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South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
In Los Angeles, Asian-Americans call for solidarity with Latinos against ICE raids
The Asian immigrants being targeted were generally people who were convicted of a crime after arriving in the US, making them subject to deportation after their release from jail or prison. In most cases, ICE never followed through because the immigrants had lived in the US long enough that their home countries no longer recognised them as citizens. In recent months, a number of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese immigrants whose deportation orders had been stayed in some cases for decades have been told that those orders would now be enforced. Dozens of Southeast Asian immigrants in Los Angeles and Orange counties whose deportation orders had been on indefinite hold have been detained after showing up for routine check-ins at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices, according to immigration lawyers and advocacy groups. Organisers say many Asian immigrants have already been affected by the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants working in the country without documentation. As federal immigration raids continue to upend life in Los Angeles, Asian-American leaders were rallying their communities to raise their voices in support of Latinos, who have been the primary targets of the enforcement sweeps, warning that neighbourhoods frequented by Asian immigrants could be next. 'Our community is much more silent, but we are being detained in really high numbers,' said Connie Chung Joe, chief executive of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. 'There's such a stigma and fear that, unlike the Latinx community that wants to fight and speak out about the injustices, our community's first reaction is to go down and get more and more hidden.' On Thursday, more than a half-dozen leaders representing Thai, Japanese and South Asian communities held a news conference in Little Tokyo urging community members to stand together and denounce the federal action as an overreach. President Donald Trump came into office in January vowing to target violent criminals for deportation. But amid pressure to raise deportation numbers, administration officials in recent months have shifted their focus to farmworkers, landscapers, street vendors and other day labourers, many of whom have been working in the country for decades. While an estimated 79 per cent of undocumented residents in LA County were natives of Mexico and Central America, Asian immigrants make up the second-largest group, constituting 16 per cent of people in the county without legal authorisation, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Across the US, Indians make up the third-largest group of undocumented residents, behind Mexicans and Salvadoreans. A sign on a boarded-up restaurant in the Little Tokyo neighbourhood on June 19. Photo: AFP According to the Pew Research Centre, the LA metropolitan area was home to the largest populations of Cambodian, Korean, Indonesian, Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese people in the US. So far, the highest-profile raids in Southern California have centred on Latino neighbourhoods, targeting car washes, restaurants, home improvement stores, churches and other locales where undocumented residents gather and work. But Asian businesses have not been immune. A raid outside a Home Depot in Hollywood happened near Thai Town, where organisers have seen ICE agents patrolling the streets. In late May, Department of Homeland Security agents raided a Los Angeles-area nightclub, arresting 36 people they said were Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants in the country without authorisation. In Little Bangladesh, immigration agents recently detained 16 people outside a grocery store, said Manjusha P. Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance, a coalition of more than 50 community-based organisations. 'They will come for us even more in the coming days and weeks,' Kulkarni said. 'So we are only protected when we're in solidarity with our fellow Angelenos.' From June 1 to 10, at the start of the federal sweeps, ICE data show that 722 people were arrested in the Los Angeles region. The figures were obtained by the Deportation Data Project, a repository of enforcement data at UC Berkeley Law. A couple visits Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP A Los Angeles Times analysis found that 69 per cent of those arrested during that period had no criminal convictions. Nearly 48 per cent were Mexican, 16 per cent were from Guatemala and 8 per cent from El Salvador. Forty-seven of the 722 individuals detained – or about 6 per cent – were from Asian countries. 'We know the fear is widespread and it is deep,' said assemblymember Mike Fong, a Democrat whose district takes in Monterey Park and west San Gabriel Valley, areas with large Asian immigrant populations. Los Angeles City Council members Nithya Raman and Ysabel Jurado spoke of the repercussions the raids were having on immigrant communities. Raman is Indian-American, and Jurado is Filipino-American. Jurado said undocumented Filipinos make up a sizeable portion of the region's carers, tending to elderly people and young children. 'Their work reflects the deepest values of our communities: compassion, service and interdependence,' Jurado said. 'Their labour is essential, and their humanity must be honoured.' Jurado and Raman called on the federal government to end the raids. 'This is such an important moment to speak out and to ensure that the Latino community does not feel alone,' Raman said. 'I also want to make it clear to every single person who is Asian-American, these aren't just raids on others. They're raids on us.' Advertisement
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court weighs Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
[Source] Supreme Court justices on Thursday expressed concerns about President Donald Trump's attempt to enforce his executive order limiting birthright citizenship as legal challenges progress through the courts. Catch up Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office directing federal agencies to refuse citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who are not American citizens or lawful permanent residents. The order was quickly blocked by federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state, who all issued nationwide injunctions preventing its implementation. Trump's directive seeks to reinterpret the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause, which states that all 'persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.' Since the amendment's ratification in 1868, it has been understood to grant citizenship to almost anyone born on U.S. soil. Trending on NextShark: Dozens of states and cities, along with immigrant advocacy groups and pregnant women, filed lawsuits challenging the order, warning it would affect approximately 150,000 children born each year to parents without legal permanent resident status. How the hearing went Thursday's more than two-hour argument focused primarily on whether nationwide injunctions blocking the policy should be limited in scope rather than the constitutionality of Trump's order itself. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that such sweeping injunctions exceed judicial power, claiming they 'operate asymmetrically, forcing the government to win everywhere while the plaintiffs can win anywhere.' Trending on NextShark: New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum countered that limiting the injunction would create practical problems. 'There would be chaos on the ground where people's citizenship turns on and off when you cross state lines,' he argued, noting that New Jersey alone handles 6,000 babies annually born elsewhere whose citizenship status would need verification. Conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett reportedly appeared sympathetic to arguments against piecemeal implementation. The big picture Trending on NextShark: The case carries significant implications for both immigration policy and judicial authority. If the Supreme Court restricts nationwide injunctions, it could help the administration implement other executive actions that have been blocked by lower courts. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated that Trump's order violates four Supreme Court precedents, including the landmark 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that children born to non-citizen parents on U.S. soil are entitled to citizenship. Asian American civil rights organizations have emphasized this precedent's historical importance, with Advancing Justice - AAJC saying it 'allowed the children of Asian immigrants to become citizens in the late 19th century despite widespread racial animus.' The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision by early summer, potentially addressing the underlying constitutional question as well. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
