FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 17, 2013

Contact: Rachanee Srisavasdi, (949) 892-0305; rsrisavasdi@veng-group.com

Asian American Leaders Call for More Inclusive Immigration Bill

Senate legislation is step in right direction, but excludes needs of many immigrants WASHINGTON The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of 30 national Asian Pacific American organizations, released the following statement Wednesday regarding the introduction of an immigration reform bill in the U.S. Senate: We commend the bipartisan Gang of Eight senators for taking a necessary first step in reforming our nations broken immigration system. Provisions in the bill, Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, address the family and employment systems, path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and enforcement and border security, among others. However, we have significant concerns that certain provisions of the bill are not inclusive or broad-ranging enough. Our particular concerns are related to the changes in the family-based immigration system that will prevent families from reuniting with important loved ones; promoting business interests should not come at the expense of families. Other provisions would impair the ability of aspiring citizens to fully contribute to our nation, including the ability to participate in our health care system, which is essential for everyone's health and safety. We will thoroughly review details of the legislation in the coming days in order to fully assess its impact on the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. AAPIs have much at stake when it comes to immigration policy reform. With three-quarters of our community members being foreign-born, AAPIs interface with every aspect of the immigration system. For example, Asian Americans utilize the family-based immigration system in large numbers: One-third of family-based visas issued go to those seeking to reunite with Asian American family members. In addition, about 1.8 million loved ones are trapped in massive backlogs and are waiting to be reunited with their Asian American families. Approximately 1.3 million Asian Americans are undocumented and need an accessible and affordable path to legalization. We stand by our Statement of Principles on Immigration, which emphasize the need to keep all families together, create a roadmap to citizenship and equal rights for all undocumented immigrants, improve protections for immigrant workers and their families and reform detention and deportation systems. The following is a preliminary analysis of some of the key aspects of the bill: Family immigration: There are encouraging developments on family immigration, but the proposed bill also includes changes that will restrict the ability of families to reunify. We are

 pleased to see that steps will be taken to address the family visa backlogs and that the definition of immediate relatives has been expanded to include the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents, which means that they would no longer be subjected to numerical caps on green cards. However, we are concerned about the elimination of the F-4 visa category so that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to sponsor their brothers and sisters, and the placement of an age cap on the F-3 visa category so that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to sponsor their adult married children over the age of 30. Further, no provisions have been made to include LGBT couples and families to enable them to sponsor their loved ones. We will continue to advocate for changes that are in line with the principle of family unity, which has long been central to our immigration system. Pathway to Citizenship: The Senate finally delivered on its promise to introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation that outlines a pathway to citizenship, providing a roadmap for millions of aspiring citizens to come out of the shadows, particularly women and DREAMers. It recognizes women who are in the informal economy such as stay at home mothers, working women with children, service sector workers, and domestic caregivers, many of whom are AAPIs. However, the roadmap is tenuous and not broad. A pathway to citizenship must include the opportunity for all 11.5 million undocumented immigrants to be recognized and considered eligible, be affordable without having arduously long waiting periods and not conditioned on arbitrary triggers. Deportation/Detention/Racial Profiling: We are pleased that the bill includes a section prohibiting profiling by federal law enforcement officers on the basis of race and ethnicity, as profiling in immigration enforcement has led to the unjust detention and deportation of many AAPI immigrants. We hope that the language can be expanded to encompass profiling on the basis of national origin, sex, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression at a minimum. We will also continue to advocate for additional provisions, including remedies for individuals who are profiled in violation of these provisions and mandatory training for enforcement officers. Unfortunately, the bill does little else to restore due process and fairness to deportation laws that have resulted in unprecedented numbers of AAPIs, including those who came to the U.S. as refugees, being detained and deported without the proper review of a judge. The bill also adds gang involvement as a new ground for deportation -- something that is very difficult to prove, highly vulnerable to racial profiling and impacts the AAPI community directly. Workers rights: We are pleased that due process and whistleblower protections are included in this bill to ensure workers rights regardless of status. Too often, workers -- especially those with limited to no English proficiency -- fear retaliation, deportation, and endure workplace abuse. We remain concerned however with the mandatory E-Verify program and will look closely for further workplace and wage-level protections. Given the creation of a new W-visa program and reforms within the high skilled visa categories, we are encouraged by provisions that will allow employee portability and work authorization for spouses and children which will allow working families to contribute to our economy. Despite the significant developments and reforms within employment-based visa programs, they should not be pitted against family reunification and we will continue to fight for family unity. We urge all Members of Congress to work together to strengthen the bill with more inclusive and humane measures in the coming months. We look forward to the passage of a commonsense immigration reform bill that will unite families, give aspiring citizens a pathway to citizenship, provide protection for skilled and unskilled workers and end unduly harsh enforcement measures.

### The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), founded in 1996, is a coalition of thirty national Asian Pacific American organizations. Based in Washington D.C, NCAPA serves to represent the interests of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) community and to provide a national voice on policy issues and priorities.