Asian American immigration reform meeting recap

Whittier Daily News has an article about the "Asian Americans and Immigration Reform" panel discussion last week. An excerpt:

Karin Wang of Monterey Park, vice president of programs at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, said the meeting was the first of its kind.

"We hope to do a lot more," Wang said. "Asian-American groups have never been able to naturally work together politically due to our diversity. But this issue has united a lot of us. It's not just about Asian Americans. We've gotten involved and care about people's civil rights."

The panel included leaders from the Chinese, Indian, Korean and Filipino communities and former Stanford Law School Professor John Trasvi a.

Preeti Kulkarni, a board member of the national group Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, said all immigrant groups have common interests.

"We hope to show that the AAPI community is aligned with all communities of color," Kulkarni said. "We believe in building coalitions with immigrant communities, including Latinos, in demanding fair and humane immigration reform. This isn't just a Latino issue - it's an issue for all people."

Kapil at APAforProgress.com has some more valuable thoughts to contribute to the Immigration debate, noting that a Public Policy Institute of California report indicates that "since illegal migration is associated with economic prosperity - to borrow an analogy from PJ O'Rourke - the employment pie gets bigger for everyone, whether native or illegal."