Advocating for the visibility, rights, and representation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Asian Americans in New Jersey deserve to be safe, seen, heard, and respected. Our advocacy aims to ensure our community has a seat at the table when important decisions are being made, understands how policy decisions affect our daily lives, and realizes its collective power to bring about a more just, inclusive future for all.
At the state and national levels, AAPI New Jersey has worked in diverse, multiethnic coalitions to advocate for educational equity and inclusion, language access, immigrant rights, ballot reform, government transparency, domestic workers’ rights, and voting rights, among other policies. We have advocated for increased state investment in AAPI communities, and work closely with state agencies to help them better understand and serve AAPI communities. We also support victims of bias incidents and hate crimes with case management and referral services.
For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New Jersey who believe they have experienced bias or discrimination or been the victim of a crime, we are available to help you understand your reporting options and navigate subsequent processes. We can also help with referrals to mental and behavioral health services or social services.
Email us at advocacy@aapinewjersey.org or call/text (973) 298-0966 (not for emergencies).
In response to recent events, we are offering 4-6 weeks of individual sessions with an experienced, licensed AAPI mental health provider in English or Korean at no charge to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New Jersey.
Please fill out this form so that we may connect you with a mental health provider. All information will be kept strictly confidential, and we will reply within 24 hours. Please email us at advocacy@aapinewjersey.org with any questions.
We offer monthly community education sessions about different policy areas affecting the AAPI community, so that everyone can understand what policy is and how it affects our lives. We also facilitate trainings on bystander intervention, responding to harassment, and self-defense and situational awareness.
Would you like to learn how to respond to anti-Asian harassment? Our facilitators provide empowering virtual or in-person trainings at no cost to your community group or organization in English, Mandarin, Hindi, or Tagalog, thanks to generous support by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC and Right To Be. Our interactive workshops emphasize building resilience and long-term healing for those who have experienced hate, bias, and microaggressions. Sign up for our newsletter to hear about upcoming training dates.
Explore voting rights, school desegregation, and other issues with profound implications for the AAPI community in these one-hour, recorded deep dives with leading advocates and policymakers.
You have the power to help make change.
Read about our current budget and legislative priorities for New Jersey.
Sign on with us as an individual or organization to demand justice for Victoria Lee and meaningful change now, including a thorough investigation, accountability and transparency in Fort Lee, investment in mental health services, and a comprehensive strategy to reduce unnecessary police involvement.
With a weakened federal Voting Rights Act that remains under constant threat, and voter suppression rampant across the country, it’s more essential than ever that we protect our right to vote in New Jersey. New Jersey must codify into state law our own voter protections and expand voter access now. Voters in New Jersey, especially Asian American and other voters of color, face too many barriers when it comes to casting their ballots, including lack of language accessibility for those with limited English proficiency. A state VRA will ensure access to the ballot by preventing changes to voting practices without “preclearance” from the state or from a court in New Jersey to assure lack of harm to voters of color, will expand language access, will prohibit voter discrimination and intimidation, and more.
As the most diverse state in the nation, New Jersey should be a national leader in implementing state-level protections for immigrants—now more than ever. Over 1 in 5 undocumented immigrants in New Jersey were born in Asia, making the Immigrant Trust Act an essential cornerstone of a future where all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can access essential public services and programs that most New Jerseyans are able to take for granted. It’s past time for New Jersey to end its participation in the federal detention and deportation machine and support immigrant families across our state. Tell your state lawmakers: we must build a fair and welcoming state for all people—regardless of immigration status.
Due to a technical oversight, U.S. citizenship was not secured for many intercountry adoptees who were adopted as children by U.S. citizen parents. Although they grew up in the U.S. as part of American families, adoptees without citizenship face barriers to accessing employment, health care, social security benefits, and government issued identification.
Even worse, to date, at least 50 intercountry adoptees have been deported to their countries of their birth, where they do not know the language or culture, have no known family, and have little chance of economic survival.
The Adoptee Citizenship Act will grant citizenship to tens of thousands of intercountry adoptees. We need your support to reach out to your Senators and House Representative and ask them to support passage of the Adoptee Citizenship Act.
In 2023, we formally changed our name to AAPI New Jersey to reflect the statewide priorities and activities that this group of committed community members and advocates now supports.
We continue to host events and programs in Montclair and invite you to explore this site to learn more about the diverse resources and opportunities we offer.
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