the

Spectrum
Asian American Alliance January 2010 - Volume 7. Issue 2.

Asian AmericanS &

Social Networking By Kay Lowe

tween family and other members in Asian Asian-American alumni, the Tufts Asian
immigrant communities. In a USA Today American Alliance could create an Asian
article, Ong claimed that Asians are “tied in American Alumni Board. Not only would
by a social network, a family network....” this be an excellent way for alumnae to
Hai Ly Burk, who came to the US as a refu- remain involved with the Asian American
gee from Vietnam, agreed with Ong. She community at Tufts, but it could also be an-
told USA Today; “There is a propensity for other resource for students to take advan-
active networking with the community and tage of when looking for advice or career
family….” However, it may be difficult for opportunities after graduation.
Asian Americans who do not necessarily
have such strong community ties to find Kay is a freshman who has not de-
opportunities for networking. clared a major.
Burk is also the president of the
local chapter of the National Association
On November 5th, of Asian American Professionals. Founded
in 1982, the NAAA P is a non- profit or-
the Tufts Asian Ameri-
can Alliance hosted its
ganization with a mission to promote and
support Asian American leadership and
connect professionals through providing
in this issue
workshops and social networking events. asian american social
annual Student Faculty NAAAP now has chapters in over twenty- networking 1
five cities in the US and Canada. One no-
Dinner. About thirty table board member includes Phoebe Eng,
Asian American identity
and the media 2
a national lecturer on race and gender is-
students took advan- sues. Unfortunately, NAAAP is just one of Speaking up
a relatively limited number of national so- and reaching out 3
tage of the opportunity cial networking organizations serving the
larger Asian American community. Most The Margaret Cho
to network and social- of these other social networking organiza- Experience 5
tions are local, and many are not centered
ize with some of Tufts’ on Asian American professionals. A differ-
depression among
Asian Americans 6
ent forum Asian Americans could pursue
Asian American faculty. social networking opportunities is through Shifting the focus 8
the internet. Many online social networks
This event brought to mind the ques- for Asian Americans have recently sprung Why Asian Americans Vote
tion of whether such social networking up, connecting people across the country. Democratic 9
opportunities will be available to Asian One way to enhance social net-
American students after they graduate. working opportunities for Asian Ameri- Secret Identities Comic Strip 12
Paul Ong, a professor of Asian American can students here at Tufts is to borrow an
Studies at UCLA, believes that social net- idea from Georgetown University’s Asian
working opportunities are automatically American Student Association. In order
available for many because of close ties be- for students to form social networks with
 The Spectrum Asian american identity and the media

Editors
Angela Lam
Allistair Mallillin
Asian American
Contributors
Andrew Chang
Identity and the
Curtis Chin
Erik Doughty
Chanelle Dow
Media
By Chanelle Dow
Jenny Lau
My childhood was relatively Not being able to identify with characters in
Kay Lowe
normal growing up in the 90s. I watched mainstream media made me angry. I thought
Tak Toyoshima shows like Saved By the Bell, Full House, it was unfair that my Caucasian friends were
Michelle Wu and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. These all represented as well as my African Ameri-
were some of my favorite television pro- can friends, while Asians, like me, were not.
About AAA grams. I watched these shows for years Despite my pre-teen identity crisis and con-
and never had a second thought about how fusion about what it meant for me to be Asian
Asian American Alliance much I enjoyed them. One day, I had a American, the lack of Asian American repre-
(AAA)’s mission is to bring sudden realization that I would never look sentation in the media has been a necessary
like Kelly Kapowski on Saved By the Bell, factor in the development of the Asian Amer-
all members of the Tufts
and therefore my chances of dating Zack ican community. There is a common desire
community together by Morris were slim. This realization wor- in the Asian American community to have
fostering an environment for ried me and I wondered why there were no more accurate representations of Asians in
instituting political changes girls on television that looked like me. The the media. In a broad sense, the struggles we
concerning Asians and closest thing I had to an Asian role model have at this point in time with the represen-
Asian Americans, enhancing on television in the 90s was the Yellow tation of Asians in the media have positive
Ranger on Power Rangers. Even then, I effects on the Asian American community.
social interactions among all
noticed the correlation between her Power The efforts put forth to have more of a place
students, and creating a better Ranger color and the supposed color of her in the media have helped to build a stron-
understanding of Asian and skin. Since this turning point, I have made ger community among Asian Americans, as
Asian American identity at a habit of taking notice of Asians I encoun- well as a stronger voice over the course of
Tufts. tered in the media. There were not very the last century. Asian Americans have dif-
many Asian American representations.
continued on page 4
Want More?

Want to learn more about

AAA or The Spectrum?
Find us online at
http://ase.tufts.edu/aaa/
or send us an e-mail at
angela.lam@tufts.edu

We’re always looking for

contributions so if you
have any ideas,
let us know!

2 The Spectrum

The four Democratic contenders
for Massachusetts’ first open
Senate seat in twenty-five years
were, by all accounts, highly
qualified, deeply committed, and
uniquely impressive. Martha
Coakley, who won the Democratic
nomination on December 8, 2009,
has had a distinguished career as
Massachusetts Attorney General
and Middlesex District Attorney.
Alan Khazei, co-founder of City
Year, worked with Bill Clinton to develop
AmeriCorps. Michael Capuano is in his
sixth term as U.S. Congressman for the
8th District of Massachusetts, representing
Cambridge, Somerville and much of Boston.
Steve Paglicua offered a wealth of business
expertise as managing director of the private
equity firm, Bain Capital, and co-owner of
the Boston Celtics. But what impressed
me most was that all four candidates took
time in the precious days before the primary
election to respond to a questionnaire on
Asian Pacific American and progressive
issues.
As coordinator of the Greater Boston
Speaking up and reaching out
Speaking
Up and
Reaching Out
chapter of Asian Pacific Americans for
Progress, I contacted the Senate campaigns
with six questions to discern the candidates’
stances on progressive issues and the APA
community. Not only did each respond with
the utmost grace and professionalism, but all
four candidates sent back responses within
two days (see the full responses at www.
tinyurl.com/MASen), speaking earnestly to
the APA community.
Attorney General Coakley pledged to
continue defending diversity, “In the Senate,
I will remain committed to fighting against
discrimination and I will focus with care on
the diverse needs of the people of this state,
including of course those in the Asian Pacific
American community, who bring so much
to the richness of the Commonwealth.”
Congressman Capuano noted a sensitivity
to the distinct subgroups within the APA
coalition, “I am keenly aware they are not
the same: within the broad mantle of “Asian-
Pacific” there are important differences—
culture, language, and many others—as well
as many shared concerns.”
Their swift responses demonstrate
a respect for the APA community as a serious
voting demographic. In Massachusetts,
Asian Americans comprise 5% of the
population, with the APA voting population
nearly doubling from 2004-2006 (see
www.apiavote.org). Asian Americans are
By Michelle Wu
the second-fastest growing minority after
Latinos.
Elected officials are listening. As Steve
Pagliuca promised, if elected, “My door will
be open to the American Pacific American
community the same way it will be open to
any other group who wants to be heard.”
We Asian Pacific Americans need to make
sure we speak up. And that means reaching
out, developing a voice.
For me, Asian Pacific Americans for
Progress has been the ideal platform for
engaging with the community and ensuring
that the APA voice is heard. As a national
network of progressive Asian Americans and
allies, we sponsor townhalls, film screenings
and meet-and-greets with local elected
officials. We are currently planning an event
with Democratic Senate nominee Martha
Coakley. I hope you all seriously consider
getting involved with APA for Progress or
another group devoted to civic engagement.
For more information on our programs,
please check us out at apaforprogress.org.
Michelle is a law student at Harvard and
may be contacted at michelle@apafor-
progress.org.
The Spectrum 3
Asian american identity and the media continued

ferent backgrounds and stories, but they
have similar experiences with being stirred
by the lack of representation of themselves
in the media. The representation of Asian
Americans in the media that exists today
provides a standard for young Asian Amer-
icans to either live up to or go against. In
addition, this lack of representation forces
young Asian Americans to find other ways
of identifying themselves. A common mis-
conception among minority groups is that
all people who are members of the group
will act the same way and have the same
experiences. Our experiences may be sim-
ilar, but it is important to understand that
we do not have identical backgrounds. Be-
cause of this assumption, we fall into the
trap of grouping ourselves together in the
same way that outsiders might group us
together. We must realize that regardless
of race—whether it is the same or not, we
all have unique experiences. We must not
make assumptions based on what is por-
trayed in the media on certain groups, but
rather on experiences with individual peo-
ple. We should move away from the idea
that one person or one interaction is repre-
sentative of an entire group.
Asian Americans have a wide va-
riety of experiences growing up. Despite
the differences in experience, the Asian
American identity is unavoidably influenced
by the lack of Asian American representa-
tion in the media. The lack of representa-
tion and the inaccurate depictions of Asian
Americans build up anger in young Asian
Americans. This anger is useful when it can
be channeled into positive energy to be used
toward dialogue and discussion moving in
the direction of change. The stereotypes
of Asian Americans in the media provide a
type of standard for Asian Americans to ei-
ther conform to or defy. These kinds of ste-
reotypes also build anger and energy to want
to change and defeat the stereotypes. The
standards that these stereotypes set are both
for non-Asians to measure Asians against,
as well as for Asians to measure themselves
against. We are not always conscious of the
media’s affects on the way we think. Lastly,
the lack of representation of Asians in the
media can force young Asian Americans
to look elsewhere to mold their identity.
Although the lack of Asian American rep-
resentation and the common misrepresen-
tation of Asian Americans in the media
can be perceived as a negative situation,
it can have positive outcomes. The anger
developed can spark discussion and build
community among Asian Americans. Ste-
reotypes can give young Asian Americans
the desire to change the way they look at
themselves and the way they are seen by
others. The Asian American identity is
shaped by various experiences; however,
identity is also largely formed by media
messages. The important thing is to learn
how to distinguish media messages from
real life experience.
Chanelle is a recent graduate of NYU and
majored in Communications and Public
Relations.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The next issues of SPECTRUM will come out in
March and April. Submit articles on Asian American
issues and culture to angela.lam@tufts.edu. Articles
should be 600 words or less.

Are you artistic?

We are also asking for submissions to IMAGES, AAA’s magazine of photo-

graphs, drawings, fictional stories and other artistic media following a specific
theme related to Asian America.

In the spring, look forward to AAA events such as the annual Charity Auction,
Fusion concert featuring hip-hop and spoken word artists, Census 2010 volun-
teer opportunities, other service opportunities and more! Happy Holidays and
Happy New Year!

4 The Spectrum

Margaret Cho’s stand-up comedy
constantly sparks an overwhelming
level controversy inside and outside the
Asian-American community. Her frank,
crass, and loud demeanor along with her
treatment of Asian stereotypes and images
has led some to champion her work while
others protest. Cho’s use of Mock Asian,
a language discourse “that indexes a
stereotypical Asian identity,” is one way
in which she portrays a stereotypical Asian
identity (Chun 262).
Her jokes also address Asian ste-
reotypes concerning alcohol, laundry ser-
vices, and familial relationships. But in
spite of the controversy and outcry against
her, Margaret Cho remains one of America’s
most successful stand-up comedians. Inter-
views with three self-labeled Asian Ameri-
cans illustrated how certain ideologies of
mainstream society may license and legiti-
mize Cho’s use of Mock Asian and ethnic
humor, meaning she can use the racializing
discourse of Mock Asian in a way that is not
necessary labeled racist or problematic.
The comments and reactions of
the interviewees suggest that certain ideolo-
gies within society legitimize Cho’s use of
ethnic humor and Mock Asian. Elaine W.
Chun proposes two types of legitimizing
ideologies on which I will focus - “self-dep-
recation” and “strategy of condescension.”
Concerning the self-deprecation legitimiz-
ing ideology, Chun says, “Mocking ‘one’s
own is harmless – not racist – given that
The Margaret Cho Experience
The Margaret
Cho Experience By Erik Doughty
‘native’ comedians neither are in a position
or would have the intention to oppress their
own” (Chun 275). Generally speaking, the
self-deprecation ideology allows someone
to use racializing discourse about one’s own
race more appropriately than about another
race. Also, the strategy of condescension is
an ideology in which the ability to speak the
more socially powerful variety of language,
like Mainstream American English, legiti-
mizes the speaker’s use of Mock Asian for
comedy (Chun 273).
In general, the interviewees’ re-
sponses to the various Margaret Cho comedy
clips demonstrate the presence of legitimiz-
ing ideologies that allow for the circulation
of Cho’s potentially offensive and inappro-
priate racializing discourse. One interviewee
expressed confusion over whether the fact
that Cho is Korean American makes her
comedy bits about Asians always working
at laundry services more appropriate or not.
Her responde exemplifies the self-depreca-
tion ideology. As an Asian American, Cho
also fits into the larger group of the American
minority and has more of a “right” to make
jokes about a minority. According to another
interviewee, Cho could not make the same
jokes if she were a part of the white majority
in America, and she has more legitimacy to
make jokes about the majority and minorities
due to her minority status.
Additionally, her ability to speak
Mainstream American English can legiti-
mize the use of Mock Asian. Cho can speak
the more socially powerful variety of lan-
guage, which enables her to use Mock Asian
for comedic purposes. For example, one in-
terviewee compared the laughs that Margaret
Cho receives to those of American Idol sen-
sation William Hung. The interviewee noted
that while Cho generates laughs for her jokes
and impressions, audiences laughed at Wil-
liam Hung because he could only speak and
sing with an accent.
But her humor is not all “cheap”
laughs and ethnic humor. Cho clearly
deconstructs and addresses the institu-
tionalized racism and stereotypes that she
faces in her everyday life. She describes
the television industries attempt to force
her to lose weight in order to get her own
television show. So while Cho makes ste-
reotypical jokes about Asian Americans,
in other moments she clearly deconstructs
them. Perhaps by displaying a more so-
cially responsible and honest side of her
performance, she legitimizes her routine
as a whole.
But while the aforementioned
ideologies may allow Cho’s racializing
discourse to circulate through society, the
larger question is whether or not her hu-
mor then perpetuates or deconstructs ste-
reotypes. The answer however depends
upon the audience. For the interviewees,
three Asian Americans well educated in
Asian American experience, history, and
issues, Cho’s humor was in some cases
comforting and familiar as well as em-
powering and inspiring. But audience
members without any context to under-
stand Cho’s humor could easily under-
stand her stereotypical jokes as truthful
portrayals, which perpetuates stereotypes.
Want to
So while the aforementioned ideologies
of legitimacy allow for Cho’s humor and
contribute?
discourse to reach a mainstream audience,
perhaps only a smaller niche audience of
those who understand the Asian American
experience will appreciate her greater so-
cial value of deconstructing stereotypes,
serving as a role model, and projecting the
Asian American experience on a grander
scale.
Erik is a senior majoring in English.
The Spectrum 5
 Depression Among Asian Americans

Depression
among ASian
Americans
By Jenny Lau

According to the American Psy-

chiatric Association’s criteria for
detecting depression, the Diagnos-
tic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders-IV (DSM-IV), approxi-
mately 15-28% of adolescents in the
U.S. will experience depression at
least once before they reach the age
of adulthood (Choi, Meininger, &
Roberts, 2006).
However, a two-phase epidemio-
logic survey conducted at the South Cove
Community Health Clinic in Boston found
that the prevalence of major depressive dis-
order amongst its primarily low-income,
Asian immigrant population was 19.6%,
compared to the national estimate of 17.1%
(Yeung & Kam, 2006). Research indicates
that Asian Americans may be at a greater
risk than other racial and ethnic groups to
develop depression and other similar mental
health issues.
According to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control, Asian American Pacific Is-
landers females 15-24 years old have the
highest rate of suicide deaths (14.1%) com-
pared to whites (9.3%), Blacks (3.3%), and
Hispanics (7.4%) (CDC, 2005). For Asian
American Pacific Islander males in the same
age range, they have the second highest
rate of suicide deaths (12.7%) compared to
whites (17.5%), Blacks (6.7%), and Hispan-
ics (10%) (CDC, 2005). According to anoth-
er study conducted between Asian Ameri-
can and white college students, Asian
Americans consistently scored higher in
the more distressed direction on depres-
sion and social anxiety scales compared
to white Americans (Okazaki, 1997).
Many sources have attributed higher
risk for depression and mental health con-
ditions among Asian Americans to social
stresses such as general social stress that,
for instance, all adolescents face as part of
their developmental process; process-ori-
ented stress, from adjusting and accultur-
ating to interactions with another culture,
also referred to as acculturation stress
(Mui & Kang, 2006); and discrimination,
from being different from the mainstream,
white U.S. culture (Choi, Meininger, &
Roberts, 2006). Both process-oriented
stress and discrimination are considered
to be socio-cultural stresses that are most
usually experienced by racial and ethnic
minorities in the U.S. (Choi, Meininger,
& Roberts, 2006). Given the most recent
immigration patterns and demographics,
Asian Americans and Latinos would be the
racial/ethnic groups that largely experience
process-oriented stress or acculturation
stress (Choi, Meininger, & Roberts, 2006).
In general, Asian Americans have
less protective factors against mental health
issues compared to other ethnic groups.
Asian Americans reported lowest scores in
coping, self-esteem, family cohesion, and
suicidal ideation (Choi, Meininger, & Rob-
erts, 2006). The data indicates that there are
factors within the Asian American popula-
tion that may perhaps put them at a greater
risk for depression than other racial/ethnic
groups.
While Western culture has typi-
continued on page 7

6 The Spectrum

cally detected mood disorders and psycho-
logical affects as depressive symptoms,
those who are recent immigrants to the
U.S. from Asia, and those who are less ac-
culturated to Western mainstream culture,
tend to identify with the somatic symptoms
associated with depression. For instance,
among the Chinese immigrant patients who
participated in a community-based study
of depression in Los Angeles County with
major depressive disorder, 76% of patients
presented physical symptoms as their chief
complaint, while 14% identified with psy-
chological symptoms of depression (Yeung
& Kam, 2006). Headache, abdominal pain,
muscular skeletal pain, weight loss, loss of
appetite are among some of the physical
symptoms of depression (Choi, Meininger,
For fun: word cloud containing all words from this issue
Depression among asian americans continued
& Roberts, 2006). As a result, the number
of Asian Americans diagnosed with depres-
sion and other mental health conditions are
undercounted because of cultural differ-
ences in recognizing such conditions.
Interventions that have been shown effec-
tive for treating depression among Asian
Americans include the utilization of com-
bined primary care services and mental
health in which mental health conditions
amongst their patients through primary
care physicians. The program was tested
at the South Cove Community in Boston,
where there was a 1.66-fold improvement
in engaging patients for treatment (Yeung,
et al., 2004).
More research needs to be con-
ducted on the prevalence of depression
among Asian Americans that include larger
sample sizes and more diverse populations
in order to come up with culturally relevant
and effective interventions. While conduct-
ing research, it is important to take note of
the patients’ generation status, ethnic iden-
tification, and national origin, among other
factors that have proven to have large im-
pacts on mental health.
Jenny is a senior majoring in American
Studies and Community Health.


The Spectrum 7
Shifting the Focus: From Border-Security Immigration Reform to Family-Based
Immigration Reform
Shifting the Focus: From Border-
Security Immigration Reform to Family-
Based Immigration Reform
From Left to right: Shirley Tan is reunited with her partner; The DREAM Act would allow high school graduates to go to college;
Congressman Mike Honda(D-CA) is pushing the Reuniting Families Act
Asian Americans have a
long history as it pertains to immi-
gration, from the mass rush of Chi-
nese men to California during the
Gold Rush, to the use of Chinese
immigrants of Irish immigrants in
the development of the continental
railroad tracks across the Western
United States, and even to the 1882
Chinese Exclusion Act which spe-
cifically singled out and forbade a
specific ethnic group from entering
and immigrating to the country.
Recently in the past several de-
cades, East Asia and Southeast Asia ex-
perienced the scorns of war and rise of
communism. Many Chinese individuals
immigrated to the United States immedi-
ately after the Chinese Civil War of 1949,
8 The Spectrum
and hoards of Vietnamese boat people left
Vietnam as refugees after the Vietnam War in
the late 1970s and 1980s for America. Because
of current immigration and visa policies and
restrictions, not all individuals of family unit
are able to successfully come over to Amer-
ica. Instead only a few individuals would be
allowed to immigrate, yet several siblings,
uncles, or aunts would remain behind in their
native country.
As such the primary concern for most
APIA families and voters is for politicians and
policy analysts to consider addressing the im-
migration reform issue from a family-based
perspective. According to the 2008 U.S. De-
partment of Homeland Security (2008), there
were 83,561 total family preference visas were
given to individuals in countries from Asia,
and 74,955 immediate relative visas were giv-
en to immigrants form Asia. Immediate rela-
tives were defined as “spouses, children, and
parents of U.S. citizens” (Duong & Luong,
2009). Altogether this accounted for 162,686
family visas. Duong and Luong (2009, 52)
By Andrew Chang
found that “Asian Americans generally
utilize almost 40 percent of family-
based visas available for issuance in
the United States in one fiscal year.”
A relatively high demand amongst
APIA families for these visas results in
an immigration backlog of more than
four million individuals, two million of
which “represent spouses and children
of lawful permanent residents” (Duong
& Luong, 2009, 52). When looking at
APIAs immigrating through sibling
connections, 46,165 visas of 61,860 to-
tal sibling visas in 2008 were issued to
individuals from Asian countries (U.S.
Department of State 2008). From this
entire data, Asian Americans are heavi-
ly reliant on family-based immigration
policies.
Because of the huge family-
based immigration backlogs (estimates
of up to 5.8 million individuals) and the
continued on page 10
 Why Asian Americans vote democratic and the upcoming immigration debate
Why Asian Americans
vote Democratic
There’s an interesting post at
Dailykos by DesmoinesDem entitled,
“Why Jews are Liberal and Norman Pod-
heratz is wrong as usual.” This made me
wonder how his analysis would fit in the
context of the Asian American commu-
nity.
I’ll address each of his argu-
ments and offer my own thoughts on why
Asian Americans are the only racial group
to increase their Democratic vote in every
Presidential election since 1980 and why
the upcoming immigration debate will
only hasten this move to the Democratic
Party.
DesmoinesDem starts off his
post by quoting the conservative writer
Norman Podheratz’s recent book: “All
the other ethno-religious groups that, like
the Jews, formed part of the coalition
forged by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in
the 1930s have followed the rule that in-
creasing prosperity generally leads to an
increasing identification with the Repub-
lican Party. But not the Jews. As the late
Jewish scholar Milton Himmelfarb said
in the 1950s: ‘Jews earn like Episcopa-
lians’—then the most prosperous minority
group in America— ‘and vote like Puerto
Ricans,’ who were then the poorest.”
While I’m not aware of Asian
Americans playing any significant role in
the FDR coalition, after all, he did sign
Executive Order 9066 which forced over
110,00 Japanese Americans into concen-
tration camps, I do know that Asian Amer-
icans were part of the early civil rights
and the upcoming immigration debate
struggle in America with such landmark
legal victories as Yick Wo vs. Hopkins and
U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark. Nor have we seen
a gain in economic prosperity lead to in-
creased Republican registration. (Jump to
the end if you want to see the real num-
bers.)
DesmoinesDem breaks down his
argument on why Jews are liberal into five
points. (I don’t make the case that Asian
Americans are liberal, but I do try and
show why they vote Democratic, which,
for our purposes, are close enough.)
“American Jews live mostly in
large metropolitan areas. Big city residents
tend to vote Democratic, and urban dwell-
ers tend to be more tolerant of diversity.
The largest cities have always had large
Jewish populations, and during the past
half-century or so, Jewish communities in
small towns and cities have declined.”
Check. Asian Americans are the
most urbanized of any racial group with
nearly three-quarters living in metropolitan
areas with population greater than 2.5 mil-
lion. Not only that, but Asian Americans
are concentrated on the two coasts in such
heavily blue states as Hawaii, California,
New York, New Jersey and Washington
and other key swing areas like Northern
Virginia and the suburbs of Chicago, Min-
neapolis, Houston, Las Vegas and Detroit.
“On average, a higher proportion
of Jews have college or post-graduate de-
grees, and the Republican Party has steadi-
ly lost ground among the most highly-edu-
cated Americans.”
Check again. Of all the racial
groups, Asian Americans have the high-
est levels of college and graduate degrees.
By Curtis Chin
Forty-nine percent of Asian Americans, age
25 and older, have a bachelor’s degree or
higher level of education compared with 27
percent in this age category. Twenty percent
have an advanced degree (e.g., Master’s,
Ph.D., M.D. or J.D.), as compared with 10
percent for all Americans....
“Jewish religious traditions sup-
port “welcoming the stranger”, providing
for the poor, treating workers fairly, and
other tenets of liberalism.”
Check with an asterisk. First, we
need to keep in mind that Asian Americans
are the most secular of any racial group.
Nearly 25% of Asian Americans report
having no religion, as opposed to 15% of
the general population. With that said, there
is also a large percentage who are Buddhist
or who belong to other Eastern religions
who clearly espouse supporting the less
fortunate. And let’s not forget Gandhi was
Asian.
“Jewish Republicans have tradi-
tionally been social moderates (pro-choice,
pro-environment), and the GOP has be-
come hostile to those views since the Rea-
gan Revolution. When my father became a
college Republican in the late 1940s, the
Republican Party was the party of civil
rights, but that hasn’t been true for at least
45 years.”
Check. In a recent study out of
UCLA, 83% of Asian Americans in Califor-
nia describe themselves as “environmental-
ists” compared to just 52% of all Califor-
nia voters. Another national study of over
5000 respondents showed that a majority of
Asian American likely voters favor ending
the war in Iraq and providing health care for
continued on page 11
The Spectrum 9
shifting the focus continued
inefficiency of the immigration system, or-
ganizations, and bureaucracy, a family mem-
ber could wait as long as 20 years before he/
she is able to obtain a visa to immigrate over
to America. The current system needs to be
significantly overhauled, especially since
family-based immigration reform pertains
to legal immigrant families, which should
be more admirable in the views of individu-
als against illegal immigration. The Reunit-
ing Families Act introduced by Congress-
man Mike Honda (D-CA) hopes to alleviate
the system and to address the shortcomings.
In particular, the legislation calls to recap-
ture “family and work visas that have gone
unused and unclaimed due to bureaucratic
delay,” to reduce the long backlog for “fami-
lies trying to reunite with their loved ones
by classifying lawful permanent resident
spouses and children as ‘immediate rela-
tives’ and exempting them from numerical
caps on family immigration” in addition to
order initiatives (Honda, 2009). Recently on
December 15th, 2009, Representative Luis
Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced the Compre-
hensive Immigration Reform for America’s
Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR
ASAP), along with the support of Congress-
man Honda and other representatives. This
bill includes provisions that offer a legaliza-
tion program for illegal immigrants, incor-
porating the DREAM Act in the process, as
well as an emphasis to promote family unite
through various measures, in addition to
other provisions (Immigration Policy Cen-
ter, 2009).
10 The Spectrum
A major deterrent to effective
family-based immigration reform and con-
sideration stems from economic and social
factors. Duong and Luong (2009) note that
commissions pertaining to immigration on
Capitol Hill use an “economic value” crite-
rion when considering whom to admit to the
country. Individuals with highly qualified
labor skills are prized, as well as individuals
with talented gifted children, since such in-
dividuals would contribute positively to the
economy. This is dubbed the “future flow”
of immigration, and it devalues the human
factors of hardship, struggles and charac-
ter of an invididual, and instead places a
higher priority on the “cost-benefit” worth
of an individual as it pertains to immigration
reform policies (Duong & Luong, 2009).
Families wait a long time to get the chance
to reunited with a loved one, thus the “eco-
nomic efficiency” of an individual should be
not be a consideration. Concerning societal
perceptions, Hong (2003) notes that public
opinion polls hold rather unfavorable views
concerning Asian Americans, as “no Asian
group received higher than a 47 positive rat-
ing.” Xenophobia and anti-Asian backlash
are factors that need to be accounted for.
Another main reason as to why the
viewpoint of immigration reform from the
family-based perspective is not discussed
in mainstream society can be traced to the
fact that Asian Americans are relegated to
a permanent minority in this country. Asian
Americans often are not heard, thus the
APIA community and APIA organizations
need to step up and become more proactive,
to voice their concerns. The government
should do a better job involving the concerns
of APIA interest groups, as Asian Americans
have contributed positively to the country as
legal immigrants in the past, present, and
will continue to do so in the future. Here’s
hoping President Obama will pass compre-
hensive immigration reform later this year
once health care reform is settled.
References
- Duong, T., and Luong, V. (2009). Future
family immigration policies? Economic fo-
cus is flawed and without meaning for im-
migrant families. Asian American Policy
Review, 18, 49-63.
- Honda, M. (2009). Reuniting fami-
lies act. Retrieved December 12, 2009
from http://honda.house.gov/index.
php?option=com_content&view=article
&id=90&Itemid=76
- Hong, B. O. (2003). Making and remak-
ing Asian Pacific America: Immigration
policy. In J. S. Lai, and D. T. Nakanishi
(Eds.), Asian American politics: Law,
participation, and policy (pp. 81-88).
New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc.
- Immigration Policy Center. (2009).
Summary of the comprehensive immigra-
tion reform for America’s Security and
Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP). Re-
treived January 4, 2010 from http://www.
immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/
docs/CIR_ASAP_2009_Summary.pdf
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
(2008). Yearbook of immigration statis-
tics 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2009
from http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statis-
tics/publications/LPR08.shtm
- U.S. Department of State. (2008). Pref-
erence visas issued: Table VI (Part 1).
Fiscal year 2008. Retrieved December
12, 2009 from http://www.travel.state.
gov/pdf/FY08-AR-TableVI(Part1).pdf
Andrew Chang is a first year graduate
student pursuing a Master of Arts in Pub-
lic Affairs at the University of Florida.

all Americans Clearly, when you break down
positions, the views held by Asian Americans
are much closer to the Democratic platform.
“On a related note, the religious
right’s takeover of the Republican Party scares
Jews. Prominent Republicans support Chris-
tian prayers in public schools, reject the theory
of evolution and deny the impact of human
activity on climate change. Sure, conservative
Christians support Israel, but that’s mainly be-
cause they think it will hasten the Rapture.” Discrimination in the workforce
On this point, the Republican party
can actually make some gains. Yes, it’s true
that, as a whole, the Asian American commu-
nity is less religious than the general popula-
tion. But there are still large numbers of Asian
Americans who do attend church regularly and
are attending Evangelical and Protestant de-
nominations. These people are susceptible to
voting Republican. (This could apply to Lati-
nos as well.) As an example, the religious right
found great success in California during Prop 8
by targeting the Chinese and Korean churches.
To combat this, we must remind these
Asian American Christians that these same
folks who supporting discriminating against
gays and lesbians and trying to take away a
woman’s right to make her own health-related
choices, are simply using them as temporary
window dressing and that these are the same
people who would prevent them or their rela-
tives from coming to this country or keep them
breaking the glass ceiling at work.
And these are the issues, not the Re-
publican’s embrace of the religious right, that
will keep Asian Americans out of the Repub-
lican party. It is these racist, xenophobic ele-
ments (you know, the birthers, deathers, tea
baggers, Minutemen, etc.) who are now driv-
ing the Republican agenda, that will continue
to drive Asian Americans towards the Demo-
cratic Party.
Immigration - According to the
American Community Survey released by the
Census in 2007, over 60% of Asians living in
American are foreign-born. When Republican
leaders continue to bash immigrants and try to
deny them basic rights and services, it really
drives Asian Americans to not only register to
vote, but to vote against the Republican can-
Why Asian Americans vote democratic continued
didates and proposals. Based on the vitriol
and hate spewing from the healthcare de-
bate, you can count on the teabaggers to
double up on the immigrant bashing. No-
tice that the loudest boo’s against Obama’s
healthcare bill before Congress was the
lie that it would pay for the care of un-
documented immigrants. (I wonder if Jesus
had a litmus test as to who should receive
healthcare.)
- While Asian Americans are the most
highly-educated racial group, we still are
not represented in the highest offices and
boardrooms. In a 2005 Gallup Poll, 31%
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
reported facing some workplace discrimi-
nation. That’s the highest of any group.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Com-
mission released a study that showed that,
despite having the highest education level,
they were less likely to be promoted to a
managerial or executive position. Demo-
crats are more likely to address these is-
sues, let alone even acknowledge that they
exist.
Racial-Profiling post 9/11 drove
South Asians and Muslims accelerated the
movement of these communities towards
the Democrats. Again, as the Republican
party stoked the anti-Muslim fears around
the country, and it seems to be the only
thing working for them, you can count on
more of the same.
President Obama and the Demo-
crats in Congress and around the country
can have an impact on this direction and
they are already showing some signs.
President Obama has appointed a
record-number of Asian Americans to his
Cabinet and nominated quit a few Asian
Americans to federal judgeships including
superb candidates Dolly Gee, Jacqueline
Nguyen,Edward Chen and Denny Chin.
This breaking of the glass ceiling resonates
in the community. And as we head into the
debate on immigration, the Democratic
party can work on issues like family re-
unification and H1-B visas that will also
appeal to our community. Perfect openings
that will continue this trend.
Desmoines Dem concludes: “If
I were Podhoretz, before trying to make
Jews into Republican voters, I’d try to
make the Republican Party less beholden
to social conservatives, less hostile to
minority rights and less willing to ignore
scientific research. But Podhoretz will be-
come a Trotskyite again before any of that
happens.”
I think that’s a good suggestion,
but I don’t see that happening. As a pre-
lude into the future:
“The Institute of Politics at Har-
vard University recently released data
from an online survey of 2,525 18- to
24-year-olds. Among the survey’s more
notable statistics are those concerning
party affiliation among Asian-Americans:
47 percent identify themselves as Demo-
cratic, 15 percent Republican and 39 per-
cent independent — making them more
Democratic than any other ethnic group
except African-Americans in the survey.”
It seems like our community,
known for being in the middle, is finally
making a decision and it’s going Blue.
Curtis Chin is on the board of Asian Pa-
cific Americans for Progress and writer/
producer based in LA.
*This was a republished post from apafor-
progress.org. The original post is at http://
www.apaforprogress.org/why-asian-
americans-vote-democratic-and-upcom-
ing-immigration-debate#comment-2478
The Spectrum 11
Secret Asian Man Comic Strip by Tak Toyoshima

Secret Asian Man: The Daily Days, a collection of Tak’s Secret Asian Man comics over the years, has just been published and
is available through Amazon. Also visit Tak’s site at www.secretasianman.com

12 The Spectrum