Press Releases

October 12, 2017

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA) is pleased to announce that it has been selected as the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) 2017 Affiliate of the Year. The Affiliate of the Year Award recognizes outstanding affiliates for their best practices and accomplishments in their local communities.  The award will be presented to AABA at the 29th Anniversary Gala during the 2017 NAPABA Convention in Washington, D.C. on November 4, 2017.

AABA’s selection as NAPABA’s Affiliate of the Year reflects the culmination of its 41-year legacy of standing up for justice.  Since its inception in 1976, AABA has stood up for justice by coming together as a community and mobilizing its members to defend the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), serve the community, and advance to higher positions of influence in the legal profession.  AABA’s ongoing work would not be possible without its founders, leaders, 15 committees, sponsors, and over 1,200 members. 

“AABA is honored to be selected as NAPABA’s Affiliate of the Year,” said Miriam Kim, President of AABA.  “We extend a heartfelt thank you to our members and community partners for their continued involvement and support in carrying on AABA’s legacy of civil rights, community service, and career advancement.”

For more information, read the NAPABA press release.

October 9, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO – Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (API Legal Outreach) will honor the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA) Pro Bono Clinics at the annual API Legal Outreach gala on October 20, 2017 in San Francisco, California.

The AABA Community Services Committee and API Legal Outreach operate two pro bono legal clinics each month in Oakland and San Francisco with the help of volunteer attorneys and law students. Founded in 2007, the AABA Clinics’ mission is to ensure that low-income Bay Area residents, including mono-lingual immigrants, have access to free legal information and assistance in a number of areas, including immigration, family law, housing and more.

Since the AABA Pro Bono Clinics were launched in 2007, hundreds of attorneys and law students have provided thousands of clients with legal assistance they otherwise would not have been able to afford. In the last two years alone, the AABA Clinics have served over 375 residents in the community.

“We are honored to be recognized by API Legal Outreach,” said Miriam Kim, president of AABA. “Through the continued efforts of our Community Services Committee, volunteers, and partners like API Legal Outreach, AABA has been providing meaningful assistance to our community for the last 10 years. It is humbling to be part of this important endeavor.”

For more information, the media may contact aabacsc@gmail.com. For more information on the API Legal Outreach gala, please click here.

October 4, 2017

On September 24, 2017, the president announced a revised Muslim and Refugee Ban that added North Korea, Venezuela, and Muslim-majority Chad to the list of restricted countries included in his March 6, 2017, Executive Order.  Immigrants from the Muslim-majority countries of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen continue to be restricted by the updated Ban. The restrictions on travel vary from country to country, ranging from limits on the entry of government officials to bars on immigrant and nonimmigrant admission.

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA) has consistently opposed this series of discriminatory executive orders. See AABA’s statements here and here. In addition, AABA joined over 60 Asian Pacific American bar associations nationally in an amicus brief to support the preliminary injunction of President Trump’s March 6, 2017, revised executive order. Read the amicus brief here.

“The addition of new countries (one third of which are Muslim majority) to the Ban only enhances the unconstitutionality and blatant discrimination inherent in the Ban,” says AABA President-Elect David Tsai. “AABA will continue to oppose such immigration policies that infringe on the liberties and livelihoods of our beloved Muslim American friends and communities.”

For more information, contact AABA at info@aaba-bay.com.

September 19, 2017

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA) joined its affiliated national bar, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), and 61 national and local Asian Pacific American bar associations in filing an amicus brief in the consolidated cases, Trump v. State of Hawai`i and Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project, before the U.S. Supreme Court. Together these Asian Pacific American bar associations urged the Court to support the injunction of President Trump’s March 6, 2017, revised executive order barring refugees and individuals from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

“The significant number of national, local, and state Asian Pacific American bar associations from around the country that joined our brief is a testament to the consensus in the legal community that the order is discriminatory and unlawful. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association stands by its mission and policy resolutions and is proud to have challenged the revised executive order from the initial lawsuit brought in Hawai`i all the way to the Supreme Court,” said NAPABA President Cyndie M. Chang. “We are a diverse legal community that values inclusion. As a community, we have experienced the harms of exclusionary laws and we will continue to oppose this anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant order. We urge the Supreme Court to strike it down.”

“AABA stands as one with NAPABA and its fellow APA Bar Associations in this amicus brief in the Supreme Court,” said AABA President Miriam Kim.  “The executive order, with its renewed ban on refugees and individuals from six Muslim-majority countries, bears a painful resemblance to historical bans on Asian immigration. We will continue to work to do everything we can to ensure that the order is permanently struck down. We stand with the immigrants, refugees, and families impacted by the order.”  

The Trump Administration’s appeal arises from two challenges to the revised executive order. Both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a per curiam ruling, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in a 10-3 en banc ruling, maintained respective lower courts’ blocks on the revised executive order. NAPABA filed amicus briefs, endorsed by 43 Asian Pacific American bar associations, including AABA, in both circuits urging them to uphold the lower court injunctions.

The Supreme Court amicus brief describes decades of statutory exclusion of citizens of Asian and Pacific Island countries under early U.S. immigration law, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 — the first federal law to ban a group of people on the basis of their race. The Civil Rights Era marked a dramatic turning point that saw Congress dismantle nationality-based discrimination with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The brief explains that presidential discretion in the area of immigration and refugee admission, while broad, is limited by statute. NAPABA and AABA argue that President Trump’s revised order, with its anti-Muslim underpinnings, violates the unambiguous prohibition on discrimination established by Congress.

The Supreme Court will hear the case on October 10, 2017, in Washington D.C.

Read the amicus brief here.

September 19, 2017

San Francisco — The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA) congratulates Bay Area attorneys Suhi Koizumi, Rita Lin, David Mesa, Vilaska Nguyen, Vineet Shahani, and Christine Start on being selected for the 2017 Best Lawyers Under 40 (BU40) Award by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).  The BU40 Award recognizes talented individuals in the Asian Pacific American legal community who are under the age of 40 and who have achieved prominence and distinction in their respective fields, while demonstrating a strong commitment to the Asian Pacific American community at relatively early stages in their careers.  The BU40 Award will be presented on November 2, 2017, at the NAPABA Convention in Washington D.C.

"This year's BU40 class represents the best and brightest in our community," said Miriam Kim, President of AABA. "The six Bay Area honorees include a federal prosecutor, two deputy public defenders, an in-house lawyer, and small firm and big firm lawyers. In addition to excelling in their respective areas of law, Suhi, Rita, David, Vilaska, Vineet, and Christine have worked tirelessly to support the Asian Pacific American community."

Only 18 attorneys across the country were recognized with the BU40 Award this year.  Below is the full list of recipients of the 2017 BU40 Award: 

• Reena R. Bajowala | Jenner & Block LLP
• Kelly Chen | Munck Wilson Mandala LLP
• Betty Chen | Fish & Richadson PC
• Jung Choi | Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Nicole Ong Colyer | Arizona Department of Administration
• Dale Ho | American Civil Liberties Union
• Dong Joo Lee | United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corp
• Sylvia Kim | Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Orange County
• Suhi Koizumi | Minami Tamaki LLP
• John Solano Laney | Stoel Rives LLP
• Rita Lin | U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California
• David Mesa | Sedgwick LLP
• Vilaska Nguyen | Office of the San Francisco Public Defender
• Vineet Shahani | Nest Labs Inc.
• Amandeep S. Sidhu | McDermott Will & Emery LLP
• Christine Mari Palma Start | Solano County (CA) Alternate Public Defender’s Office
• Jennifer H. Wu | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
• Tony Yu | DSG Wealth & Trust Law

Please join us once again in congratulating Suhi Koizumi, Rita Lin, David Mesa, Vilaska Nguyen, Vineet Shahani, and Christine  on receiving NAPABA’s BU40 Award.  AABA looks forward to their future successes.  

September 11, 2017

The Asian American Bar Association (AABA) denounces the Trump Administration’s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in March 2018 unless Congress passes legislation to extend or replace the program. DACA provided temporary relief from deportation and issued work permits for hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth. Approximately 800,000 “Dreamers,” including over 30,000 Asian Pacific Americans, benefitted from the program. As of September 5, 2017, no new DACA applications will be processed.  Those who currently have DACA can reapply for a renewal by October 5, 2017, after which no renewals will be processed. AABA joins the American individuals and entities calling upon Congress to continue DACA as long as necessary to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Although Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited the threat of litigation questioning the legality of DACA as a basis for ending the program, over 100 immigration law professors and scholars signed an extensive letter finding that, based on the U.S. Constitution, immigration law and statutes, and case law, the executive branch has the authority to implement DACA and “DACA 2012 is a lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”

Ending this program will have negative effects that will be felt by all Americans. In a letter to the president, more than 400 U.S. business leaders reaffirmed the vital role Dreamers play in the economy. The CATO Institute estimates that this decision will cost $280 billion in economic growth over the next 10 years. Notably, ending DACA will impact undocumented law students and pre-law students who could have meaningfully contributed to the legal profession, but will now live in fear of deportation and be unable to work lawfully.

AABA joins their fellow national and local bar associations, including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and numerous other minority bar associations, in denouncing this repeal of DACA. We stand with the immigrant families and young people whose lives have been thrown into chaos and uncertainty after this decision.

September 6, 2017 

The Asian American Bar Association (AABA) is dismayed by President Trump’s pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  In July, Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt by Judge Susan Bolton of the U.S. District Court of Arizona, which ruled that Arpaio “demonstrated a persistent disregard for the orders of the Court, as well as an intention to violate and manipulate the laws and policies regulating their conduct . . . .”  In violation of a December 2011 federal court order, Arpaio continued to engage in illegal racial profiling and targeting of immigrants.  The criminal contempt charges arose from a civil rights lawsuit, Ortega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

AABA believes that President Trump’s pardon improperly absolves Arpaio of his disrespect for the rule of law and his pattern and practice of targeting vulnerable communities of color, in particular immigrant families and children. “While we respect the President’s power to issue certain pardons, we are shocked by the expedited pardon of a law enforcement officer who has blatantly violated a federal court order by continuing to engage in racially discriminatory actions,” said AABA President Miriam Kim. “This action sets a dangerous precedent and weakens the public’s trust in the authority of the judiciary.”

AABA joins its fellow national and local bar associations, including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the American Bar Association, in expressing disapproval of the pardon. AABA and its members continue to stand up for justice, equity, and inclusion.

August 14, 2017

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (“AABA”) is deeply concerned regarding media reports that the Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to investigate and potentially sue colleges and universities over race-based or affirmative action admissions policies.  The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ recently issued an internal announcement recruiting lawyers to work on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.”  On August 2, the DOJ stated that the posting sought volunteers “to investigate one administrative complaint filed by a coalition of 64 Asian-American associations in May 2015 that the prior Administration left unresolved.”  That complaint, which was dismissed by the Obama administration as similar to a pending lawsuit, alleges racial discrimination against Asian Americans in the college admissions process at Harvard University.  While the nature and scope of the DOJ’s plans are unclear, AABA is significantly concerned that the DOJ announcement demonstrates an intent to target lawful race-conscious admissions programs, and that any such efforts will sow divisiveness in our communities rather than increase access to higher education for all Americans.

From its inception, AABA has been actively involved in supporting affirmative action in higher education.  AABA members filed an amicus brief in the landmark University of California v. Bakke (1978) case.  In Fisher v. University of Texas, 133 S.Ct. 2411 (2013) (Fisher I) and Fisher v. University of Texas, 136 S.Ct. 2198 (2016) (Fisher II), AABA joined amicus briefs urging the Supreme Court to uphold the University of Texas at Austin’s admissions program, which, like Harvard’s, aims to admit a diverse class in many ways and considers race as one factor in a holistic evaluation of each candidate.

AABA supports the use of affirmative action programs that consider race and ethnicity as part of an individualized, holistic review process in higher education. Historically, race-conscious admissions programs played a critical role in opening the doors of public and private universities to many Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, certain AAPI subgroups continue to benefit from such programs, and all AAPI students benefit from more racially diverse college campuses.

Well-established U.S. Supreme Court precedent permits the use of race as one factor in the evaluation of an applicant and affirms that race-conscious admissions programs may be used as a means of obtaining ‘the educational benefits that flow from student body diversity.”  Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 330 (2003).  As the Supreme Court has recognized, “enrolling a diverse student body ‘promotes cross-racial understanding, helps to break down racial stereotypes, and enables students to better understand persons of different races.’” Fisher II, 136 S. Ct. at 2210 (quoting Grutter, 539 U.S. at 330).

“We will not be used as a wedge to engender divisions between communities of color,” says AABA President Miriam Kim.  “We acknowledge that affirmative action is an issue that divides the AAPI community, and we condemn illegal racial quotas and racial discrimination.  However, we believe that there continues to be a compelling interest in achieving diversity in education, and we support the use of race-conscious admissions programs in higher education.” 

August 14, 2017

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area denounces white supremacy, neo-Nazis, and racism. We are horrified by the hatred, bigotry, and violence demonstrated at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. AABA calls upon President Trump to condemn the hate groups in unequivocal terms.

We grieve with the families of Heather Heyer and all other victims of this domestic act of terrorism. We applaud the DOJ Civil Rights Division for opening an investigation and urge federal and state authorities to prosecute this hate crime to the fullest extent of the law.

July 27, 2017

On July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that his administration “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,” claiming that the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”  That position contradicts the current policy of the U.S. Department of Defense, which over the past year has supported open service of transgender people in the U.S. armed forces.

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (“AABA”) condemns this decision as a blatant act of prejudice.  AABA President-Elect David Tsai explained, “This announcement not only disregards the valor and tremendous sacrifice of already enlisted transgender service members (estimated to be as many as 15,500 in 2014), but also reinforces the dangerous notion that transgender and gender nonconforming people are inherently different from, and pose a threat to, cisgender people.”

AABA notes that ethnic minorities, including over 30,000 Japanese Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, were historically required to serve in segregated units based on the same purported concerns about “disruption” and unit cohesion that President Trump cited yesterday.  AABA also expresses concern that President Trump’s tweet advances a message that has long been used to justify ongoing violence against transgender individuals in our community that conflicts with our nation’s core values of equality.

Also on July 26, the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover employment “discrimination based on sexual orientation.”  The Justice Department’s decision ignores both the letter and spirit of Title VII, which is designed to protect employees from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.  Together with President Trump’s announcement regarding transgender individuals serving in the military, the Justice Department’s position appears to be part of a broader campaign against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.  “An attack on the LGBTQ community is an attack on all Americans who have suffered discrimination, historically and in the present day,” AABA President-Elect Tsai stated.  “As such, AABA condemns both actions by President Trump and members of his administration.”