On February 11th, 2020, SAAPRI hosted a Census education session at Northwestern University in partnership with their South Asian Students Alliance (SASA). SAAPRI appreciated the opportunity to connect with the Northwestern SASA and share how the Census affects college students…
SAAPRI welcomes new Executive Director, Shobhana Johri Verma
SAAPRI would like to thank Dhara Puvar for her years of service as Executive Director of SAAPRI. We are grateful for her years of service and appreciate all the work she has done as the Executive Director of SAAPRI. We would also like to…
Report – Defying Dependence: Impacts of H-4 Authorization Policy on Immigrant Women, Families, and Communities
On February 20th, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a proposal to remove “H-4 dependent spouses from the class of aliens eligible for employment authorization,” which has been under review for months with an uncertain decision date. Rescinding…
Chicago South Asian American Summit
On July 13th, 2019, the Indian American Democratic Organization (IADO) held its first-ever Chicago South Asian American Summit at the SEIU Healthcare’s Union Hall in Chicago. More than 80 South Asian American elected officials, organizers, and community leaders attended the…
2019 Illinois Municipal Elections
On April 2nd, 2019, there were hundreds of municipal elections taking place across Illinois with elections for mayor, city councils, treasurers, clerks, village boards of trustees, and more. Here is everything you need to know about SAAPRI’s civic engagement work: Phone Banking…
SAAPRI’s Co-Founder and Board Chair Ann Kalayil discusses Trump’s plans in News India Times
On February 5th, 2019, President Trump delivered his State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress, to which SAAPRI’s Co-Founder and Board Chair Ann Kalayil responded in the News India Times. The whole crux of the speech and action…
SAAPRI mentioned at Multicultural & Interfaith Forum in the India Post
On January 21st, 2019, SAAPRI was featured in an article about a Multicultural & Interfaith forum held the week prior on Devon Avenue where the Indo-American Democratic Organization (IADO) joined over a dozen community organizations, including SAAPRI, to hear directly…
Statement on the the 2018 Midterms
THE 2018 MIDTERMS AND BEYOND: HISTORIC ELECTION AND CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT The 2018 midterm elections marked a historic moment for the South Asian community in Illinois as Ram Villivalam (D) became the first South Asian American to be elected to the…
SAAPRI’s efforts around GOTV initiative mentioned in Medill Reports Chicago
On October 27th, 2016, SAAPRI was featured in an article about the role of Asian Americans in politics, Asian American civic engagement and political participation, and community organizations’ work around these issues. SAAPRI’s work around Get Out the Vote (GOTV)…
2016 Get Out the Vote Campaign
In advance of the 2016 elections, SAAPRI has been involved in nonpartisan Get out the Vote (GOTV) work. 15 SAAPRI volunteers staffed 35 phone banking shifts over three weeks targeting a list of 7,656 infrequent South Asian voters. Over 2,500…