We are almost at the end of the state legislative session for 2020. A new dynamic in Richmond fueled by your organizing efforts has resulted in the following victories for Asian Americans and other communities of color, working class people, immigrants, and limited-English proficient communities in Virginia:

In-State Tuition 
We are currently awaiting the Governor to sign this bill into law! This legislation allows students, regardless of immigration status, to be eligible to apply to pay in-state tuition rates. The eligibility criteria are: attendance of two years of school in Virginia (public, private, or home school) and graduation or got their GED; document proof of payment of state taxes (of parents if student is dependent) for two years before applying for college; and registration in a public college or university. This bill goes into effect on July 1, 2020.

Driver’s Privilege Cards 
What finally came out of the session is a driver's privilege card. It will be categorized as a type of driver's license of which undocumented folks who have filed one year of state taxes, show proof of identity, and pay a fee of $50, can apply. There will be no exam waivers. The front of the card will look the same as the standard driver's license. As of the writing of this newsletter, NAKASEC VA is working to strengthen privacy provisions and to ensure that the look of the card on the back will not open people up to discrimination. Our community of undocumented parents and young folks (who were not able to apply for DACA) consider this result to be a victory. This bill goes into effect on January 1, 2021.

Minimum Wage to $15 
The final bill has wage increases as follows: Jan 1, 2021: $9.50; Jan 2, 2022: $11; Jan 1, 2023: $12; Jan 1, 2025: $13.50; Jan 1 2026: $15.  Between Jan 1, 2022 and Dec 1, 2023, a study will be conducted to examine regionalism options (treating minimum wage workers differently based on geography) and the General Assembly must act again in 2024 to implement the last wage increases and consider regionalism options. Regionalism is currently prohibited under current law, which establishes one minimum wage across the state. If enacted, VA would have one of the most complicated and inequitable minimum wage laws in the country. The final bill did remove many negative exemptions, so now pieceworkers, workers with disabilities, and domestic workers will now also be covered by the minimum wage law (unfortunately tipped workers and farmworkers remain exempt).

Increasing Support for English Language Learners
The final proposed budget increases instructional positions for English language learner students from 17 to 18.5 positions for every 1,000 students in FY21 and 20 for every 1,000 students in FY22. This is a good first step since the last time funding was increased, in 2005.

NAKASEC VA is pivoting to ongoing administrative advocacy and community education. If you want to help us ensure that Asian Americans and other newly eligible folks will benefit from these legislative wins, contact Clara Kim (ckim@nakasec.org). 

Want another way to help us build community power? Become a member today! Membership starts from $50/year or $5/month. (Don't forget to note “NAKASEC VA” in the contribution note!) For the entirety of April, 100% membership dues will go towards our COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fund.  Learn more about this fund using the link or by checking out the last section of our newsletter! 

Coronavirus has brought to light the incompetencies of this country’s healthcare system and labor laws, as well as how quickly anti-Asian racism can manifest and become commonplace:

Unfair labor practices that punish workers for staying at home, such as unpaid sick leave, discourage outbreak prevention measures while further exposing these workers to illness. This increased vulnerability is exacerbated by the suppression of distribution of test kits and the price tag placed on them on top of exorbitant insurance premiums, all of which prevents those who are most at risk from being properly diagnosed and treated.

Diseases, accompanied by stereotypes about Asians’ health and culture, have historically been and continue to be used as justification for anti-Asian racism. Chinese and Asian people everywhere are seen as perpetual foreigners and assumed to be “dirty” and a “threat to American/Western livelihood”- this sentiment has always been present, but only recently have people increasingly and publicly acted upon their racism in ways that have become socially acceptable, under the guise of “public safety”. Now, an Asian person cannot even sneeze in public without fear of facing harassment, or even violence, from perceived “yellow peril”.

Facing both institutional and interpersonal oppressions, Asian Pacific Islander American workers are doubly endangered in this crisis. We must look after each other to protect our communities and make sure that racism, misinformation, and the virus will not spread further. APALA has released a guide on Protecting Asian Pacific Islander American Working People; please share widely, follow CDC health guidelines, and continue to condemn anti-Asian discrimination. 

If you experience or see harassment or hate speech/violence, contact Sookyung Oh (soh@nakasec.org).

March is Women’s History Month, and as decided by the National Women’s History Alliance, its theme for 2020 was Valiant Women of the Vote. In popular knowledge of US history, the women’s suffrage movement of the early 1900s “culminated” in the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. However, women of color were excluded from the picture due to racism. The law only guaranteed this right to middle and upper-class white women, mirroring the way that the most visible people of the movement, white feminists, intentionally pushed out and silenced Black, brown, and other suffragists of color.

We encourage everyone to complete the Census online at 2020census.gov, by phone, or by mail before April 30! The Census is available in 13 different languages online and over the phone. Make sure to use your unique house ID that can be found in the Census invitation letter that you received by mail. Tell your family and friends to fill out the Census- let's make sure we're all counted and our communities get the resources we deserve!

If you have any questions or concerns about the Census, call (703-256-2208) or email us (census@nakasec.org).