#337 7/7 Monthly Meeting; Coalition Open Letter; Harvard Lawsuit; APA Museum Commission; +
In This Issue #337
· 2025/07/07 APA Justice Monthly Meeting
· Coalition Open Letter to Marco Rubio on Revocation of Chinese Student Visas
· Support of Harvard Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Cuts
· National Asian Pacific American Museum Commission Sworn In
· News and Activities for the Communities
2025/07/07 APA Justice Monthly Meeting
The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held on Monday, July 7, 2025, starting at 1:55 pm ET.
In addition to updates by Judith Teruya, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Joanna YangQing Derman, Program Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC, and Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), confirmed invited speakers are:
· Lynn Pasquerella, President of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), has accepted our invitation to speak at the meeting. On April 22, 2025, AAC&U issued a public statement calling for Constructive Engagement to address concerns of government overreach and political interference in higher education. Over 650 current leaders of colleges, universities, and scholarly societies have signed on to the statement.
· Clay Zhu 朱可亮, Founder and President, Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance, who recently obtained a nationwide temporary restraining order in Chen v. Noem (4:25-cv-03292) with possible additional legal actions defending the rights of international students from China.
· Paul Cheung 鄭文耀, President, Committee of 100. (See News and Activities for the Communities below for additional information)
· Tony Chan 陳繁昌, Former President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (2018-2024) and Former President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2009-2018).
The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. It is closed to the press. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎, Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org.
Coalition Open Letter to Marco Rubio on Revocation of Chinese Student Visas
(Madeleine Gable, APA Justice Communications Intern, contributed to this report.)On June 16, 2025, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Asian American Scholar Forum, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) & Stop AAPI Hate announced a coalition letter representing 64 organizations was sent to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter calls for the halt of implementation of the May 28, 2025, policy announcement to “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese international students, including in “critical fields”. The Secretary of State’s new planned visa policy, issued without meaningful clarity, hurts the safety and well-being of students, undermines our American values, and jeopardizes the nation’s academic, technological, and economic leadership.Read the coalition letter at https://bit.ly/4jQjjYr. APA Justice is a co-signer of the letter.Questions about how to support this action should reach out to Gisela Perez Kusakawa at gpkusakawa@aasforum.org, Joanna YangQing Derman at jderman@advancingjustice-aajc.org, or Kenny Nguyen at knguyen@stopaapihate.org.Several media outlets, including Axios, Inside Higher Ed, Los Angeles Times, reported that President Donald Trump stated on social media that Chinese students would be welcome in the U.S. as part of a proposed trade deal with China involving rare earth mineral exports. Following two days of negotiations in London, the U.S. and China announced a tentative “framework” agreement on trade and export restrictions. However, there has been no official confirmation from either U.S. or Chinese authorities regarding any reversal of Secretary Rubio’s prior announcement.
Amid ongoing policy uncertainty, confusion is growing at the university level, leaving many students in limbo. According to the Purdue Exponent, several Chinese graduate students at Purdue University had their applications denied after already receiving funding offers months prior. In February 2025, many prospective graduate students received emails offering them research assistantships in the STEM department of their choice. Three months later, at least 100 students received emails rescinding the offer, with the news that their applications had been denied.While initial offers serve as a departmental recommendation for both admission and funding, final approval rests with the Office of Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars. By the time rejection emails were sent, many students had already declined other opportunities and were unable to apply elsewhere due to closed application cycles.This situation is particularly dire for international students, who must now secure another academic program or job within 90 days or face possible deportation. Among the affected applicants, at least 10 are Chinese nationals.Brantly McCord, a doctoral student in education and member of the university’s graduate labor organization, expressed concern about the apparent pattern, noting that the most troubling aspect is “the demographic of students who received this en masse.”Many students received only a brief rejection notice, while others received no explanation at all.
Support of Harvard Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Cuts
According to Forbes, Harvard Crimson, Higher Ed Dive and other media reports, 18 research colleges formally expressed their support of Harvard University’s legal challenge against the Trump administration for cutting or freezing roughly $2.8 billion of the institution’s grants and contracts. In a legal filing in the case of President and Fellows of Harvard College v. US Department of Health and Human Services (1:25-cv-11048) on June 6, 2025, the colleges requested to file an amicus brief in support of the Ivy League institution, even though the lawsuit only addresses the federal cuts facing Harvard. “Academic research is an interconnected enterprise,” the filing argued. “The elimination of funding at Harvard negatively impacts the entire ecosystem.”The request was granted and additional amicus briefs have been submitted since June 6 in support of the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, including—but not limited to—the following:
· Conference of Boston Teaching Hospital, Inc.
· Columbia Alumni for Academic Freedom
· Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
· Lauren G. Milgroom on behalf of 12,041 Harvard Alumni
· Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee
· A Jewish Voice for Peace
· Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin
· American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts, Inc., Cato Institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Rutherford Institute
· American Council on Education and 27 other amici
· Muslim Legal Fund of America
· Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc.
· Former U.S. Agency Officials
· Jewish Scholars of Jewish Studies
For up-to-date information on the Harvard lawsuit, read the CourtListener legal docket: https://bit.ly/4jVrJhk
National Asian Pacific American Museum Commission Sworn In
On June 12, 2025, the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture held a ceremonial swearing-in of its congressionally appointed members at the Library of Congress, formally launching its mandated mission to assess the feasibility of establishing the first national museum dedicated to preserving Asian Pacific American history and culture.
The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and the first Asian American woman appointed to a President’s Cabinet, led the event.
Established by Public Law 117-140 (H.R. 3525) on June 13, 2022, the bipartisan Commission is charged with delivering a report to the President and Congress that will lay the foundation for the possible creation of a national museum. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Grace Meng introduced H.R. 3525.
Over the coming months, the Commission will engage the Asian Pacific American community nationwide, consulting with leading experts and institutions, and assessing key considerations–including site locations in our nation’s capital, costs, and operations of the future museum.
The bipartisan Commission includes eight members appointed by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the U.S. Senate. The Commissioners, who were selected for their leadership in public service, museum development, and community engagement, include:
· Dr. Jay Xu (California), Chair – Director Emeritus, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
· Chiling Tong (Maryland), Chair – President and CEO, National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship
· Joanne Kwong (New York), Vice Chair – President, Pearl River Mart
· Tina Wei Smith (Kentucky), Vice Chair – Former Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
· Dennis Cheng (New York) – Former Deputy Political Director, The White House
· The Honorable Rodney Davis (Illinois) – Former U.S. Representative (IL-13)
· Kevin D. Kim (New York) – Former Commissioner, New York City Department of Small Business Services
· The Honorable Michelle Steel (California) – Former U.S. Representative (CA-45)
The Commission also announced that Krystal Ka‘ai Hetherington will serve as its Executive Director. Ka‘ai Hetherington previously served as Executive Director of both the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Through listening sessions and convenings, the Commission will invite broad participation from the Asian Pacific American community to explore how a museum could best serve the nation. Commissioners will also consult with community leaders and experts, regional museums, academic institutions, historical societies, and cultural organizations to develop recommendations on establishing, funding, and maintaining a museum in the nation’s capital. The Commission’s work will conclude with the delivery of a final report to the President, Congress, and the American people outlining a plan for a future museum.
Members of the public will be able to track updates from the Commission through its new website (nationalapamuseum.org) and on social media at @apamuseum.
Read the announcement: https://bit.ly/44eNxQj
Friends of the National Asian Pacific American Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit—independent of the Commission and the Smithsonian—formed to garner requisite authorization and to create the Museum. Handel Lee and Anne Chao serve as Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Board of Directors. Grace Y. Toh serves as Executive Director.
News and Activities for the Communities
1. APA Justice Community Calendar
Upcoming Events:2025/06/15-18 2025 Applied Statistics Symposium2025/06/16-24 Discover China 2025: Summer Youth Exchange to the Greater Bay Area2025/06/28-30 2025 ICSA China Conference2025/06/29 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details.
2. C100 Names Paul Cheung President; Cindy Tsai Executive Vice President
The Committee of 100 (C100), a non-profit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, has announced the appointment of Paul Cheung as its new President, effective May 31, 2025. The organization also named Cindy Tsai, who served as Interim President during the transition, as the new Executive Vice President.Paul brings more than 25 years of expertise in media, technology innovation, philanthropy and nonprofit leadership to his work. Most recently, Paul served as the CEO for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that spotlights the corrosive effects of inequality.
Cindy Tsai, who has served as Interim President since June 2023, and General Counsel since joining the organization in September 2021, will now transition to the role of Executive Vice President. Read the Committee of 100 announcement: https://bit.ly/4l2mvkI.
3. AAJC Is Hiring
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is hiring. It is looking for dedicated and passionate individuals for these positions:
· Chief Operating Officer
· Vice President, Human Resources
· Assistant Director, Strategic Communications
· Manager of Immigration Advocacy
· Digital Engagement Associate
· Technology, Telecommunications, and Media Policy Associate
Visit https://bit.ly/43FJgoT for more information and send your resume and materials to HR@advancingjustice-aajc.org.
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APA Justice Task Force is a non-partisan platform to build a sustainable ecosystem that addresses racial profiling concerns and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian Pacific American community. For more information, please refer to the new APA Justice website under development at www.apajusticetaskforce.org. We value your feedback. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org.
June 18, 2025