The new year brings in a new era of South Asian political leadership in Illinois. SAAPRI shares the latest data on our local communities and opportunities for representation in upcoming municipal elections below. On January 5th, 2019, Ram Villivalam (D)…
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…
Statement on the 2018 World Hindu Congress
From September 7th through September 9th, 2018, the second annual World Hindu Congress (WHC) convened in Chicagoland. WHC 2018 states its purpose as a global platform for Hindus to connect and impact the common good. However, there have been troubling…
Statement on the 50th Anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 – signed into law on October 3th, 1965 and effective on June 30th, 1968 – was a watershed piece of immigration legislation that has had tremendous impact on the country and especially the…
2018 Statement on Trump Administration’s Immigration Policy
OUR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES AT RISK: BORDER POLICY, MUSLIM BAN, AND A BROKEN SYSTEM The Trump administration’s attack on immigrants and families has continued in devastating and cruel ways. In April 2018, the administration implemented its “zero-tolerance policy” for migrants crossing…
Statement on Department of Commerce’s addition of citizenship status question on 2020 Census
ATTACK ON THE 2020 CENSUS On March 27th, 2018, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that a question asking for citizenship status will be added to the 2020 Census. This change was in response to a request made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions…
2017: SAAPRI’s Year in Review
2017 has been a year of new beginnings for SAAPRI as we charged ahead with a focus on developing new means of community engagement. Below is a review of some of the initiatives of which we have been a part. Ahimsa:…
Statement by Chicago SADAC on DACA Rescission
DACA DECISION HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR CONGRESSIONAL SOLUTION AND LOCAL MUNICIPAL ID POLICIES THAT SUPPORT UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS & SOUTH ASIANS Chicago, IL – The President’s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in six months has injected tremendous uncertainty…
Statement on Charlottesville terrorist attack
In the aftermath of the recent deadly attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, the President’s moral equivocations in renouncing white supremacists, and the frightening resurgence of hate crimes in the past year (i), it has become clear that white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and…
Statement by community organizations on hate crime against Muslim women in Rogers Park
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CONDEMN ISLAMOPHOBIA AMID A RISE IN ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY AND HATE CRIMES Chicago, IL – On August, 19th, 2016, a broad coalition of organizations, including Center for New Community (CNC), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the Chicago Chapter of Jewish…