News

We find ourselves in a precarious moment for the right to seek asylum in the United States. While advocates continue to push for more inclusive and welcoming state and local policies for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, the fundamental right to seek safety in the U.S. continues to be at grave risk. Though last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision cleared the way for the Biden administration to rescind the inhumane Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico,” an array of cruel and ineffective asylum and immigration policies still stand, foremost among them Title 42.

As a native-born U.S. citizen working in the movement for immigrant justice, I often reflect on what brought me to this work out of the many social justice issues that demand our attention. Navigating the immigration system alongside my wife who immigrated from Albania to pursue her dreams of a better future opened my eyes to the complex and often challenging immigrant experience in America.

In her second quarterly message of 2022, GCIR president Marissa Tirona shares some of the highlights of GCIR’s recent work, including GCIR’s national convening in Houston in May, grantmaking and learning through the California Dignity for Families Fund, developing a theory of change though the strategic planning process, and partnering with Upwardly Global to advance the economic power of immigrant and refugee women of color.

As the daughter of a Chinese-Thai father and a Filipina mother, I struggled with stereotypes of Asian American/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), including being perceived as a “perpetual foreigner.”  When I was in kindergarten, my parents offered me the choice of learning Thai or Tagalog. However, my classmates were already teasing me because of my perceived otherness, and I roundly rejected learning another language because I was “American.”  I received compliments about how “well” I spoke English. And questions such as “Where are you from?” followed by “Where are you really from?” when my answer was unsatisfactory for my interrogator, started to trigger me.