We Must Protect Our Rights

Our Rights Are Under Attack — AAPI Communities Must Respond

Across the country, AAPI communities are facing escalating threats from harmful federal policies and rhetoric aimed at undermining our rights, safety, and democracy. What we’re seeing is a systematic effort to restrict access to the ballot, rewrite the rules of citizenship, slash funding for essential programs, and dismantle the federal protections our communities rely on every day.

These attacks are not random — they’re strategic. And they are rooted in the same exclusionary ideologies that have historically targeted Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in this country.

A Closer Look at the Threats We Face

Voter Suppression: The “SAVE Act”

House Republicans indicated their intent to prioritize H.R. 22, the so-called “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act,” legislation that would erect new barriers to voter registration under the false pretense of election integrity. This bill would force voters to provide proof of citizenship just to register to vote, even though non-citizen voting is already illegal in every federal election.

What’s more alarming is that the bill would also threaten election officials with criminal penalties for administrative errors—further intimidating those who are working to ensure free and fair elections. The real goal of the SAVE Act is not to protect democracy but to suppress it—by making it harder for eligible voters, especially in communities like ours, to participate in elections.

This bill manufactures fear, not security. It targets AAPI voters who may already face challenges due to limited English access, lack of documentation, or unfamiliarity with the system. It’s voter suppression in disguise.

Birthright Citizenship Under Attack

The Trump administration’s effort to dismantle birthright citizenship represents one of the most alarming constitutional threats in recent history. While multiple federal judges have blocked executive orders aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, the mere existence of these proposals has already caused chaos and fear—particularly among immigrant families.

If implemented, these measures would create bureaucratic nightmares for hospitals and government agencies, delay access to critical programs like Medicaid, and leave some newborns stateless. Families could be deterred from seeking medical care or registering their children at all—out of fear of being targeted or deported.

Birthright citizenship draws directly from our own history. In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that children born in the U.S. to Chinese immigrant parents were citizens under the 14th Amendment. That ruling was a landmark victory for AAPI communities and one of the bedrocks of equal rights in this country.

To try to reverse it now would be a direct attack on the Constitution—and on every generation of immigrants that follows.

Defunding Essential Services and Civil Rights Programs

In January, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) caused widespread uncertainty when it issued a directive to suspend federal financial assistance for programs related to DEI, climate justice, women’s health, foreign aid, and more. While the administration later attempted to walk back the memo, it sent a chilling message: vital funding for public services can be paused—or erased—at any moment, despite Congress’ authorization of these funds. This move jeopardizes funding for teachers, small business support, clean drinking water, nutrition assistance for mothers and newborns, and disaster relief—programs that are critical to AAPI families and working-class communities.

AAPI Communities Are Fighting Back—Join Us

The AAPI Civic Engagement Fund supports grassroots organizations working across the country to protect immigrant communities, defend our voting rights, ensure language access, and fight for equity at every level of government. These groups are not only organizing resistance—they are building power and changing the narrative around who belongs in this country.

But they can’t do it alone. We need your help.

Here’s how you can take action today: