Category Archives: politics

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, Filipino, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: Pope Francis will see how Asian American his U.S. flock has become

Alighting from his papel plane, Pope Francis gets a little wind in his face. But it shouldn’t stop him from seeing just how Asian American his U.S. flock has become.
Filipinos at 2.2 million are the largest Asian American group of U.S. Catholics. But the smaller groups like the Burmese Americans, a growing refugee community are growing throughout the U.S.
The pope was smiling when he saw the president at Andrews Air Force Base. No doubt the Iran deal that the pope helped broker will come up.  But as the pope mixes with the politicos, I think his June encyclical on global warming and the call for a new politics that protects what he calls “our common home,”  will make it into his comments before Congress and the U.N.
As for tonight, he gets to rest. Maybe he’ll watch the season 2 premier of “Fresh Off the Boat”?
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: My scoop on Sherry Chen; After spy charges dropped, her employer, the National Weather Service, still wants her fired; See the documents here. And Scoop No.2: Federal spy charges against Temple University’s Xiaoxing Xi to be dropped, sources say.

Chenletter

Sherry Chen, 59,  whose given name is Xiafen, is the Chinese American scientist who was accused of spying in 2014.

Then in March 2015, after pleading not guilty, the charges were dropped. “Prosecutorial discretion,” was the official reason given by the federal prosecutors.

But life was still on a yo-yo for Chen, who was left dangling on paid leave, but not on the job.

This week we found out what her employers at the National Weather Service want to do.

Fire her.

The spying  charges (related to use of another’s password to gain access to sensitive material on dams and reservoirs) have been dropped against her. But now  Chen has been given notice at her job, and could be gone in 30 days.

Here is the first graph of the letter.

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Chen may still fight this personnel matter. But  once the taint of “spy” is placed on you, even as an allegation, it’s unlikely you’ll ever return to your same government workplace.

The government denies any racial profiling on Chen was involved.

But she continues to pay a price despite the dropping of all espionage charges against her.

Read my story for NBCNews.com’s Asian America site.

The story that ran 9/9/2015, also includes the scoop that the feds are dropping the spy charges against Temple University scientist Xiaoxing Xi.

New York Times posted “breaking story” on Temple prof on 9/11/15.

 

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, Filipino, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: Remembering the Delano Grape Strike and the Filipino American leader who forged the way, Larry Itliong

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Fifty years ago on Sept. 8, the Filipino farm workers in Delano, Calif., began the historic Grape Strike that brought the civil rights movement to the fields.

Workers  had been used to working for less than a dollar an hour, but now demanded  a fair wage–$1.40 an hour. Or else.

A unanimous strike vote was taken on Sept. 7 in Delano’s Filipino Community Hall. On the next day, the workers were set. Two-thousand or so men and women  of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AFL-CIO) walked off the job.

Click here to read more about their leader.

Cesar Chavez?

Nope.

Larry Itliong, the unsung Filipino American labor leader of the strike.

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Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, everything else, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: This week’s writing–Report says Asian Americans overcharged for SAT Prep; The slur on Asians by the Wall Street Journal; And the deportation cloud over Daniel Maher

SAT PREP OVERCHARGING:  It’s being called a “Tiger Mom Tax.”  There’s nothing illegal about unintended discrimination in online pricing, but that doesn’t make it right. I report on NBCNews.com’s Asian America section.

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TIME TO RETIRE ‘CHINK IN THE ARMOR.” : It’s ok if you’re a fashion reporter discussing the latest medieval designs (“What would Lancelot wear?” ) But when describing China’s president? No, no, Wall Street Journal. Here’s where we need an apology.

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DEPORTATION CLOUD:   Daniel Maher immigrated  to the U.S. from Macao when he was 2. But now China and ICE are using him as a political pawn and he can still be swept up and  deported at any time. Read my piece on NBCNews.com.