Washington, D.C. - The Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a national human and civil rights organization, and its affiliates - the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) of Los Angeles, Calif., the Asian Law Caucus (ALC) of San Francisco, Calif. and the Asian American Institute (AAI) of Chicago, Ill. congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his historic victory as our new President and look forward to working with his administration on civil rights and immigration policy priorities.
According to a New York Times poll, 62 percent of Asian American voters cast their ballot for the new President-elect.
"The election of Senator Obama as President presents a momentous opportunity not only for Asian Americans but for all Americans," said Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of AAJC. "As the first person of color to be elected President, his victory sends a powerful, inspirational message to all communities that the American Dream is attainable. An Obama presidency also gets us closer to fulfilling his commitment to improve our dysfunctional immigration system and keep families together."
Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population, currently comprising 15 million members and 5 percent of the population. With the highest naturalization rate of any racial group, Asian American immigrants and their children represented a key voting bloc in this election. Aggressive multilingual voter registration efforts by Asian American organizations across the country ensured that thousands of new voters contributed to the community?s influence at the polls.
"Asian Americans around the country loudly and clearly raised their voices via the ballot box," said Stewart H. Kwoh, executive director of APALC. "Voters pick the candidate who best articulates a commitment to the concerns closest to our communities, especially on issues such as immigration and fair policies that are inclusive of immigrants and their families."
While not discussed in the Presidential debates, both candidates waged ethnic media battles over who contributed to the failure of comprehensive immigration reform. For many Asian Americans, nearly two-thirds whom are immigrants, reforming the immigration system is a high priority.
"The threshold issue for Asian Americans is immigration reform," said Titi Liu, executive director of ALC. "Our community has been impacted by the flawed policies of this past administration and our broken and outdated system. The Obama administration will need to assert immigration reform as a priority during its first year in office."
Asian Americans will especially be urging the new administration to enact immigration policies that promote family unity and tackle the government bureaucracy that has prevented many from receiving visas to join family members.
"Most of the Asian American community immigrates through the family immigration system, and one of the priorities we will push in a new Congress and new Administration includes resolving family visa backlogs so that someone is not waiting over 20 years to be reunited with his or her sister," said Tuyet Le, executive director of AAI.
The Asian American Justice Center is a national organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans. It works closely with three affiliates - the Asian American Institute of Chicago, the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles and nearly 100 community partners in 49 cities, 23 states and Washington, D.C. |
