#382 UCLA Research; CAPAC; Perpetual Foreigner; US Universities Retreat; Science on Science

In This Issue #382

·       UCLA Research Series: The Human Cost of Trump's Mass Deportation Drive

·       03/10 CAPAC, Minnesota Leaders and Organizations Virtual Press Conference

·       03/25 Webinar: The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype

·       SCMP: As U.S. Universities Retreat from China, Others Step In

·       Science: National Science Foundation and NIST

·       News and Activities for the Communities

UCLA Research Series: The Human Cost of Trump's Mass Deportation Drive

Over the past several months, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge has released a series of three data-driven reports documenting the dramatic escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement under the Trump administration. Drawing on ICE administrative records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the reports paint a sobering picture of who is actually being targeted — and what it means for communities of color across the country.

Report 1 (October 2025): Latino ICE Arrests Surge Under Trump

The first report found that during President Trump's first 100 days, Latino arrests by ICE averaged 558 per day — more than double the rate under the Biden administration. Arrests surged further after White House adviser Stephen Miller directed ICE to make 3,000 arrests per day, peaking at a 253% year-over-year increase in June 2025. One of the most significant shifts was the dramatic rise in community arrests — occurring at worksites, schools, and public spaces — which grew by 255% and comprised 42% of all Trump-era arrests, up from 27% under Biden. Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans accounted for the largest shares, while Venezuelan arrests surged 361%. Notably, the data show that arrest rates were not tied to local crime levels, but instead appeared shaped by political alignment and the size of Latino noncitizen populations.

Read the report on Latino ICE Arrests Surge Under Trump: https://bit.ly/UCLA_ICESeries1

Report 2 (December 2025): Asian ICE Removals Under Trump

The second report examined the impact on Asian communities, finding that the number of Asians removed by ICE was one and a half times higher during the first six months of the Trump administration than the same period under Biden, rising steadily from over 400 per month in February 2025 to over 700 by July 2025. Over two-thirds of those removed came from India and China, with Vietnamese and Nepali removals surging twelvefold and tenfold, respectively. Non-criminals continued to make up 74% of Asian removals. More troubling still, the administration increasingly targeted ex-convicts who had long since served their sentences and reintegrated into their communities — the median time between conviction and deportation jumped from 2.5 years under Biden to 5.5 years under Trump, and removals of those convicted a decade or more ago increased sixfold.

Read the report on Asian ICE Removals: https://bit.ly/UCLA_ICESeries2

Report 3 (January 2026): Latino ICE Detentions Dramatically Reshaped Under Trump

The third report shifted focus to what happens after arrest. The number of noncriminal Latino detainees entering ICE custody each month increased sixfold during the first eight months of the Trump administration — from an average of 900 per month under Biden to about 6,000, peaking at nearly 10,500 in September 2025. Nearly three quarters of all immigrants detained had never been convicted of a criminal offense, directly contradicting the administration's claim that enforcement targets "the worst of the worst." Conditions worsened considerably: the median length of detention rose from one to three days under Biden to over 25 days under Trump, and 55% of noncriminal Latino detainees were transferred out of state — up from 18% — in some cases to obstruct access to legal support. Only 9% of noncriminal Latino detainees were released back into their communities under Trump, compared to 42% under Biden, while 88% were deported.

Read the report on Latino ICE Detentions Dramatically Reshaped Under Trump: https://bit.ly/UCLA_ICESeries3.

The Bigger Picture

Taken together, the three reports document a systematic escalation that goes far beyond targeting criminals or recent arrivals. The researchers warn that enforcement has created four overlapping harms: direct hardship for those detained, financial and emotional devastation for their families, widespread fear that discourages Latino and AAPI community members from going to work, school, or medical appointments, and broader damage to the U.S. economy through the loss of immigrant labor. For the AAPI community specifically, the data show that enforcement has already swept up hundreds of Korean workers, Vietnamese families, Chinese nationals, and others — and there is no sign of it slowing down.

Sources: UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, in collaboration with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, using ICE data from UC Berkeley School of Law's Deportation Data Project.

03/10 CAPAC, Minnesota Leaders and Organizations Virtual Press Conference

WHAT: CAPAC, Minnesota Leaders and Organizations Highlight Impact of Trump’s Immigration Policies on Asian Communities

WHEN: Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 4:00 pm ET  

WHERE: Virtual Press Conference

HOSTS:

·       U.S. Representative Grace Meng (NY-06), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

·       Minnesota State Asian Pacific Caucus

·       Minnesota-based community organizations

Speakers:

·       Rep. Grace Meng, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

·       Minnesota State Representative Liz Lee, Secretary of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators (NAPACSL)

·       Minnesota State Representative Ethan Cha, Chair of the MN Asian Pacific Caucus

·       Xay Yang, Executive Director of Transforming Generations

·       Kaziah Josiah, Executive Director of Urban Village

·       Quyen Đình, Executive Director of Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

·       Chhaya Chhoum, Executive Director of Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN)

·       Along with other organizations

DESCRIPTION:  This is a virtual press conference to highlight the devastating impacts of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies on Asian communities.

REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3P2gt96

03/25 Webinar: The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype

WHAT: The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype: New Data on Asian American ExperiencesWHEN: March 25, 2026, 2:00-3:00 pm ETWHERE: WebinarHOSTS: Committee of 100, NORC at University of ChicagoSpeakers:

·       Teresa Hsu, PhD, Founder and Executive Director of SPEAK (Supportive Place for Empowering Asian Americans & Kins)

·       Vivien Leung, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Santa Clara

·       Katie Soo, Trustee of the Asia Society Global Board of Trustees and Board Chair of Asia Society Southern California

DESCRIPTION:  This webinar is a conversation highlighting new findings from the second report in the 2025 State of Chinese Americans survey four-part series, examining how the assumption of foreignness shapes experiences of belonging for Chinese Americans and broader Asian American communities.

The data reveals a troubling pattern: U.S.-born Asian Americans continue to be viewed as perpetual outsiders, facing race-based discrimination and questioning of their belonging at higher rates than any other racial group in the nation. For those who regularly encounter these assumptions, feelings of exclusion nearly triple, and psychological distress is almost twice as high. This stereotype can lead to dampened political engagement, and thus, decreased responsiveness from policymakers to Asian American community needs. Our panelists will explore what these findings and what can be done:

REGISTRATION: https://www.committee100.org/events/perpetual-foreigner-stereotype/

SCMP: As U.S. Universities Retreat from China, Others Step In

What began in 1978 with a small delegation of Shanghai professors visiting American universities — a trip personally approved by Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 — grew into decades of landmark U.S.-China academic partnerships. Today, that era is quietly coming to an end.

On March 8, 2026, The South China Morning Post reports that elite Sino-American joint ventures are collapsing under the weight of geopolitical pressure, with casualties including the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University joint institute, the Georgia Tech-Shenzhen Institute, the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, and the Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute. A 2025 House of Representatives report called for the termination of nearly 50 U.S.-China academic partnerships deemed "high risk," targeting programs at NYU Shanghai, Johns Hopkins, Temple University, and the University of Minnesota, among others.

But the void left by American institutions is not going unfilled. China's Ministry of Education approved a record 285 joint education programs in 2025, drawing in universities from Russia, Britain, Italy, South Korea, Germany, and New Zealand. This brings the total number of active Sino-foreign partnerships to 1,589.  As Denis Simon, former executive vice-chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, observed: "The US anxieties leave space or become harder to work with, and others step into it. China also wants a portfolio that reduces dependence on any single country — especially one in a contested strategic relationship."

The shift carries long-term implications. Peterson Institute analyst Li Zhuowen noted that demand for elite STEM education in China remains strong regardless of where it comes from: "If the US cuts supply, students and universities will simply look elsewhere. These partners do not replicate US strengths one to one, but they are sufficient for China's current needs." Li was equally blunt about the future of flagship U.S.-China academic ventures: "The era of the 'flagship' US-China joint university is likely over for the near future. The trust required to build a new institution from scratch simply does not exist right now."

Meanwhile, Chinese students are increasingly turning to joint-venture universities inside China as a cost-effective alternative to studying abroad, with enrollment at institutions like NYU Shanghai and Duke Kunshan hitting record highs even as Chinese enrollment at U.S. universities has fallen from a peak of 372,000 to 277,000. For many students, the calculus is straightforward. As one student told the SCMP: "The geopolitical climate and safety were major considerations … studying in the US was completely off the table for me."

The consequences of America's academic retreat extend well beyond individual campuses. As the U.S. pulls back, it is ceding influence over the next generation of global talent — and handing competitors a strategic opening that may take decades to reclaim.

Read the South China Morning Post report: https://bit.ly/4bcEu4H

Science: National Science Foundation and NIST

According to Science, from gutted fellowship programs to restricted foreign scientists, the Trump administration's interventions at two of the nation's premier research agencies are raising urgent alarms across the scientific community.

A convergence of policy changes at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is painting a troubling picture for the future of American science. Over the past year, the Trump administration has moved aggressively to reorient federal research agencies around its political priorities—artificial intelligence and quantum computing—while simultaneously curtailing the very talent pipelines that have long powered U.S. scientific leadership. The consequences are being felt from graduate school applications to laboratory benches.

NSF's Graduate Fellowship: A 70-Year Legacy at Risk

Since 1952, NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program has been a launchpad for American scientific talent—producing over 50 Nobel laureates and providing three-year stipends exclusively to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The administration first cut the program nearly in half from its customary 2,300 awards. After a public outcry, 500 fellowships were restored, but skewed heavily toward AI and quantum computing. This year, NSF went further, returning at least 50 applications without review—most in biology and the life sciences.

The paradox is glaring: a program designed entirely to cultivate domestic scientists is being gutted in the name of prioritizing American researchers. Meanwhile, China now supplies one-third of drugs licensed by Western pharmaceutical companies. Cutting the life sciences pipeline cedes that ground further.

"The administration's actions fly in the face of its apparent goal of restricting federal funding only to domestic scientists."

Read the Science editorial: https://bit.ly/4rPAcY6

NSF Leadership Confirms White House Control Over Grantmaking

In a rare public briefing to the National Science Board, Acting Director Brian Stone and Chief Management Officer Micah Cheatham acknowledged that the White House has fundamentally reoriented NSF's $9 billion portfolio. When asked how the agency might respond to board recommendations—such as investing in food cost research—Stone was candid: NSF's role is to demonstrate alignment with administration priorities, not to generate them.

The staffing toll is severe. NSF has lost 35% of its workforce in the past year, falling to roughly 1,300 employees. Only rotating scientists with AI or quantum expertise had contracts renewed. The agency's new "frontier initiatives" framework contains just two areas: AI and quantum. Annual grant solicitations have been cut in half.

"I see it as the administration exerting political control over what has traditionally been NSF's ability to fund the best science." — Former senior NSF administrator

Even the setting of the briefing underscored the disruption: NSF was evicted from its Alexandria headquarters in December 2025 to make room for HUD and was forced to hold its board meeting at the American Chemical Society—in a room too small for press or public.

Read the Science report: https://bit.ly/3NlD1kI

NIST Moves to Expel Hundreds of Foreign Researchers

NIST is implementing sweeping restrictions on international researchers at its campuses in Boulder and Gaithersburg. Foreign scientists have already lost after-hours lab access without a federal escort, and a proposed rule would cap visiting researchers at a three-year maximum—a threshold most Ph.D. students cannot meet. Up to 500 foreign graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scientists could ultimately lose access, including green card holders. Scientists from "high-risk" countries—China, Russia, Iran, and others—face lab access reviews as early as March 31.

The rollout has drawn sharp criticism for its opacity. Former NIST Director Patrick Gallagher noted there has been no written policy, no formal public statement, and minimal notice to affected researchers. House Democrats Zoe Lofgren and April McClain Delaney wrote to acting Director Craig Burkhardt in February calling the stonewalling "unacceptable" and noting that a recent GAO security report recommended nothing close to changes this drastic.

The stakes extend well beyond NIST's campuses. Founded in 1901, the institute underpins American standards in everything from computer chips to atomic clocks—and has won five Nobel Prizes. Experts warn that gutting its international talent pool could cost the U.S. its hard-won lead in quantum science and AI.

Read the Science report: https://bit.ly/4bsLZpw

*****

Taken together from these Science reports, these developments at NSF and NIST represent a compounding threat to American scientific competitiveness. The administration has simultaneously restricted the entry of foreign-born talent through tighter visa policies, reduced the pipeline of domestic scientists through cuts to programs like the GRFP, and concentrated research funding in a narrow band of politically favored technologies. All of this is unfolding against a backdrop of deep cuts to federal research budgets and an exodus of experienced staff from the agencies that manage science funding.

The paradox is hard to escape: an administration that says it wants to make America preeminent in science and technology is systematically dismantling the institutions and talent pipelines that built that preeminence. The United States' scientific leadership over the past century was not accidental—it was the product of open institutions, international collaboration, and long-term investment in basic research across all disciplines. Whether those foundations can be rebuilt, if damaged further, remains an open question.

News and Activities for the Communities

1. APA Justice Community Calendar

Upcoming Events:

2026/03/17 Equity Pulse: Is Your Citizenship at Stake?

2026/03/24 Mass Surveillance and the ICE Crackdown: What the AAPI Community Needs to Know

2026/03/25 The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype: New Data on Asian American Experiences

2026/04/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

2026/04/08 Perspectives on Careers in Arts and Entertainment

2026/04/14 Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes - Anla ChengVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details.

2. USCET Is Hiring 2026 Summer Interns!

This is an ideal opportunity for students passionate about advancing the U.S.-China relations and cross-cultural dialogue. Interns gain hands-on experience working in a fast-paced, dynamic nonprofit environment dedicated to fostering mutual understanding between the United States and China. US-China Education Trust (USCET) encourages eligible undergraduate juniors, seniors, and graduate students to apply.

The application is currently rolling with a deadline of Wednesday, March 25, 2026.  To learn more, visit: https://uscet.org/internships/.

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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.