#328 5/5 Meeting; Census Bureau; Birthright Citizenship; Visas Revoked; 4/17; Litigations +
In This Issue #328
· 2025/05/05 APA Justice Monthly Meeting
· Census Bureau Brain Drain and Concerns of U.S. Statistical Integrity
· Birthright Citizenship: Amicus Briefs and Supreme Court Hearing
· International Student Visas Revoked and Lawsuits
· National Days of Actions and Protests
· Latest on Litigations Against Trump's Executive Actions
· News and Activities for the Communities
2025/05/05 APA Justice Monthly Meeting
The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, May 5, 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), invited speakers are:
· William Tong 湯偉麟, Attorney General, State of Connecticut
· Robert L. Santos, Former Director, U.S. Census Bureau; Former President, American Statistical Association
· Haifan Lin 林海帆, President, Federation of Asian Professor Associations (FAPA); Professor, Yale University
· Gee-Kung Chang 張繼昆, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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.
Census Bureau Brain Drain and Concerns of U.S. Statistical Integrity
Robert L. Santos was the 26th director of the U.S. Census Bureau. He was sworn in on January 5, 2022 and resigned from the office on February 14, 2025. He was also the 116th president of ASA in 2021. On May 5, 2025, Mr. Santos will speak at the APA Justice monthly meeting on the growing concerns to the integrity and independence of federal statistics under the Trump administration. According to NPR on April 17, 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau is experiencing significant challenges due to staff departures and survey reductions. These issues have raised concerns about the agency's ability to continue producing reliable statistics, which are crucial for determining federal funding allocations and political representation. The bureau is facing pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its workforce amid a hiring freeze, with staff being offered early retirement and voluntary separation options. Current and former employees warn that these conditions, coupled with long-standing funding and staffing constraints, are putting the bureau under unique strain.
These challenges are not isolated to the Census Bureau. Other federal statistical agencies are experiencing similar issues due to budget cuts and administrative pressures. According to the Financial Times, the White House is at war with federal statistics. The disbanding of advisory committees and removal of data from public access have led to concerns about the politicization of economic statistics, threatening the accuracy of vital statistics used for policymaking and financial markets.On April 12, the Washington Post reported that the Social Security Administration purposely and falsely labeled 6,100 living immigrants as dead, which is an illegal act of falsifying government records. On April 14, MIT Technology Review described how Elon Musk's DOGE approach to modernizing federal technology is undermining the integrity and security of critical government systems. By replacing experienced civil servants with untested technologies and personnel, DOGE is dismantling established agencies like the U.S. Digital Service and 18F, which were instrumental in improving government digital services. A specific concern is the termination of DirectFile, a free digital tax filing system developed by the IRS with high user satisfaction rates. The article also warns about the risks of consolidating sensitive data—such as Social Security numbers, tax returns, and health records—into a single, poorly secured system, increasing the likelihood of data breaches and misuse.
The cumulative effect of these developments is a diminished capacity of U.S. statistical agencies to produce reliable data. This erosion of data integrity undermines informed decision-making across government and industry, potentially leading to misinformed policies and economic instability.The American Statistical Association (ASA) and George Mason University (GMU) launched a collaborative project titled "Assessing the Health of the Principal Federal Statistical Agencies" in 2024. Year Two of the ASA-GMU project, The Nation’s Data at Risk, monitors the health of the 13 principal federal statistical agencies. It is available at: https://bit.ly/4ih5Qsp.
Birthright Citizenship: Amicus Briefs and Supreme Court Hearing
According to AP News, NBC News, Washington Post, and multiple media reports, on April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court said it will hear oral arguments on May 15 on whether the Trump administration can take steps to enforce its contentious proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship while litigation continues. The court in a brief order deferred action on an emergency request made by the Trump administration to narrow the scope of injunctions imposed by three district court judges and upheld by the respective appeals courts. The policy for now remains blocked nationwide.The Trump emergency application does not address the legal merits of the plan, but only whether judges had the authority to put it on hold across the entire country. The policy for now remains blocked nationwide.
Amicus Briefs on Birthright Citizenship
According to a press release from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) on April 11, 2025, 208 House Democrats filed an amicus brief opposing President Trump’s executive order attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship. The brief, submitted in the case State of Washington, et al. v. Trump, et al., defends the constitutional guarantee under the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to children born on U.S. soil.The amici argue that Trump’s proposed action violates the Constitution, over a century of Supreme Court precedent, and longstanding federal laws that have consistently affirmed this right.“Trump cannot end the Constitutional right to birthright citizenship with the stroke of his pen,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a constitutional law expert and Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee. “That would violate the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as decades-old federal statutes codifying this protection.”The full amicus brief is available here: https://bit.ly/3GrOlI1.
On April 9, NAPABA and its partners filed an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s birthright citizenship executive order. Two days later, on April 11, AALDEF, the Korematsu Center, the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice, and a coalition including APA Justice filed a separate brief challenging the same order.For more information, read the blog "The Trump Administration’s 14th Amendment Retcon: ‘Wong Kim Ark’ Does Not Limit Birthright Citizenship" by Edgar Chen and Chris Kwok, its Chinese translation "特朗普政府重塑《第十四修正案》 ——《黄金德案》并未限制出生公民权" by Juan Zhang, and APA Justice's full coverage of the Birthright Citizenship issue: https://bit.ly/3CNjtR1
International Student Visas Revoked and Lawsuits
According to Inside Higher Ed, as of April 18, 2025, the Trump administration has revoked or altered the legal status of over 1,550 international students and recent graduates in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) across more than 240 U.S. colleges and universities. This action is part of a broader immigration crackdown that has intensified in recent weeks.At least 16 legal challenges have been initiated in multiple states, with at least nine federal judges granting temporary restraining orders to halt deportations and restore students' statuses.
· 2025/04/15 Liu v. Noam (1:25-cv-00716) @Southern District of Indiana. Five international students at Purdue University, all of whom are Chinese, sued the federal government after their student visas were revoked earlier this month, joining an American Civil Liberties Union-led lawsuit filed on April 15. The visa revocations come just weeks after Purdue administration provided a Congressional committee with information on the university's 2,043 Chinese students. Two other students from Indiana University and Notre Dame also joined the lawsuit,
· 2025/04/11 Jane Doe 1 v. Bondi (1:25-cv-01998) @Northern District of Georgia. On April 17, 2025, Georgia civil rights organizations—CAIR-Georgia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, and American Civil Liberties Union-Georgia—held a press conference with Kuck Baxter Immigration, a private immigration law firm, condemning the visa revocations of international students. According to Georgia Recorder, on April 18, District Judge Victoria Calvert issued a temporary restraining order that will allow 133 international students and recent graduates studying around the country, including 26 in Georgia, to continue their coursework in the United States for at least the next two weeks.
· 2025/04/11 Chen v. Noem (3:25-cv-03292) @Northern District of California. The Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance 华美维权同盟 (CALDA) filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Chinese students enrolled at UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, University of Cincinnati, and Columbia University. The district court judge will hold a hearing on a motion for a nationwide Temporary Restrining Order (TRO) next. Besides the four student plaintiffs, declarations from 36 international students across the country were also included in the motion.
National Days of Actions and Protests
April 17, 2025, was Day of Action for Higher Ed. University professors and students led protests on campuses across the U.S. against what they say are broad attacks on higher education, including massive cuts to funding, the expulsion of international students and the stifling of free speech about the war in Gaza. Read more about the Day of Action for Higher Ed: https://bit.ly/4inq17u.According to the Washington Post on April 19, 2025, from Wyoming to Washington and Mississippi to Manhattan, protesters at hundreds of rallies in small towns and big cities gathered to denounce President Donald Trump’s sweeping policy moves as opposition to the administration continued to coalesce. The more than 700 planned events were part of the “50501” movement, a decentralized campaign that got its name from a February 5 push for “50 protests in 50 states on 1 day.” That effort led to anti-Trump protests at state capitol buildings across the nation known as “Hands Off” rallies on April 5. Hunter Dunn, a spokesperson for 50501, described the group as a “pro-democracy, pro-Constitution, anti-executive overreach, nonviolence grassroots movement.”
Latest on Litigations Against Trump's Executive Actions
As of April 19, 2025, the number of lawsuits against President Donald Trump's executive actions reported by the Just Security Litigation Tracker has grown to 201 (4 closed cases). Among the latest developments:
· 2025/04/15 DOE 1 v. EEOC (1:25-cv-01124) @District of Columbia. Plaintiffs, three law school students, have challenged the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sending letters to 20 law firms, pursuant to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) regarding the DEI-related hiring practices of law firms. These letters requested information about these law firms’ hiring practices, including the personally identifiable information of lawyers employed with these firms and law students that have applied for positions at these firms. Plaintiffs allege that these investigations are outside of the authority of the EEOC and violate the Paperwork Reduction Act. They have asked the Court to order the EEOC to stop investigating law firms in excess of their authority and return and delete any information that has already been collected pursuant to the investigation of these firms.
· 2025/04/14 Mahdawi v. Trump (2:25-cv-00389) @Vermont. Mahsen Mahdawi, a United States green card holder, has challenged his detention by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), asserting it is unlawful and unconstitutional. On April 14, the district court issued an order that he not be removed from the United States or moved out of the territory of the District of Vermont pending further order of this Court.
· 2025/04/14 Association of American Universities v. Department of Energy (1:25-cv-10912) @Massachusetts. Several academic institutions and university associations sued the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Secretary of the DOE challenging a new DOE policy that caps the amount of reimbursements available for federal research grants. The institutions argue that the policy violates federal law and exceeds DOE’s authority. The institutions have asked the courts to declare the policy unlawful and to stop implementation of the policy.
· 2025/04/14 Protect Democracy Project v. U.S. Office of Management and Budget (1:25-cv-01111) @District of Columbia. Protect Democracy Project brought suit against the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), alleging that OMB took down a legally-required publicly accessible database and related website that had previously housed documents related to OMB’s apportionment decisions. Protect Democracy requests that the court declare OMB’s decision unlawful and order OMB to restore the website.
· 2025/04/14 V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Donald J. Trump (1:25-cv-00066) @U.S. Court of International Trade. Five businesses that rely on international imports filed suit against the Trump administration, challenging the implementation of tariffs under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). They alleged that the imposition of across-the-board tariffs is not authorized under the IEEPA and in any event exceeds the Defendants' executive authority as they were implemented without congressional approval.
News and Activities for the Communities
1. APA Justice Community Calendar
Upcoming Events:
2025/04/21 Where AANHPI Communities Stand at the 100-day Mark2025/04/22 Scholars Not Spies: Fighting for International Academic Workers’ Rights in an Era of Rising US-China Conflict2025/04/24-26 Committee of 100 Annual Conference and Gala2025/04/24 CHINA Town Hall: The First 100 Days: President Trump's China Policy2025/04/24 Federal Employees: Know your Legal Rights2025/04/28 California AANHPI Advocacy Day2025/04/30 Beyond the China Initiative: Civil Rights, National Security, and the Future of AAPI Communities2025/05/04 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/05/05 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2025/05/06 Asian American Careers - How to Build Your Personal Network, including Through Strategic Allies2025/05/11 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/05/12-14 APAICS Annual Summit and GalaVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details.
2. Where AANHPI Communities Stand at the 100-day Mark
WHAT: Where AANHPI Communities Stand at the 100-day MarkWHEN: April 21, 2025, 3:00 pm ET/12:00 noon PTWHERE: WebinarHOSTS: APIAVote, AAPI Data, NCAPA, and AAJASpeakers:
· Congresswoman Grace Meng, U.S. representative for New York's 6th congressional district
· Sara Sadhwani, Senior Researcher, AAPI Data & Assistant Professor, Pomona College
· Karthick Ramakrishnan, Founder and Executive Director, AAPI Data
· Gregg Orton, National Director, NCAPA
· Bob Sakaniwa, Director of Policy and Advocacy, APIAVote
DESCRIPTION: This is the next installment of the Voices of AAPI Communities monthly briefing, where we’ll dive deep into the latest survey insights from AAPI Data and AP-NORC on timely policies. This month's briefing will share exclusive findings from the latest AAPI Data/AP-NORC survey on how AAPI communities are reacting to President Trump’s first 100 days in office.REGISTRATION: apia.vote/april25
3. Erratum
Issue #327 of the APA Justice Newsletter misidentified the Chinese name of retired Texas House Representative Martha Wong. It should be 黃朱慧愛.
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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.
April 21, 2025