As a community that is nearly two-thirds immigrant, AAPIs have a huge stake in immigration reform. Almost two million are waiting for visas to be reunited with family members, approximately 1.3 million are undocumented, and many LGBTQ AAPIs are separated from their loved ones due to discriminatory immigration laws. Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders are also deported at a rate three times higher than immigrants as a whole.
The 18 Million Hearts campaign will lift up the voices of AAPIs in the national immigration conversation — as family members, neighbors, and workers — and push for common sense policies that uphold shared American values of family unity, human rights, and equality.
Stand with us (and over 80 AAPI organizations!) by signing on and telling Congress and the President that you support fair and just immigration reform that includes a clear path to citizenship and ends the separation of families. You can also share this campaign — and your own story — via social media, with the hashtag #18millionhearts.
Lift up the voices of AAPIs in protecting the rights of all!
_Cynthia Brothers is Editor at 18MR.org_