Asian immigrants comprise over 10% of the national undocumented immigrant population and Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States today. Asian undocumented communities, alongside their Latinx and Black undocumented counterparts, have also emphasized the importance of their racial/ethnic identities alongside their immigrant legal status in their organizing. UndocuAsians tells the story of the contemporary US immigrant rights movement with a focus on Asian undocumented immigrant narratives drawing on personal reflections and research studies by self-identified undocuAsian organizers and scholars from Asian immigrant backgrounds. Topics discussed in the volume include activists’ navigation of racialized “illegality,” the importance of chosen and biological family, pathways in the pursuit of higher education, the role of faith communities in the lives of Asian undocumented immigrants, and healing. Combined, these essays provide a diverse portrait of the vibrant, powerful community of Asian undocumented immigrants today.
"UndocuAsians offers a timely contribution to immigration literature. Historically grounded and conceptually rich, the centerpieces are the revelatory stories of individuals who fight for a more humane system. It urges us toward a compassionate future and to rethink what it means to live as undocumented with dignity, resistance, and hope."
"Asian Americans have never been less of a monolith. Our community is more diverse, more complex, and more undocumented than ever before, and UndocuAsians unpacks this state of affairs intimately."
"In a nation marked by its complexity and contradictions, UndocuAsians shines a light on the important yet seldom told stories of undocumented Asian immigrants. This anthology weaves together a rich tapestry of personal reflections and scholarly research from activists and experts. The authors invite you into an intimate space where vulnerability meets resilience. It is not just a book—it is a call to action."
"While Asians are one of the fastest growing racial groups in the undocumented community, they are often omitted from broader public discourse and academic scholarship. Timely and relevant, each chapter provides an entryway to understand the nuances in the lives of undocumented Asians in a way that humanizes those experiences."
Foreword xi JU HONG “It’s Okay” xv BO THAI Introduction 1 KEVIN ESCUDERO AND RACHEL FREEMAN-WONG PART ONE Historical Context and Theorizing the Nexus of Race and “Illegality” 1 Toward a Critical Understanding of the Historical and Sociopolitical Contexts for Asian American College Students in Mixed-Status Im/migrant Families RIKKA DE JOYA VENTURANZA 2 Negotiating Racialized “Illegality” JESSICA LAW PART TWO Community-Based Methodological Approaches and Reclaiming Representations of Asian Undocumented Immigrant Experiences 3 Tsismis/Chisme as an Undocumented Community-Responsive Tool: Co-Conspiratorial Research to Action TRACY LACHICA BUENAVISTA
4 “Not Your Model Minority”: Undocumented and Multilingual Asian Activists at the Margins of the University SARA P. LOPEZ AMEZQUITA 5 Sacred Silhouettes: The Legacy of Brown Girl Joy Productions AMRITPAL KAUR, AMANDEEP KAUR, AND JASPREET KAUR PART THREE Family, Faith, and Navigating Higher Education in the United States 6 Given and Chosen Family: The Central Pillar for Undocumented Asian College Students’ Value for Civic Engagement CYNTHIA MARIBEL ALCANTAR, RACHEL FREEMAN-WONG, VICTORIA KIM, ‘INOKE HAFOKA, TRISHA MAZUMDER, AND SET HERNANDEZ 7 “Rooted Around Church”: The Role of the Korean Protestant Church in the Lives of Undocumented Korean Young Adults ESTHER YOONA CHO 8 Chardi Kala: Resilience and Perseverance Through Adversity PRATISHTHA KHANNA 9 Embracing Dreams Against Odds: A DACA Recipient’s Reflection on Navigating Higher Education and a Career in STEM ZHELIN JEFF LI PART FOUR Mental Health, Activism, and Community Healing 10 The Intersection of Identity: Navigating My Undocumented Asian Experience and Becoming an UndocuAsian Mental Health Professional HUYEN “KIKI” VO 11 Recollecting Resistance: A Retrospection on UPLIFT’s UndocuAsian Community Organizing During the DACA Era and Trump Administration SIYUE LENA WANG AND MADISON VILLANUEVA Epilogue RACHEL FREEMAN-WONG AND KEVIN ESCUDERO Appendix Acknowledgments Notes on Contributors Index
KEVIN ESCUDEROis an assistant professor of American studies and ethnic studies and affiliated faculty member in the Department of Sociology, the Population Studies and Training Center, and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown University, Rhode Island. He is the author of Organizing While Undocumented: Immigrant Youth's Political Activism under the Law.
RACHEL FREEMAN-WONG is a postdoctoral research associate for the Population Studies and Training Center at Brown University, Rhode Island. She has worked with immigrant advocacy organizations including The UndocuScholars Project at UCLA.
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