On 5 August, the United States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the leaders representing interests of the communities of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and native Hawaiians.
In the meeting, they spoke about the Sikh massacre of 2009 and reiterated the need to stand up against bigotry. President Biden promised to work together to make sure these communities are heard and uplifted. The US president and the vice president also expressed their support for a pathway to citizenship and immigration reform.
The meeting was part of Biden's 'Build Back Better' agenda.
He took to twitter to share the agenda of the meeting. He wrote, "Today, the Vice President and I met with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander civil rights leaders at the White House. From building a fair economy to combating hate crimes — we had a packed agenda, and we’re committed to working together to get it done."
Racial Equity and Immigration Reform
Biden and Harris have been vocally supportive of immigration reform and have shared their support for racial equity. The president spoke about growth for far in his tenure and reiterated his support for the anti-Asian Hate Crimes Bill. In this meeting, the need for better economic opportunity, voting rights and immigration reforms were discussed.
Biden and Harris pledged to work with members of the AA and NHPI communities on immigration reform. They acknowledged their participation in civic encouragement and encouraged the communities to do more. They "vowed to continue working to strengthen our democracy and the protection of voting rights."
The president and vice president restated their support for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, farm workers, TPS holders, and essential workers through reconciliation, pledging to work with the AA and NHPI community on immigration reform, the press release said.
Among the 13 leaders present in the meeting were Seema Agnani, Christine Chen, Quyen Dinh, Satjeet Kaur, Kiran Kaul Gill, Kuhio Lewis, Neil makhija, Gregg Orton, Tavae Samuelu, Chiling Tong, Alvina Yeh and Suen Yeon Choimorrow.
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