Russell Jeung is a professor of Asian American studies and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. He is writing a book, Our Immigrant Inheritance: Values from My Ancestors That Resist Change, to share what our elders have to say about our current political moment.
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What Will We Risk To Defy Unjust Immigration Orders?
People sit at City Hall as the Los Angeles City Council meets to consider adopting a "Sanctuary City'' ordinance in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 19, 2024. REUTERS/Daniel Cole
In this anxious moment, I find it helpful to remember a similar era from the late 19th century, a time when Chinese migrants, under threat of mass deportation, collectively resisted with one of the greatest instances of civil disobedience in U.S. history. Following the passage of the 1892 Geary Act, which continued barring Chinese laborer migration and required all Chinese residents to register as aliens, about 90,000 Chinese — roughly 9 out of 10 Chinese in the U.S. at the time — defied unjust government orders to protest their racial treatment.
Asian Americans Are ‘Bringing Heaven to Earth’ by Fighting Racism
Photo by Rachel Wisniewski, Reuters
This spring marks one year after mass shootings in Atlanta and Indianapolis killed Korean, Chinese, and Sikh Americans. In the year since, 1 in 5 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) nationwide have experienced a hate incident. I grieve over this nation’s racism.
What the Bible Teaches Us on Climate Migration
The Bay Area will be without electricity for at least a day and a half in order to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires.
Trump’s Anti-Family Approach to Immigration
Among President Trump’s many concerning stances on U.S. immigration policy is his proposal to end the long-standing family reunification immigration policy, the process by which nearly six out of 10 Asian immigrants enter the United States.
What the Homelessness Crisis in Asian-American Communities Reveals About Ourselves
For many Asian immigrants and refugees, coming to the United States wasn’t fully voluntary, but a result of war and poverty. Just as the Hebrews needed to learn to live as exiles, Asian Americans needed to find a way to make a new home in a new land. While their hardships reflect the difficulty of exile, Jimmy’s and Mary’s familial love and corporate responsibility also model for me how we Christians are to follow Jesus in the midst of this empire.
In Many Asian-American Communities, Trump Ban Follows History of Persecution
Photo courtesy Rev. Tim Tseng
This anti-Asian xenophobia is both individual and institutional in that it shapes our governmental policies. Although Japanese Americans as whole were unjustly incarcerated in World War II, an act deemed unconstitutional, Trump and his advisors employ historic internment as a rationale for detaining current minority groups.