemic. They could get their wish with Garland helming the federal agency. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested that Garland had the president’s blessing to act independently “on how to best address” the crisis.
- Why this matters: As the nation’s top law enforcement official, Garland is afforded significant power, which could affect the enforcement of civil rights laws and the distribution of federal resources. When Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) asked about the wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in February, Garland pledged that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division would “prosecute those cases vigorously.”
- What’s next: Garland is likely to become the face of the department’s new efforts, which were announced after national AAPI groups met with Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin earlier this month. The agency is translating its hate crime resources website into four AAPI languages, launching grant and outreach programs, and potentially expanding the collection of hate crime data.
- Separately… In the next few weeks, Garland could be tasked with engaging with AAPI members of Congress, who are already moving to reintroduce legislation aimed at improving the Justice Department’s ability to track the rising number of incidents, USA Today’s Nicholas Wu reports. A meeting between DOJ leadership and members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is already in the works, a source familiar with the matter tells The Yappie.
The Biden Era
? UPDATE — CORONAVIRUS HATE REPORTS NEAR 4,000: Racism-fueled violence against Asian Americans continues to spike, with women more than twice as likely to report being targeted than men, according to new data published by Stop AAPI Hate on Tuesday.
- The details: The group received 3,795 self-reported incidents from March 19 last year to Feb. 28. Activists say the updated numbers represent only a fraction of the COVID-related discrimination playing out across the country.
? WHITE HOUSE FACES DEPORTATION FURY: Federal immigration authorities reportedly deported 33 Vietnamese refugees on Monday evening, spurring protests in California’s Little Saigon and sharp condemnation from the Orange County-based organization VietRISE. In a note to the White House on Sunday, Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) asked Biden to intervene, saying the deportations would “tear apart families.”
- In other news: The Department of Homeland Security will grant temporary deportation relief and work permits to roughly 1,600 Burmese nationals and residents in the U.S. amid the violence in Myanmar.
- Catch up: The Biden administration has also rescinded the Trump-era “public charge” wealth test, which had faced fierce opposition from AAPI advocacy groups. The rule allowed immigration officers to penalize green card applicants for using certain public benefits.
PUSH FOR NEW AAPI OMB PICK TAKES SHAPE: More than 80 Democratic AAPI leaders disappointed by Neera Tanden’s failed nomination have signed onto a letter urging the president to pick Nani Coloretti to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Democratic National Committee AAPI Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong tells The Yappie. If selected, Coloretti would be the first American of Filipino descent to be nominated for a Cabinet-level role. Groups backing the former Obama administration official include the AAPI Victory Fund, CAPA21, Asian Americans Rising and numerous Filipino American labor organizations.
? DEMOCRATS’ STIMULUS SALES PITCH: Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package would “reduce poverty in Asian American communities by almost 22%,” according to a fact sheet distributed by the Democratic National Committee and Acting WHIAAPI Executive Director Laura Shin.
ICYMI — ADVOCATES SEEK SWIFT WHIAAPI OVERHAUL: AAPI Progressive Action is pressing the Biden administration to revamp the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by executive order before May 31.
On The Hill
? WHAT TO WATCH—The Senate moved unanimously to end debate on the nomination of Katherine Tai for U.S. Trade Representative, setting up a final vote on Wednesday. If confirmed, Tai would be the only Asian American with a Cabinet-level role in the Biden administration.
?️ UPDATE — HOUSE PANEL TO EXAMINE ANTI-ASIAN ATTACKS: Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC president John C. Yang, Stop AAPI Hate executive director Manjusha Kulkarni, actor Daniel Dae Kim, AAPI lawmakers, and other advocates are expected to testify this week before a House Judiciary subcommittee as it examines the rise in “discrimination and violence against Asian Americans.” Watch the hearing at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday here.
TRACKING BIDEN’S OTHER NOMINEES: Most of Biden’s Asian American nominees are still awaiting Senate confirmation, including the president’s most visible South Asian picks.
- Support from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) could pave the way for Vanita Gupta to become associate attorney general despite intense GOP opposition, CNN’s Manu Raju notes, though Gupta still awaits a Judiciary Committee vote. Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee voted 12–12 last Wednesday to advance the nomination of Rohit Chopra, who is tapped to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Julie Su, Biden’s nominee for deputy U.S. labor secretary, appeared before the Senate HELP Committee on Tuesday; the same committee is scheduled to consider surgeon general nominee Vivek Murthy on Wednesday.
- The nominations of AAPI Victory Fund co-founder Dilawar Syed for deputy small business administrator) and former WHIAAPI head Kiran Ahuja for director of the Office of Personnel Management have been sent to the Senate, with no further action as of yet.
- The White House has also announced that Biden intends to nominate Nellie Liang for under secretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department and Todd Kim for associate attorney general of environment and natural resources.
?️ LESSONS FROM 2020: The election of California Republicans Michelle Park Steel and Young Kim offers a blueprint for how both political parties can target AAPI voters, historian and author Jane Hong writes in the Washington Post.
AAPI Nation
? NUMBER OF THE WEEK—46: That’s the percentage of unemployed Asian Americans who were out of work for more than six months during the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Pew Research Center.
Here’s what else is happening across America..
- The California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus has hired Stephanie Tom as chief consultant, the Sacramento Bee’s Ashley Wong reports.
- As schools begin to reopen, Asian American families are choosing to keep their children learning from home at disproportionately high rates, the Washington Post’s Moriah Balingit, Hannah Natanson and Yutao Chen write.
- Missouri state Rep. Emily Weber (D-Kansas City) has lodged a formal complaint against a GOP colleague for using the phrase “China virus” during a floor debate.
- POLITICO’s Tina Nguyen and Sally Goldenberg explain how New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang “charmed the right on his road to political stardom.”
- New York Assembly Members Yuh-Line Niou and Ron Kim, state Sens. John Liu and Kevin Thomas, and Rep. Grace Meng (D) speak to City & State about their upcoming hate crime measures.
- Asian Americans in St. Louis are pushing for translated COVID-19 vaccine information, St. Louis Public Radio reports.
- Vox’s Rachel Ramirez and Jerusalem Demsas break down the history of tensions (and solidarity) between Asian American and Black communities.
- America has never taken responsibility for spraying Agent Orange over Laos during the Vietnam War, but generations of ethnic minorities have endured the consequences, according to The New York Times.
- Finally… Asian Americans made history Monday as they picked up a slew of Academy Awards nominations, breaking records in the directing and acting categories in particular, writes The Yappie’s Shawna Chen. “Minari,” which centers the story of a Korean immigrant family in Arkansas, received a total of six nominations.
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