Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)

This incident is a part of the ongoing terror ICE is doing in Minnesota and other parts of the country. It follows reports from Minnesotans including St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her that ICE is asking them "where the Asian people live."

ICE broke down St. Paul man’s door, walked him half-naked into the cold ICE detained ChongLy Scott Thao at his home on St. Paul’s East Side Sunday and dragged him out half-naked into the cold.

Video from this weekend shows ICE detaining a half-naked, elderly Hmong man at gunpoint in St. Paul, Minnesota. ICE drove him around, questioned him, and only after fingerprinting him confirmed that he was a U.S. citizen with no criminal background. sahanjournal.com/immigration/...

"ICE’s racial profiling and punitive enforcement practices do not bring about security but instead inflict lasting traumas on families and on generations like mine."

Read Jeung's full article latimes.com/opini…

Contributor: Deaths of Asian immigrants in ICE custody reveal a community under threat A 2025 survey reported that 63% of Asian immigrants now feel unsafe in America because of their race.

"The 5 deaths of Asian nationals in ICE custody in 2025 are not just isolated tragedies...Language barriers, delayed medical care and a lack of transparency inside detention centers have already had fatal consequences..."

State legislatures are reviving discriminatory land laws that place Asian Americans and people of Asian descent under undue suspicion.

CAPAC members met with @aaaj-aajc.bsky.social and @aaldef.bsky.social to discuss how we can fight against these xenophobic alien land laws.

We encourage community organizations to get in touch with us for partnership on additional translations to further expand language accessibility for the model contract.

This is what implementation looks like. This is what worker power looks like. And this is how we honor the promise of the NJ Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.
Download the model contracts in English or Nepali at bit.ly/ModelContractNJDomesticWorkers

The passage of this law didn’t happen by accident — it was won through years of organizing and leadership by Adhikaar, domestic workers, and their allies. The law is in the books, but now with these model contracts, workers have the tools they need to advocate for themselves.

AALDEF and Adhikaar have developed model employment contracts— designed to be clear, accessible, and practical—for domestic workers in NJ. With this model contract, workers can confidently start a new job knowing their rights are secured from day one.

Two years ago today, New Jersey enacted the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights—a law that ensures critical protections for workers in the state, including the right to written contracts in English and the native language of the worker. But long, complex documents can still be a barrier.

Abolish ICE. AALDEF issued the following statement in response to the heinous murder of a woman in Minneapolis by ICE.
"ICE is a dangerous, violent agency that tears families apart and kills people.”

Asian population in Manhattan’s Chinatown plummeted amid affordability crisis Rent rose twice as fast as income in the Manhattan neighborhood, according to a report by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Read full story on the Gothamist: gothamist.com/news/asian-p...

"Annie Lo, one of the report’s coauthors & staff attorney at AALDEF, credited NYC's rent regulation laws for the stark difference. But she said newer luxury developments around the neighborhood in Manhattan are exponentially higher than the area’s median rent, even for supposedly affordable units."

As we head into 2026, manifesting the strength and courage we need as we continue the fight to keep our community safe and whole. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Islamophobic Elites Lied to Destroy the Life of a Palestinian Brown Student Plutocrats, pundits, and government officials joined together in a racist smear campaign against a queer Palestinian student at Brown University.

"This racist mob operated with reckless disregard for the truth, likely because they knew that Islamophobia enjoys near-total impunity in the United States," writes @jeetheer.bsky.social on the powerful government figures who falsely accused a queer, Palestinian student of the shootings at Brown.

4,000 Burmese could be sent back to conflict zone. Lawsuit filed – AsAmNews Advocates fight to halt end of protection for Burmese refugees in U.S., saying forced return to Myanmar would put lives at risk.

Read the full story on AsAmNews: asamnews.com/2025/12/22/a...

“It’s really a pattern of the Trump administration going through country by country, ending protections for non-White immigrants in the U.S...We’re challenging this both on the basis of the process not being followed, but also on the basis of this being discriminatory,” said Dinesh Mccoy, AALDEF.

“I cannot return to Burma.” For thousands of Burmese people here, the Trump admin’s decision to terminate TPS is a matter of safety and freedom. With the end of TPS for Burma, nearly 4,000 people could lose legal protection and face deportation to a warzone, tearing families apart and risking lives.

“This move to terminate TPS for Burma is part of a broader plan to completely end TPS, as the administration slams the door shut on non-white immigrants...DHS ignored evidence of Burma's ongoing humanitarian crisis from its own staff, colleagues, and experts..." — Dinesh McCoy, AALDEF

“Sometimes I feel like I'm just a number,” said Nina, a medical professional from Burma now in the U.S. Read more about our case with @refugeeassistance on behalf of Nina and 4000 other Burmese TPS holders at risk of being deported to a warzone. www.newsweek.com/burmese-migr...

Communities of color are too often treated as dumping grounds for predatory projects. We’re standing with Flushing, Corona, East Elmhurst & Jackson Heights. The fight is not over.

From AALDEF's polling with @minkwoncenter.bsky.social over the past 2 yrs, we found 68.6% of Asian voters opposed the casino & 83.5% didn’t know about or couldn’t participate in the public review process.

NY Gaming Commission just approved a casino & luxury hotel next to Flushing, despite overwhelming community opposition.

Her unwavering commitment to equity, solidarity, and justice for all has left an undeniable mark on Asian American storytelling and on the broader movement for racial equity.

AALDEF recognized the importance of this seminal film by honoring Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña with the 1990 Justice in Action award. Christine’s body of work never wavered from its purpose: illuminating truth, challenging injustice, and amplifying the voices too often pushed to the margins.

We remember the powerful life and legacy of documentary filmmaker Christine Choy.
Christine’s trailblazing career spanned 50 years with more than 80 films, including her Oscar-nominated documentary, “Who Killed Vincent Chin,” which persists as required viewing for any student of AsAm history.

New Jersey voters deserve the best protections when exercising their right to vote.
AALDEF urges @speakercoughlin.bsky.social & @govmurphy.bsky.social to come together to pass and enact the John Lewis Voter Empowerment Act (S3009/A4083) ASAP.

ALL voters deserve the highest level of protections.

We have no time to waste in the fight to protect Black New Jersey voters from discrimination at the ballot box. @speakercoughlin.bsky.social & @govmurphy.bsky.social: let's pass & enact the John Lewis Voter Empowerment Act as swiftly as possible. Justice for New Jersey voters cannot wait.

Read the full report at #linkinbio or bit.ly/MappingChina...

AALDEF Report: Gentrification over the past decade has driven the displacement of Asians in Chinatowns in the Northeast. Our land use survey of Chinatowns in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia reveals how outdated zoning laws are leaving residents and small businesses vulnerable.