Every week, AAMPLIFY brings you the week in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander news.
Trump administration ends DACA
On September 5, the Trump administration ended DACA, ending immigration protections for roughly 800,000 DACA enrollees. DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was enacted by President Obama in June 2012 as an executive order. The program let undocumented immigrants stay in the United States, so long as they had not committed a felony or a serious misdemeanor, were students or high school graduates, and had arrived in the U.S. before their 16th birthday.
The Trump administration has stated that current DACA enrollees can still apply for a two-year renewal if they apply before October 5, 2017: a tight deadline for the roughly 157,000 individuals whose applications will be expiring this year.
Out of all undocumented immigrants who are DACA-eligible, 10 percent are Asian American or Pacific Islander, with South Korea and the Philippines being in the top 10, and India and Pakistan further being in the top 24.
Hawaii not prepared for climate change
By 2100, landmarks in Hawaii, like Waikiki Beach, will have already felt the effects of climate change in a dangerous way. Experts predict that rising sea levels will drastically reduce the amount of land available to Hawaiians, endanger 189,000 people, and exterminate dozens of endangered species in the process. But the Hawaiian government, says Vern Miyagi, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, isn't quite ready to stop it.
Most of the focus is on studies rather than action, in an attempt to see just what effect climate change in the near term will have. While those studies have already borne fruit, with one teaching scientists how to evacuate endangered snails in the path of rising sea levels, it's also Hawaii's people that remain in danger.
In June, Hawaii became the first state to enact portions of the Paris climate accords into law, but the law is still in its research and analysis stages.
Fundraiser helps Filipino WWII veterans get recognition
Filipino soldiers fought alongside U.S. troops in World War II, under an agreement that they would receive the same benefits as U.S. veterans after the war. But when President Truman signed the Rescission Act of 1946 into law, those Filipino soldiers were abandoned, due to a lack of money in the U.S. treasury.
Last December, Filipino soldiers were finally recognized with the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, but despite their valor, Filipino veterans still need to buy their own replicas of the medal for $52.
Thankfully, the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project is raising funds to help those veterans get their well-deserved replicas. You can contribute to the project here.
Asian American woman cast as Native American, draws backlash
When Asian Americans are cast, it's usually a cause for celebration for media representation. However, when Kelsey Asbille was cast on the Paramount Network television show, "Yellowstone," in July, it was as a Native American woman.
Adam Beach, a Native American actor, expressed his disappointment on Instagram, saying "Yellowstone is telling the world that there are no Native actresses capable of leading a TV show." His post resurfaced recently due to Ed Skrein's casting, then reneging, as a Japanese American in the new Hellboy film.
For her part, Asbille claims she is partially Cherokee, though Cherokee posters on Adam Beach's Instagram post seem skeptical.
What to check out this weekend
Want to kick off the weekend by catching up on AANHPI content? These highlights should have you covered.
*Editorial note - September 14, 2017: We removed a story about Kristina Wong's "How to Pick Up Asian Chicks" video series after receiving feedback from our readers. The content is not reflective of AAMPLIFY's mission of educating the AAPI community about promoting representation in advocacy and public service. Thank you to our readers for keeping us honest and we apologize to those that may have been offended by the original article.