Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund

AALDEF was pleased to host its first summer cocktail in two years since the pandemic first disrupted face-to-face events. The AALDEF 2022 summer cocktail took place on June 27, 2022 at 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar in New York City. We were thrilled to welcome hundreds of lawyers, professionals, students, and advocates from the Asian-American community to our recent fundraiser to support AALDEF`s legal and educational programs. Some of AALDEF`s early advocacy efforts include: calling for the hiring of Chinese-American construction workers at Confucius Plaza in Manhattan`s Chinatown and conducting a campaign to stop the deportation of Filipino doctors recruited to fill the shortage of medical personnel in the United States. AALDEF`s volunteer lawyers represented Chinese Americans arrested during a protest against police brutality in Manhattan`s Chinatown and joined a rally in support of an innocent passerby, Peter Yew, who was beaten by police after complaining about their mishandling of a minor traffic accident. In 1977, AALDEF organized free legal counseling clinics at Hamilton-Madison House, the Korean Senior Citizens Society, and other community organizations in New York City. In a first affirmative action case, AALDEF intervened on behalf of the Asian American Law Students Association at Doherty v. Rutgers Law School and defended the inclusion of Asian Americans in minority admission programs in a lawsuit filed by a rejected white law school candidate. AALDEF also submitted an amicus letter to the U.S. Supreme Court in Fullilove v.

Kreps, supporting the set-aside of minority companies, including Asian-American companies. Dear friend, you are invited to a roundtable discussion on hate crimes and incidents against members of the Asian American and Pacific Island (AAPI) community. Hate crimes raise a variety of legal, ethical, linguistic and cultural issues for lawyers to decide if, how and to what extent they should engage. This Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program, the first of its kind in the country, brings together experts in AAPI history, legal history, criminal law, advocacy for AAPI communities and . Read more › Protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, advocacy, education, and organization. With respect to educational equity, AALDEF has filed several civil rights complaints on behalf of Asian immigrant students who have experienced racist violence and harassment at Lafayette High School[12] and South Philadelphia High School. [13] In 2016, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, USA, the Supreme Court has upheld the consideration of race as a factor in university admission. AALDEF`s amicus letter on behalf of 65 Asian-American and education-responsible groups, including Asian-American students and lecturers at UT-Austin, was cited in the majority opinion of the court, which upholds equal opportunity in higher education.

In 1974, a small group of lawyers, activists, and students came together in Lower Manhattan to form a new organization focused on the legal needs of the Asian-American community. AALDEF was the first Southeast Coast nonprofit organization specifically focused on advocating for the civil rights of the Asian-American community. In 2005, AALDEF launched its Anti-Trafficking Initiative to provide legal assistance to Asian women and girls who have survived human trafficking. In a 2009 case, AALDEF represented a Filipino woman who sued her employer, a consular official, when she was forced to work as a domestic worker for $100 a month and was prevented from leaving the residence. [10] She overcame the defence of her employer`s diplomatic immunity against her allegations of human trafficking, involuntary servitude and forced labour,[11] and the case was resolved. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a national organization based in New York City founded in 1974 that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education and organization, AALDEF works with Asian-American communities across the country to ensure human rights for all. [1] AALDEF has negotiated several precedents on behalf of low-wage Asian immigrants, earning millions of dollars in arrears and overtime owed to these workers in the restaurant industry.[15][16] and in nail salons.

[17] [18] Working in multiracial coalitions, AALDEF introduced Asian-American perspectives into political debates and organized campaigns to end hate violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking. After the attacks of the 11th. At the World Trade Center in September, AALDEF defended the civil liberties of South Asians, Arabs, Jews, Iranians and Muslims, who have been targeted for racial and ethnic profiling. AALDEF has worked with grassroots groups to promote educational justice and youth rights, and to ensure that Asian Americans have a greater voice in the political process. AALDEF has trained hundreds of young lawyers and students through its internship programs and has encouraged Asian Americans to use their legal skills to serve the community. When the Golden Venture cargo ship ran aground in Far Rockaway, Queens, in 1993, AALDEF was among the first legal groups to gain access to the Varick Street Detention Center, where hundreds of Chinese nationals were being held. [5] AALDEF then represented Chinese immigrants seeking political asylum. [6] Economic justice was paramount in the 1980s. AALDEF represented Chinese waiters at Silver Palace Restaurant in Manhattan`s Chinatown. The workers, who were fired for protesting against the employer who stole their tips, then formed the first independent union of restaurant workers in the country`s Chinatown. At the first-ever rally of 15,000 Chinese textile workers in Columbus Park in New York`s Chinatown, who went on strike for a new UNION CONTRACT OF ILGWU Local 23-25, AALDEF was the only community organization invited to speak at the rally because it took a clear stand in support of the labor rights of low-wage migrant workers.