​In the wake of increased violence against Black folks, 128 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations and allied organizations – from national advocacy NGOs to university student groups – are rising to support #BlackLivesMatter and the Movement for Black Lives.
 
Below please find the statement and the undersigned supporters. This statement is also available in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese. 

Signed by:
 
18MillionRising.org
Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus
Alaskeros Kasamahan
Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL)
Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)
Anakbayan USA
API Equality - Northern California (APIENC)
API Queer Women and Trans Community (APIQWTC)
API Solidarity DC
Asian American Alliance at Duke
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Asian American Millennials Unite
Asian American Organizing Project
Asian American Pacific Islander Progressive Alliance
Asian American Psychological Association
Asian American Resource Workshop
Asian American Student Union (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
Asian American Studies Task Force
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles
Asian Americans United
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy - Philadelphia
Asian Pacific American Heritage Week - University of Pennsylvania
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO - Washington, DC
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon
Asian Pacific American Student Development, UC Berkeley
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (APIA) at UC Santa Barbara
Asian Students in America at Carleton College
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL)
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
Asian/Pacific Islander Queers United for Action (AQUA)
AZAPIAVote Table
Baltimore Asian Resistance in Solidarity
Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
Center for APA Women
ChangeLab
Chinatown Community for Equitable Development (CCED)
Chinese Progressive Association - San Francisco
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Council on American-Islamic Relations, SFBA
Dari Project
Densho
DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving
East Coast Asian American Student union
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities
Filipino Advocates for Justice
Filipino American Democratic Club of New York
Freedom Inc
GABRIELA USA
Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY)
Girls Make Better Ninjas: AAPI Feminism Workshop
Hai Ba Trung School for Organizing, SoCal
Hmong Innovating Politics
Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association
Jahajee Sisters: Empowering Indo-Caribbean Women
Japanese American Citizens League Philadelphia Chapter
Lantern Media Network
LELO (Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing)
KAN-WIN
Kimchi Mamas
Korean American Resource and Cultural Center
Migrante Washington D.C.
Muslim Community Network
Muslim Women's Professional Network - St. Louis
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, NAAPIMHA
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum - Bay Area
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum - New York
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
OneAmerica
Pan Asian American Student Alliance of the University of San Francisco
Penn Taiwanese Society
Philadelphia South Asian Collective
Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. (UniPro)
PrYSM
Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project - QWOCMAP
Rad Asians - Twin Cities
Reappropriate
상록수 (Sahngnoksoo) Seattle
Satrang
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN)
South Asian American Policy & Research Institute (SAAPRI)
South Asian Americans Leading Together
South Asian Fund For Education, Scholarship & Training (SAFEST)
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Southeast Asian Community Alliance
Southeast Asian Coalition (SEAC)
​Southwest Asian & North Afrikan - Los Angeles (SWANA-LA) 
Stanford Asian American Activism Committee
Trikone Northwest
VAYLA New Orleans
Viet-Unity Los Angeles
Wakefield Asian Club
Yale School of Drama's Asian American and Asian Theater Coalition


Allied Organizations
After Bruce PR & Marketing
Agenda Project Action Fund
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Ceanothus Consulting
Chutney Pride Inc.- A Nonprofit LGBT Caribbean Organization
Community Health Partnership
Elemental Partners
Families Of Color Seattle
Freedom at Emory University
Freedom Trainers
The Gathering for Justice/Justice League NYC
Lionswrite Communications
Military Religious Freedom Foundation
mothermade
Oregon State University
PKVisuals
Pride at Work
Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project
Stop the Checkpoints
UFCW Minority Coalition
United Steelworkers
Voto Latino
Workers Defense Project

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Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo indicating the department would end the use of private prisons on the federal level. The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) recognizes that the DOJ’s decision is a step in the right direction. However, we continue to urge the discontinuation of private prison use at the federal level in regards to immigration detention centers in addition to operation of private prisons at the state and county levels.

APALA National President Johanna Hester commented: “Yes, the DOJ decision is in fact a historic decision that shows some progress in criminal justice reform, and the 40,000 lives affected in those 13 prisons will hopefully improve for the better. Still, the private prison industry has larger customers than the Justice Department.”

Today’s announcement will not affect state and county prisons nor does it affect immigrant detention centers throughout the U.S. In 2015, private corporations operated 62% of immigration detention beds of the 250 detention centers throughout the U.S., compared to the 11% that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operated.

Hester added: “The increasingly disproportionate corporate operation of detention center beds speaks to how much influence the private prison industry has over the mass criminalization of immigrant communities. The DHS and state and county governments absolutely need to follow the Justice Department’s lead in ending private prisons.”

“The private prison industry is exactly what we call it – an industry. It’s a business model that profits from locking up human beings for years on end in appalling living conditions. The private prison industry doesn’t care for the human dignity nor the genuine rehabilitation of its inmates – it only cares about filling beds to maximize profits,” stated APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana. “While we welcome the DOJ’s decision, we know there is more work that has and must be done."
​
In the 1990s, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) prison population boomed by 250%. Even today, many formerly incarcerated AAPIs face deportation orders and detention centers when finishing their sentences. APALA remains dedicated to disrupting this school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline and urges governments to divest from corporations which continue to profit from the mass incarceration of communities of color and immigrant communities. Read the AAPIs Behind Bars report that APALA co-authored here: bit.ly/AAPIsBehindBars

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Las Vegas, NV – Last night, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) celebrated its community and labor reception, “For Nevada’s Future: Every Vote Counts,” in Las Vegas as an event in conjunction with the Presidential Election Forum hosted this weekend by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) and the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
 
Former Nevada Attorney General and Senate Candidate Catherine Cortez Masto keynoted the reception and highlighted the crucial role that the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has played in strengthening Nevada’s economy and cultural landscape.
 
Cortez Masto rallied: “Nevada has been able to succeed because we have embraced our diversity, not rejected it. Unfortunately, Donald Trump fails to recognize this and wants to ban immigration from the Philippines. Yet still, Congressman Heck continues to support Trump’s campaign. We cannot allow Donald Trump or Congressman Heck to get elected and put policies in place that are the exact opposite of what makes America great.”
 
The reception also welcomed remarks from Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-1); Yvanna Cancela, the political director of Culinary Workers Union 226 (UNITE-HERE); Artie Blanco, state director of super-pac For Nevada’s Future; Gloria Caoile, the vice president of civic and political engagement for APALA Nevada; and Luisa Blue, APALA board member and the highest ranking AAPI elected in SEIU.
 
APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana commented: “Last night’s reception shows how important the voices of the AAPI community are -- politicians can’t ignore our communities and offend our families by calling us animals or terrorists. We need to stand behind champions like Former Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto who understands our issues.”  
 
Gloria Caoile stated: “The politics of Vegas doesn’t follow the typical saying about Vegas. What happens here in Nevada doesn’t stay in Vegas. Rather, it will be felt throughout the country. We’re doing everything in our power to make sure that our voices are heard and represented in all levels of government.”
 
Congresswoman Dina Titus added: “I represent the most diverse district in this state, and it’s my honor to be a part of the first AAPI election forum. We’re going to win this election together because we are stronger together.”

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