POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Decades after initial resettlement in the United States, Southeast Asian Americans (SEAA) still face unique barriers as a result of their refugee legacy. The following policy recommendations are provided by SEARAC and are limited only to the areas of data equity, education, health, and immigration. We acknowledge that these recommendations are by no means a complete list of all policy interventions needed to bring about equitable outcomes in our community, but we hope this is a solid first step toward initiating deeper discussions on solutions needed to address challenges SEAA face today.
Data Equity The systemic barriers that SEAA face are only made known through the collection and reporting of disaggregated data on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) subgroups. Without these data, our community’s needs are hidden under broader Asian American categories and, therefore, rendered invisible. Disaggregated data collection and reporting must be reflected in but not be limited to: • Ensuring a full, fair, and accurate count of SEAA communities in the 2020 Census by supporting robust translation and outreach to hard-to-count
“Our communities have grown in number since
SEAA communities where people live in poverty,
our initial resettlement into the country following
are limited English proficient, and/or are fearful
the U.S. occupation in Southeast Asia decades ago,
of being targeted for deportation due to their
yet we continue to remain invisible. The census is
immigration status.
a critical program that facilitates the collection of national disaggregated data, which is key to advocacy for policies that promote equity among SEAA. We hope [to] inspire the power and the potential that our community carries to fight for our own selfdetermination by participating in the 2020 Census.” QUYEN DINH Executive Director at SEARAC
• Adopting the optimal question format recommended by the 2015 National Content Test for Census 2020 questions on race and further expanding categories to include Laotian and Iu-Mien to enhance the quality and utility of information collected on Asian groups. • Encouraging state agencies, businesses, education institutions, researchers, community-based organizations, and philanthropy to prioritize the collection, availability, and publication of demographic data (e.g., gender, language, income, education) disaggregated by AANHPI subgroups, to properly understand the unique disparities within the AANHPI community.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNEYS
A NATIONAL SNAPSHOT OF OUR COMMUNITIES / 84
