Anti-Deportation
Our Campaigns
APSC conducts anti-deportation campaigns for currently and formerly incarcerated community members facing deportation. From 2019-2021, APSC has supported 30+ individuals to gain their freedom from ICE and advocated for policy changes that will impact thousands more. These victories included gubernatorial pardons, post-conviction relief, and/or administrative actions to prevent or reverse their deportations.
Here are some notable highlights:
In 2020, APSC was part of a historic victory in preventing several direct transfers from CDCR to ICE, the first time this has ever happened to our knowledge. APSC supported one of these individuals to find safe housing, health care, food, and other necessities while they navigated reentry with a complex immigration status.
APSC organized a freedom campaign for Bounchan “Boun” Keola, an incarcerated firefighter who was direct transferred from CDCR to ICE detention. Boun was eventually released from ICE and granted a pardon by Governor Newsom in April 2021.
Among those who gained their release from ICE, Borey “Peejay” Ai is now an APSC Community Advocate staff, Maria Legarda is an APSC Reentry Coordinator staff, and Ny Nourn and Bula Charles Joseph are APSC Council Members. Chanthon Bun and Maria Luna are former APSC Interns. Chanthon transitioned into a full-time position at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus as the Yuri Kochiyama Fellow.
Together We Rise
These victories were made possible in large part by intergenerational grassroots organizing campaigns led by families, formerly incarcerated leaders, immigration attorneys, and community organizers who organized rallies, wrote petitions, made legislative visits, and offered family support. APSC organized community events and rallies, provided education to policymakers, coordinated media strategies, connected individuals to legal resources, and educated the public through narrative-shift strategies. We documented reflections, strategies, and tools in Hope Is Contagious, a collection of stories, artwork, and interviews from the anti-deportation movement: www.asianprisonersupport.com/hope-is-contagious
Vision Act
APSC is a proud co-sponsor of the VISION Act (AB 937-Carillo). The VISION Act seeks to end the harsh double punishment of incarcerated immigrants and refugees by protecting members who have already been deemed eligible for release from being funneled by local jails and state prisons to immigration detention. To keep updated on the latest news on the VISION Act and learn how to take action visit: bit.ly/VISIONAct
View press conference: February 24, 2021 Virtual VISION Act Launch, featuring AB 937 Author, Asm. Carrillo, Principal Co-Authors Sen. Wiener and Gonzalez, Joint Authors Asm. Kalra and Santiago, and community members affected by ICE transfers: Bounchan Keola, James Perez, Liyah Birru, and Chanthon Bun.
Additional Anti-Deportation Resources:
Learn about the health impacts of direct transfers from prison to ICE: "Stop ICE Transfers: Promoting Health, Unifying Families, Healing Communities" This research brief was a collaboration between Human Impact Partners, Asian Prisoner Support Committee, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus.
Hear about the impacts for pardons from Southeast Asian refugees in Pardons for the People: A Discussion on Keeping Immigrant and Refugee Families Together panel
Continue to uplift and support formerly incarcerated people in their pardon efforts by using the Pardon for the People Toolkit: bit.ly/pardons4theppl