South Asian American Justice Collaborative

SAAJCO is proud to join 80+ Asian American organizations and law centers that submitted a brief to the 9th Circuit in opposition to the administration’s executive order attacking birthright citizenship. We thought we won this fight over a century ago, but Asian Americans are yet again fighting for our right to call this country home. The brief covers the Asian exclusion movement of the late 19th century, arguing that this attack on birthright citizenship has no place in a democracy founded on the notion that all people are created equal. View the full brief to read the stories of mixed-status families and individuals who had their citizenship taken away that illustrate the harm the executive order will have if allowed to stand. https://bit.ly/44lfuX2 Niji Jain thanks for your leadership!

8 years ago I asked Zahra Billoo to do a Know Your Rights presentation at a high school in Fremont where over 100 people attended. Today Zahra joins us again for this virtual webinar on April 24. With so many questions around international travel and encounters with plain-clothed, immigration enforcement, please join us to learn more about how to protect your rights.

We kicked off our Engaged Communities Series last night with a powerful conversation— Navigating the Early Days of the Trump Administration 2.0 | Know Your Rights In this first panel, moderator and civil rights attorney Sufyan Sohel led a timely discussion with two powerhouse advocates: Kalpana Peddibhotla, Executive Director of South Asian American Justice Collaborative and seasoned immigration attorney, and Amol Sinha, Executive Director of ACLU of New Jersey whose chapter is currently involved in the Mahmoud Khalil's high-profile immigration case. Together, they unpacked the evolving immigration landscape—from recent executive orders to international student concerns and border enforcement—highlighting what immigrant communities need to know RIGHT NOW! Watch the full recording and access key resources shared during the session here: https://lnkd.in/gxGYM3gr --- Next up in the series: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS|  Standing Up: Your Rights with Law Enforcement and ICE Date and Time: April 24 | 6 PM ET / 5 PM CT / 3 PM PT Featuring moderator Indira Khera and panelists Zahra Billoo and Kulmeet Galhotra 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gYgVuxEv --- This series is co-hosted by SAAPRI and SAAJCO, examining pressing civil rights and social justice issues impacting South Asian and other immigrant communities. The series is generously supported in part by South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of North America Foundation and Indiaspora. #EngagedCommunities #KnowYourRights #ImmigrationJustice #CivilRights #InternationalStudents #SouthAsianVoices #SAAPRI #SAAJCO #ECS2025

Please join us to hear more about the Mahmoud Khalil case from ACLU-NJ's Amol Sinha and the F1 visa revocations from Kalpana Peddibhotla. We would appreciate your support in sharing & attending this event! Register here: tinyurl.com/293dzhct Sufyan Sohel ACLU of New Jersey Indiaspora Kalpana Peddibhotla Amol Sinha South Asian American Policy & Research Institute South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of North America Foundation Shobhana Johri Verma

🌟 Meet Our Moderator! 🌟 We’re excited to have Sufyan Sohel leading the conversation for our upcoming Engaged Communities Series webinar: 📢 Navigating the Early Days of the Trump Administration 2.0 📅 Thursday, April 10, 2025 ⏰ 3PM PT | 5PM CT | 6PM ET Sufyan is a social impact consultant, nonprofit advisor, and human rights attorney dedicated to combating hate and advocating for marginalized communities. As Chair of the Cook County Commission on Human Rights and a leader at the ACLU of Illinois, he brings invaluable expertise to this timely discussion. 📲 Scan the QR code to register or visit https://lnkd.in/gza2EZK3! South Asian American Justice Collaborative, Sufyan Sohel, Kalpana Peddibhotla, Shobhana Johri Verma, Francys Munoz, Anushka Das, Aakash Ray, Jordan Stalker, PhD, Parshvi Patel, Karan Manohar #EngagedCommunities #SAAJCO #SAAPRI #KnowYourRights #UnpackingHate #CivicParticipation #CommunityAction #SouthAsianVoices

Register now for the first program in SAAJCO's Engaged Communities Series. In partnership with South Asian American Policy & Research Institute we will be Navigating the Early Days of Trump Administration 2.0. I'm honored to unpack this discussion with Amol Sinha of ACLU New Jersey, and Sufyan Sohel. Thanks to our sponsors South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of North America Foundation and Indiaspora. Click here to register: tinyurl.com/293dzhct

On Saturday, March 22, the Trump administration issued a memo threatening to chill legal representation by immigration attorneys through sanctions and heightened oversight. The South Asian American Justice Collaborative condemns this effort to undermine the role of lawyers and the integrity of the legal process. We stand with all attorneys who work to uphold the rights of our communities.

The "Engaged Communities Series" — a dynamic, year-long multimedia initiative exploring key social justice issues affecting South Asians and other communities across the U.S., aims to build collective power exploring the following topics: • 𝖪𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖱𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 • 𝖴𝗇𝗉𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖧𝖺𝗍𝖾 • 𝖢𝗂𝗏𝗂𝖼 𝖯𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝖼𝗂𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 & 𝖣𝖾𝗆𝗈𝖼𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗒 𝗧𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 #SAAJCO's 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘁: https://lnkd.in/gu46uUFV 📍 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 and 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴, visit: https://lnkd.in/eGrXkMrS ! The series is organized by The South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO) in partnership with the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute (SAAPRI). Sponsored in part by The SABA Foundation. #EngagedCommunities #SocialJustice #SouthAsianVoices #SouthAsianAmerican #SAAPRI #knowyourrights #unpackinghate #civicparticipation #democracy #EngagedCommunitiesSeries #ECS

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀! The South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO) & the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute (SAAPRI) are launching a year-long initiative to tackle civil rights challenges, hate, and civic engagement. Through webinars, podcasts, and discussions, we’re creating space for South Asians to access knowledge, share ideas, and take action. Our first webinar will be on April 10! Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gu46uUFV 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴: 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴? #EngagedCommunitiesSeries #SAAPRI #SAAJCO #CivicEngagement #SouthAsian

Today, we are excited to announce the launch of the South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO). As South Asians become a more visible community in the U.S. SAAJCO aims to advance our civil and human rights. https://lnkd.in/gxqnaSR4