Congressional Briefing: "AAPIs Behind Bars: Exposing the School to Prison to Deportation Pipeline"

It's not much good to those of us who aren't in the DC area, but SEARAC is convening a Congressional Briefing:  "AAPIs Behind Bars: Exposing the School to Prison to Deportation Pipeline."

Among those involved are Asian Americans Advancing Justice - LA (AAJC), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance / AFL-CIO (APALA), Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC), National Education Association (NEA), and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

This is planned to be a  Congressional briefing to highlight the impact of mass criminalization, incarceration, and deportation on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, which should be an issue of concern to many of us.

In the meantime, we need to keep an eye out for the release of the new report put together by AAJC-LA, APALA, APSC, NEA, and SEARAC. They maintain that our communities are  an often overlooked segment in the criminal justice system.

Already, they have released notes that "AAPIs' rate of incarceration quadrupled between 2000 and 2010, and disaggregated data shows that certain Asian subgroups, such as Southeast Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, have significantly high rates of arrest and incarceration."

They argue that incarcerated AAPIs also experience "unique challenges, including cultural stigmas, lack of community awareness, and disownment from their families."

 They're inviting Congressional offices, federal agencies, coalition partners, AAPI organizations, and criminal justice, immigration, and education advocates to join us in this important conversation. Food will be provided. The briefing is on December 2nd. The hashtag is #AAPIsBehindBars