Recognizing the status of Hmong Veterans

The following message is from Take Action MN.

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Together, we are creating a Minnesota where the inherent worth and dignity of every person is recognized without exception.  Unfortunately, Hmong veterans are being treated as an exception.  We must — and can — change this.

During the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia, Hmong soldiers fought alongside United States soldiers to protect and serve America. Some Hmong soldiers were as young as 12 years old, rescuing American pilots who were shot down, and protecting American soldiers.

But in Minnesota today, Hmong veterans are wounded warriors. Many live with depression, trauma and stress. Soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect American soldiers are now treated as foreigners undeserving of the same benefits afforded other veterans who served our country.  The Veterans Administration refuses to recognize their service, and they are denied economic, educational, medical, and burial benefits by the state and federal veteran administration.

Denied benefits has resulted in stark economic disparities for thousands of Hmong veterans and their families in America.  Hmong-American veterans and their families have remained untreated and unrecognized in spite of having made the same heroic sacrifices as other American veterans.

No matter their ethnicity, all our veterans have sacrificed to protect U.S. freedom.  We must recognize them for their service.

We need your help.  To join us in building — and winning — a campaign to push the state of Minnesota to recognize the service of Hmong veterans, contact me at 651.379.0754 or by email at Amee@TakeActionMinnesota.org.

Join us.

Amee Xiong
Hmong Organizing Program Manager
TakeAction Minnesota

 

Internships for people interested in politics, policy, legislative work, and civic engagement

Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies

Notice: deadline is Jan 6, 2012!

http://www.apaics.org/index.php/pages/programs/summer_internships/

The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) is currently accepting applicants for its 2012 Summer Internship Program in Washington, DC.

The APAICS Summer Internship Program provides select undergraduate students the opportunity to experience American politics and public policy. During the eight-week program, APAICS Summer Interns are placed in the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, or partner Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) non-profit organizations. APAICS Interns have the opportunity to engage in leadership and relationship-building events to foster a strong interest in public service.

To apply for the 2012 APAICS Summer Internship Program, please fill out the 2012 APAICS Internship Program Application here: http://bit.ly/APAICSSummerInternshipApplication2012.

For additional information, please contact our Program Director, Laila Mohib at Internship@apaics.org or 202-296-9200.

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White House Internships and Fellows Program Deadlines

Do you know someone who would be a strong candidate for the White House Internship Program for the summer? Please encourage them to read more about the program and apply by January 22, 2012.

Send email to aapi@who.eop.gov for more information.

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Hmong National Development Job/Internship Opportunities:

• Washington, DC – Policy Advocate – Part-time, Contract position
  • View details HERE
• St. Paul, MN – Research Intern, Part-time – HND/Hmong American Partnership collaboration
  • View details HERE

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JACL John Moy & Southwest Airlines Congressional Internship

The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is now accepting applications for the John Moy & Southwest Airlines Congressional Internship program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis for two eight-week, paid internships beginning in winter and spring 2012. Preference will be given to rising undergraduate juniors and seniors and recent graduates.

Duties and responsibilities will be outlined by the congressional member’s office in which the intern is placed. Placement offices have yet to be determined. Congressional interns will have a unique opportunity to experience the policymaking process and gain exposure to Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues.

This internship program is made possible by a generous donation from John Moy, longtime supporter and member of the JACL, and roundtrip tickets provided by the JACL’s official airline, Southwest Airlines.

If you have any questions, please call (202) 223-1240 or email policy@jacl.org

Click here to see the application form.

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MN State Legislature and Congressional Office opportunities

• Senate College Internship Program
• House College Internship Program
• MN Legislature internship and job postings
• Congressman Tim Walz
• Congressman John Kline
• Congressman Erik Paulsen
• Senator Amy Klobuchar
• Senator Al Franken
• Congresswoman Betty McCollum
• Congressman Keith Ellison
• Congresswoman Michele Bachmann
• Congressman Chip Cravaack

More Job, Internship & Volunteer Announcements

• AmeriCorps-Admission Possible
• Housing & Residential Life -Community Advisor
• Job and Internship Fair
• Breakthrough Saint Paul
• Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program
• History Museum Fellows program
• INROADS
• Policy Advocate at Hmong National Development, Inc. 
• HS-STEM Summer Internship Program
• Federal Internship/Fellowship Opportunities for 2012
• OCA Internship (OCA is focused on advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans.)
• Leadership in Action Internship – Leadership in Action (LIA) is an eight-week paid summer internship program designed to develop emerging young leaders by providing college students with practical leadership skills and the opportunity to work hands-on in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community in Southern California.
• APIA VOTE
• Southeast Asian Resource Action Center 

Another site listing opportunities for students is here: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/apilegcaucus/resources_students.htm

 

SEARAC Press Release: New Federal Guidance on Promoting Diversity & Reducing Racial Isolation in K-12 Schools and Higher Education Benefits SE Asian American Students

The below is a press release from the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 8, 2011

Contact: Pang Houa Moua, panghoua@searac.org; (202) 744-0436

New Federal Guidance on Promoting Diversity and Reducing Racial Isolation in K-12 Schools and Higher Education Benefits Southeast Asian American Students

Washington, DC –  On Friday December 2, 2011, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice jointly issued new federal guidance to provide a roadmap for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to leverage the benefits of educational diversity to achieve high quality, inclusive educational opportunities for all students. The Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) applauds this new guidance that provides tremendous opportunities for institutions to serve the educational needs of Southeast Asian American and other underserved students.

The guidance makes clear that the nation’s K-12 schools and colleges can use race in a variety of ways to assemble diverse student bodies and improve the quality of education for every student. The new guidance also provides concrete suggestions that K-12 schools and colleges can pursue in order to enhance social cohesion, reduce racial and economic isolation, and improve the quality of education for every student. The guidance for colleges and universities provides examples for a range of approaches to achieving diversity, including admissions procedures, development of pipeline programs, recruitment and outreach initiatives, and support programs (including mentoring, tutoring, and retention).

“At the K-12 level, too many of our students attend racially and economically isolated schools, and contrary to the ‘model minority myth’ – a misconception that all Asian Americans excel academically and face few obstacles – Southeast Asian American and Pacific Islander students remain underrepresented within higher education,” said Quyen Dinh, education policy advocate at SEARAC. Educational disparities within the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are highlighted when educational outcomes are disaggregated by subgroup. For example, according to the American Community Survey, in comparison to over 86% of the overall Asian American population who holds a high school degree or higher, disaggregated data reveals that this is true for only 67% of Cambodian, 65% of Hmong, 68% of Laotian, and 70% of Vietnamese Americans aged 25 and over. In California, a 2010 report found that over a four-year period, one-fifth of Pacific Islander students in grades 9-12 are estimated to drop out. This guidance is a powerful advocacy tool for Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities to voice the needs for their students to be included in diversity policies at educational institutions.

SEARAC supports the Department of Education and Department of Justice in the issuance of this guidance and is ready to work with both agencies to ensure that this guidance acts to alleviate educational barriers that still exist for many Southeast Asian Americans and other underrepresented communities.

 

Asian American Center for Advancing Justice acts on federal and state immigration policies

Asian American Groups Express Deep Concern and Opposition to Secure Communities

Secure Communities (S-Comm) is an Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) program that automatically forwards all fingerprints taken by local police to ICE for civil immigration background checks at the point of arrest.

Asian American Center for Advancing Justice has criticized S-Comm for being an indiscriminate mass deportation program, rather than one that is focused on identifying and deporting individuals with serious criminal convictions. 74 percent of those deported as a result of S-Comm either did not have any criminal convictions or have convictions for the lowest level offenses, including misdemeanors and minor traffic offenses.

Stewart Kwoh of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center states, “S-Comm has caused much harm to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Many AAPI immigrants come from countries with a history of government corruption, which makes it difficult for these community members to come forward and trust law enforcement. S-Comm compounds this problem by adding potential immigration consequences to contact with local law enforcement.”

Titi Liu of the Asian Law Caucus noted, “S-Comm is fundamentally flawed because it burdens and entangles local police with immigrant enforcement, thereby driving a wedge between immigrant community members and local police. This in turn compromises public safety for all community members.”

read more on Asian American Press…

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AAJC Applauds the Obama Administration for Taking Positive Steps Towards Fairer Immigration Policies

Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Utah’s immigration law HB 496, which is similar to Arizona’s SB 1070 law. DOJ previously sued Arizona challenging SB 1070 and recently brought similar suits against copycat laws in Alabama and South Carolina.

SB 1070-type laws aim to criminalize undocumented immigrants and impermissibly authorizes local police to enforce federal immigration laws, which frequently leads to racial and ethnic profiling of all immigrants or persons who appear foreign.

read more on Asian American Press…

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Asian American Groups Urge Supreme Court to Hold That Legal Permanent Residents Should Not Be Retroactively Subjected to Harsh New Legal Consequences

Members of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice have joined an amicus curiae brief in Vartelas v. Holder. The brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which seeks to remove a legal permanent resident’s (LPR) right to make “innocent, casual and brief” trips abroad without fear that he will be denied reentry, does not apply retroactively.

“Retroactive application renders long-time LPR’s unable to take short trips abroad to fulfill important family and religious obligations, including caring for dying parents and attending funerals. They also risk being subject to detention and deportation,” said Stewart Kwoh of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.

read more on Asian American Press…

 

 

Made in Minnesota 2011: Fertile Ground for Minority Opportunity

Minnesota 2020 recently released Made in Minnesota 2011: Fertile Ground for Minority Opportunity, which highlight findings on how immigrants, refugees and new arrivals to Minnesota are revitalizing neighborhoods
and entire communities through their involvement in MN’s agriculture economy and retail and other
business firms.

Some key findings:

• Minnesota’s ethnic and immigrant communities contribute more than $12 billion to the state’s overall business activity.
• Retail and service sales from minority-owned enterprises are estimated at $5.8 billion. These enterprises employed about 40,000 people.
• Revenue at minority-owned firms increased by 83 percent between the 2002 and 2007 Census of business owners, compared to 30 percent for all Minnesota firms.
• Minnesota farmers’ markets contribute up to $64 million in annual net economic benefits.
• Minnesota is home to more than 11,300 Asian-owned businesses, generate $2.4 billion in revenue, and employ nearly 17,500 workers.
• “Other Asian owned firms” (mostly Hmong) totaled 3,271 with $507 million in 2007 revenue.

Highlights on challenges and problems:

• Mainstream and organic sectors of agriculture are capital-intensive and asset heavy, presenting a major barrier for entrance to agriculture.
• New residents and prospective entrepreneurs have difficulty learning about and accessing federal and state programs that could help with everything from startup and business loans to complying with regulations.
• Language problems and a general distrust of government are some of the main barriers.

Key recommendations:

The Minnesota Legislature should invest in expanding the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and its Small Business Development Centers. Greater cultural awareness and expertise would help with outreach and training for aspiring ethnic entrepreneurs.

Minnesota’s Office of Tourism should develop a brochure guiding travelers who want to explore the state’s international cultural venues and markets, similar to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Minnesota Grown directory.

 

National Open Dialogue Conference Call with WHIAAPI

We are Listening to You:

Open Dialogue Conference Call with

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

On Thursday, December 8, the White House Initiative on AAPIs will host a national “Open Dialogue” conference call with the AAPI community.  We want to hear directly from you about our efforts over the last year and recommendations on how to move our programmatic and community engagement efforts forward in 2012.  Please join the call and provide your feedback and recommendations.

WHAT:                 National Open Dialogue Conference Call

SPEAKERS:          Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director, White House Initiative on AAPIs
Eddie Lee, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement

WHEN:                 Thursday, December 8^th from 3:00-4:00pm EST/12:00-1:00pm PST

HOW:                   Please click HERE to sign up and receive call-in information for this call by Wednesday, December 7, 2011, at 12:00 PM.

This call is not intended for press purposes and is off the record.

 

Health Care Exchange Committee formed

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has appointed eleven people to the Health Care Exchange Committee, which also includes four legislators and the commissioners of commerce, health, and human services.

The committee will be meeting nearly every week for several months as several key issues need to be decided in order for the exchange to be completed and operational by January 2014.

The members of the committee are:

• Sue Abderholden, Executive Director of the Minnesota Alliance on Mental Illness (St. Paul)
• Dannette Coleman, Vice President/General Manager, Individual and Family Business, Medica (Minnetonka)
• Phillip Cryan, Health Policy Specialist and Organizing Director, SEIU (St. Paul)
• Mary Foarde, Attorney, Fmr. General Counsel, Allina (Minneapolis)
• Dorii Gbolo – CEO/Executive Director, Board Member, Open Cities Health Center (St. Paul)
• Robert Hanlon, Founder and President of Corporate Health Systems (Chaska)
• Alfred Babington Johnson, CEO, Stair Step Foundation (Minneapolis)
• Roger Kathol, Owner, Cartesian Solutions, Inc. (Burnsville)
• Phil Norrgard, Director of Human Services, Fond du Lac Indian Tribe (Cloquet)
• Stephanie Radtke Deputy Director, Community Services Division, Dakota County (West St. Paul)
• Daniel Schmidt, Vice President, Great River Office Products (St. Paul)
• (2) Majority Caucus Legislators (House & Senate)
• (2) Minority Caucus Legislators (Sen. Lourey & Rep. Huntley)

 

National Event: WHIAAPI Bullying Prevention Summit, 10-29-11

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

What: WHIAAPI Bullying Prevention Summit

When: Saturday, October 29, 2011 8:45 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Where: New York City, New York

 

Bullying affects too many of our Asian American and Pacific Islander students. The White House Initiative on AAPI’s Bullying Prevention Summit seeks to highlight the unique impact, prevalence and severity of bullying and harassment experienced by young AAPIs.

Join us at the WHIAAPI Bullying Prevention Summit to share your stories, experiences and strategies to combat bullying and harassment. Learn what the Administration is doing to address bullying and harassment and promote safe school environments.  Find out how to access national and local programs to assist in bullying prevention, and obtain resources if you are a parent, student, teacher, administrator, or advocate.

 

Community Event: Town Hall on Jobs and Housing, 10-14-11

The White House Initiative and President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders invite you to attend the Town Hall on Jobs and Housing

When:             Friday, October 14, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where:           Painter’s Union Hall, 1701 Whitney Mesa Drive, Henderson, Nevada  89014
Register:        Click Here to reserve your spot (http://bit.ly/qJWlbh).

Engage directly with the White House on how President Obama and his Administration are:

1) supporting small businesses to create jobs

2) ensuring equal access to affordable housing

Keynote Speaker: Chris Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary

Senior Obama Administration officials will answer your questions and listen to your ideas on how government can more effectively serve the community.  Your participation is vital to increasing access to federal programs, as well as to inform future policy.  Please share this information widely with your networks and invite them to join this important town hall.  The event is free of charge.

 

The President Meets with Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

Note from CAPM: The following post is from the White House Initiative on AAPIs. It should also be noted that President Obama is the first president to meet with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Strong Partners: The President Meets with Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

President Obama meets with CAPAC

Released from Kiran Ahuja, White House Initiative on AAPIs, on September 27, 2011 at 12:04 PM EDT

As Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs, I joined President Obama and several senior White House officials at a meeting with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus last week. The meeting, held in the Cabinet Room at the White House, was a chance for the President and the Caucus members to discuss important issues facing AAPI communities.

In my role as the Director of the Initiative, I had met with CAPAC members many times over the last couple years to talk about the progress we are making to improve access and participation for AAPIs to federal programs in which they remain underserved. Through our work, I’ve gotten to know several members personally, like CAPAC Chair Congresswoman Judy Chu and Chair Emeritus Congressman Mike Honda, and appreciate their dedication to addressing the needs of the AAPI community. It’s a promise shared by the Obama Administration and why we discussed several important issues in our discussions from growing our economy to improving access to health care.