Commonwealth of Massachusetts Asian American Commission (AAC) Statement on Immigration
BOSTON – The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Asian American Commission (AAC) is the only governmental nonpartisan organization representing our diverse and multi-faceted Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in our state. AAPIs are the fastest growing racial group nationally and in our Commonwealth, and are expected to reach an estimated national population size of 40 million by 2060. Importantly, two-thirds of all AAPIs in the United States were born outside of this country, designating AAPIs as the racial group with the highest proportion of foreign-born residents in the United States. Immigrants are the backbone of our AAPI communities, and our AAPI immigrants have contributed significantly to the accomplishments and achievements of this country.
Recent events and decisions at the federal level affecting the immigration of certain members of our national community recall to mind similarly restrictive policies which directly impacted AAPIs in this country’s recent history.
This year we will observe the 75th anniversary of the Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which led to over 100,000 Japanese Americans being forced into internment camps across the United States, due to fears that these American citizens of Japanese descent were a threat to national security. 2017 will also mark 135 years since the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, which was the first law implemented in the United States that prevented a specific ethnic group from immigrating to this country, based largely on concerns that Chinese laborers were negatively impacting the wages and the economy of municipalities where they worked. Subsequently, beginning in the 1920’s, restrictions on AAPI immigration remained in place via a quota system that disfavored immigrants from Asian countries, until the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965.
It is this historical context of our own AAPI community members being targeted, limited, or restricted, based on our race, ethnicity, or country of origin, which prompts the AAC to express our support for those affected by current federal policy decisions concerning entry to the United States.
Let’s not repeat history. Many of us In the AAPI communities are immigrants or refugees ourselves, or are the daughters and sons of immigrants and refugees, and would not be here in the United States today, had the immigration policies remained as they were before the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965.
Local, statewide, and national contributions have been made by residents and citizens of the United States, of diverse ancestry. The United States of America is home to all of us, but particularly for those who chose to seek liberty, happiness, and a better life in this nation by leaving behind their country of origin, the American Dream is a real goal and not an abstract concept.
What can you do? Take action by contacting your local non-profits, your elected city, municipal, and state officials, your advocacy groups, and other supporters. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Asian American Commission would like to laud those organizations which have already taken a stance in support of immigration rights and have shared messages of unity with their community members. We, Staff and Commissioners of the AAC, stand in support of all our country’s many immigrants and refugees, who have helped make this nation great.
2月8日，麻州大学波士顿孔子学院在麻州大学波士顿校区举办春节庆祝活动，孔子课堂师生、大学师生和社区居民近400人参加。麻州大学波士顿校区副校长、教务长温斯顿∙朗利（Winston
Langley）和副教务长斯凯乐∙科本（Schuyler
）等校领导出席并为大家送上新春祝福。
演出在褚玲舞蹈学校欢快的东北秧歌《新春好》中拉开序幕，接着是麻州大学波士顿校区学中文的学生蓝凤凰（Hanifah
Bostic）演唱的字正腔圆、嘹亮悠远的《青藏高原》。随后，波士顿拉丁中学孔子课堂演出的《伞舞》透出浓浓的中国情。波士顿学院高中孔子课堂和波士顿拉丁学校孔子课堂分别表演的《抖空竹》和扬琴《将军令》受到观众的喜爱。丹娜荷中学的中文教师向淑君的相声《我在美国教中文》让人们对中文教师的工作有了更深的理解。她的学生也带来了舞蹈《荷塘月色》。麻州大学波士顿校区的刘瑞明教授、丁薇教授、本雅明∙ 利希滕斯坦（Benyamin
Lichtenstein）教授则分别表演了独唱、舞蹈和黑管演奏，玛丽特（Mariette Bien-Aime Ayala）朗诵了古诗《劝学》和《画鸡》。孔子学院的教师徐舒表演了《琵琶语》。古筝《渔舟
