The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is formally requesting a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss issues affecting the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) — who is chair of CAPAC — sent the request in a letter dated last week. Chu said she would discuss issues important to the AAPI community, particularly immigration, during the meeting.
“His immigration proposals are a major concern to the AAPI population, and we are certainly concerned about mass deportations,” Chu told NBC News. “We are concerned about that because we do account for 10 percent of the undocumented in this country.”
In the letter, Chu cites U.S. Census data showing that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial demographic in the United States, accounting for more than 19 million Americans.
Among specific immigration concerns is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Chu said, which was authorized in 2012 by executive action and has provided deportation relief to more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants. Trump has promised to "cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama" once in office.
"We hope he will moderate his position and understand that there are many people who have contributed to this country and that they are held back primarily because we have such a broken immigration system."
“DACA has allowed young people who have been educated in our system to be able to live here and not be deported to a country they never knew," Chu said. "They have the potential to contribute greatly to this country."
Other issues Chu hopes to discuss in a meeting with Trump include racial profiling and the Affordable Care Act, which she said has been helpful to many AAPIs. Under the Obama Administration, CAPAC has pushed for policies like DACA as well as resources to combat Hepatitis B, which disproportionately affects the AAPI community.
Trump's transition team did not reply to an NBC News request for comment. Chu said she expects a reply will most likely come in the new year. Should the president-elect agree to a meeting, Chu said members of the caucus would also be in attendance.
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“We hope that he will actually have a meeting with us and listen to our concerns," she said. "We hope he will moderate his position and understand that there are many people who have contributed to this country and that they are held back primarily because we have such a broken immigration system."
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