Lan Le has lived in Massachusetts for over 40 years, after her family came here as refugees in 1981. They fled war-torn Vietnam by boat when she was just 9, and spent time living in a refugee camp in Macau before settling in the United States. She has no real connection to her birthplace and has since raised her nine U.S. citizen children in the U.S., where she holds a green card. But now she, like thousands other immigrants, faces […]
“The doctrine of consular nonreviewability was born broken.” That’s how the Fred T. Korematsu Center and Asian Americans Advancing Justice described this little-known doctrine that gives significant powers to consular officials in immigration matters. The line was in a legal brief they submitted to the recently ruled Supreme Court case, “Department of State v. Muñoz,” which many see as a setback for immigration marriage rights. The groups make a strong case that the doctrine was built on a series of […]
For Adam King, his shoe line, 1587 Sneakers, is about more than just footwear. It’s about identity and pride. “We want all people to be unapologetically themselves,” said King. “For me, that’s being a loud, proud Asian American.” Growing up in Dover and Wellesley with few Asian Americans, King remembers the feeling of being from a different culture. “Sometimes you hide them a little bit, or you don’t celebrate them as much as you should. We don’t want any Asian […]
Photojournalism at its best will do what the dedication of this book promises. It will afford recognition, respect, and equality to the subjects it presents. In this remarkably thorough and beautifully rendered new coffee table book from Penguin Random House, the life and legacy of photographer Corky Lee is on full display, Hua Hsu remarks, in his introduction, about the range and breadth of Lee’s work, going from the tight focus of Manhattan’s Chinatown to the diverse spectrum of Asian […]
For the past year, migrants have been staying at Boston Logan Airport as Massachusetts’s emergency shelter system struggled with the influx of new arrivals. With the shelters full, they sleep on makeshift bedding spread across baggage claim under constant lighting and announcements, are carted out of Logan in the morning to welcome centers, then sent back at night. Authorities have limited knowledge and control of the situation. When asked, Governor Healey’s administration couldn’t state how many migrants were arriving at […]
Wearing T-shirts reading “STOP ASIAN HATE,” a group of residents and activists arranged candles in the shape of a heart and displayed a portrait of Vincent Chin with his name written in Chinese and “May 18, 1955 — June 23, 1982” last month under the Chinatown Gate. Wilson Lee, co-founder of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Boston Lodge and the Chinese American Heritage Foundation, said he and his wife Esther Zee Lee have organized a vigil for Chin every June […]
When it comes to tapping into a large number of educated workers, many of whom are bilingual, Massachusetts appears to be missing out. Big time. That’s a takeaway from a new report on the some 240,000 foreign-educated immigrants in the state – 106,000 of whom hold a bachelor’s degree and 134,000 of whom have completed at least some grad school. Many of these immigrants earn less than their U.S.-educated peers and work in jobs that fail to fully use their […]
Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, spoke at a conference in honor of Asian American Heritage Month on May 13, reflecting on her family’s own path to the U.S., including her mother’s union job and trip to the U.S. from China on a cargo ship.Su is an American attorney and government official who has served as an acting United States secretary of labor since 2023. She’s also the 37th United States deputy secretary of labor, serving since 2021. Elaine Lan Chao […]
After years of helping under-served Hispanic residents of central Massachusetts with eye care, Dr. Gisela Velez has been honored by the Small Business Association. Her clinic, Central Mass Retina and Uveitis Center, was recently named Woman-Owned Business of the Year.Velez says her ability to care for patients while also speaking both English and Spanish has helped her better serve her patients. Her practice provides specialized medical ophthalmic care to patients whose only other option would be to travel to Boston […]
The Immigrant History Trail celebrates Boston Chinatown’s resilience and enduring cultural heritage on June 8 at 1 p.m. with its launch, marking a significant milestone toward efforts to designate Chinatown as a cultural district.Following decades of urban renewal, zoning injustice, and institutional expansion, Chinatown faces one of its biggest threats yet: the erosion of cultural identity. As luxury developments encroach, surging housing prices and rising rents are displacing long-standing residents and small businesses. Consequently, both the immigrant, working-class residential and […]
