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As Quiet as It’s Kept, DHS and ICE Continue to Target Asian American and Pacific Islanders
Rejecting White supremacy and forming coalitions with other immigrant groups is the only solution
In another immigration crackdown, the Department of Homeland Security created a fake university, charged thousands of dollars to enroll Indian immigrants desperate to extend their visas to stay in the United States, and had many of them deported. This cruel, taxpayer-funded hoax sheds light on a serious issue — the Trump administration is continuing to target Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrants for deportation. Consequently, it has never been more vital for AAPIs to reject White supremacy and build meaningful coalitions with other immigrant groups.
Here’s why. Though shame within the community and a lack of authentic media coverage have rendered AAPI immigrants invisible, they are the fastest growing undocumented group in the United States. According to AAPI Data, AAPIs make up 1.7 million out of approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants — that’s one in seven. (Currently, 600,000 of them are Indian.) AAPIs also represent the majority of immigrants who have overstayed their visas since 2010.
If these figures seem surprising, it’s likely because the model minority myth upholds AAPIs as “successful” minorities who follow the rules and confirm the damaging bootstrap myth, that hard work alone yields positive results. To this end, AAPIs may embrace whiteness and White supremacy, and divorce themselves from Black and other communities of color, despite the fact that they may encounter similar struggles.
“There are so many undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees from Asia, who are facing similar conditions as Latinx and Black immigrants,” says Sophia Qureshi, director of communications for South Asian Americans Leading Together. “They are fleeing from countries that they no longer feel safe in for a variety of reasons including religious persecution, political repression, and lack of sustainable economic opportunities.”
The model minority myth also pits AAPIs against one another. Citizen AAPIs, for example, often lay blame on their peers for lacking the legal status to remain in the…
