​Washington, DC – Today, August 5, 2016 marks the fourth anniversary of the tragic shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, where six individuals were murdered by a white supremacist. The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) stands in solidarity with the community in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and all the Sikh and South Asian communities throughout the country.
 
“The events in Wisconsin remind us that our Sikh, Muslim, Arab, and South Asian brothers and sisters continue to be targets of hate and violence as backlash from 9/11. Today, we remember the victims whose lives were prematurely taken away from their loved ones. We demand an end to all hate crimes and violence targeting our communities,” called APALA National President Johanna Hester. “At APALA, we reject any type of hateful, bigoted or xenophobic acts and sentiments against Sikhs and Muslims. We recognize that as people of different faiths, political backgrounds, and countries of origin, we are stronger when we are united.”
 
“Today, we #RememberOakCreek and stand together as a community who has faced too many acts of oppression and hatred. Often have we seen horrific acts of hate and violence at places of worship and spaces which are meant to be safe. From the Charleston church shooting to the most recent shooting at a gay club in Orlando, we need to recognize that safety is an issue for all Americans, especially for communities of color and other marginalized groups,” added APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana. “Sikh Americans face the same threat of terror as anybody else in America. Discriminating against their community only creates more acts of hate within all of our communities.”
 
APALA continues to advance racial, economic and social justice for all communities of color. We urge lawmakers and politicians to put an end to all hate crimes by creating anti-bias taskforces, rejecting policies that promote profiling and a climate of fear, and refraining from hostile and divisive narratives and rhetoric.

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Seattle, WA - On Thursday and Friday, over 40 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) activists from labor, education, civil rights, and criminal justice organizations, along with prisoners at the Monroe Correctional Complex, gathered in the Seattle area for a grassroots convening called "AAPIs Beyond Bars & Beyond Borders." Eddy Zheng, co-chair of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee and a Soros Justice Fellow, said, "The AAPIs Beyond Bars & Beyond Borders national convening offers a historic opportunity for AAPI individuals and organizations to strengthen our tools and maximize our power to end mass incarceration and deportation." Participants strategized around collective action to address mass incarceration and deportation in the AAPI community.
 
The incarceration rate of AAPIs has skyrocketed since the 1990s, and certain AAPI groups are deported at disproportionately high rates because of criminal convictions. Often overlooked in the immigration and criminal justice debates, the convening highlighted the experiences and stories of AAPI immigrants and refugees whose contact with the criminal justice system makes them automatically deportable, even if they are lawful permanent residents.
 
During the convening, prisoners with pending ICE holds at Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington talked about their fears of being deported upon completion of their sentences. For those who are not deported right away, the lack of access to critical re-entry services and the lengthy and expensive process to get authorization to work in the US creates additional hardships. "Southeast Asian American communities are three to four times more likely to be deported for old convictions, compared to other immigrant communities," stated Naroen Chhin, co-director of 1Love Movement. "For our families, it feels like a life sentence, even after serving time." The majority of Southeast Asian Americans with deportation orders remain in the US for months or years awaiting deportation.
 
Participants at the convening also had the opportunity to talk over Skype with US deportees living in Cambodia. Almost 700 Cambodian American deportees are living in Cambodia, the majority of whom were refugees and lawful permanent residents in the US. Some do not speak the language and many have no family or support system in the country. Chhin continued, "Many of these individuals were convicted as juveniles and grew up incarcerated. Now, they are living a life sentence of physical isolation and family separation."
 
"Formerly incarcerated immigrants and refugees pay a particularly high cost in our criminal justice system due to laws that automatically funnel them into the deportation pipeline," said Quyen Dinh, executive director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). "Many Southeast Asian Americans have transformed their lives and enriched their communities, yet are offered no path to a second chance."
 
AAPI youth growing up in poverty are subject to the same school-to-prison pipeline that has fueled mass incarceration for all communities of color. In California, Samoans, Cambodians, and Laotians have disproportionately high rates of arrest and incarceration. [1] These juveniles are more likely to be tried as adults compared to their white counterparts. [2] Gregory Cendana, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA), stated, "In order to disrupt the school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline, we need to not only engage allies and the broader labor movement but also prioritize the stories, dignity, and humanity of all formerly and currently incarcerated individuals."
 
The "AAPIs Beyond Bars & Beyond Borders" convening continues the dialogue that was started last year at the "AAPIs Behind Bars: Exposing the School-to-Prison-to-Deportation Pipeline" convening at San Quentin State prison in California, which focused on education and information sharing by advocates, formerly incarcerated, and currently incarcerated AAPIs. This year's gathering in Seattle focused on creating actionable next steps driven by grassroots organizing and supported by national advocacy.
 
Zheng added, "If we focus on identifying our collective struggles and embracing our differences, then we can make systemic change." 
 
The convening will conclude with a community rally entitled "Stand Together 4 Love" at the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center, where participants will join other local immigrant rights advocates to demand an end to deportation and family separation.
 
Sources: 
1. Males, M., and Macallair, D. The color of justice. Washington, DC: Building Blocks For Youth, 2000.
2. API Youth Violence Prevention Center (2007). Under the Microscope: Asian and Pacific Islander Youth in Oakland - Needs, Issues, Solutions. Oakland: National Center for Crime & Delinquency.

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​Contact:
Chanravy Proeung, 1Love Movement
[email protected]
401-440-6975
 
Marian Manapsal, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)
[email protected]
202-508-3733

Ben Wang, Asian Prisoner Support Committee
[email protected]
510-292-0852
 
Katrina Dizon Mariategue, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
[email protected]
202-601-2968

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​To watch the CAPAC presentation at the DNC, please click here.