The University of Pittsburgh will present "American Interventionism and its Role in Southeast Asian Deportation" as part of its 2021 Diversity Forum on July 28.
When discussing the rise of hate toward East and Southeast Asian Americans, the state sanctioned violence towards these communities -namely Southeast Asians -is often overlooked. These attacks are not individual, but rather institutional, and date back to American interventionism beginning in the former half of the 20th century. Since President Biden’s inauguration 2,886 immigrants have been deported, despite a campaign promise of a 100-day deportation moratorium. These deportations have affected not only the Asian American community, but also the Black and LatinxAmerican communities. In this workshop, we will discuss the theories driving American foreign policy during the 20th century and the effects of American interventionism on Southeast Asian countries to provide a framework for our primary focus on modern state violence towards Southeast Asian Americans in the form of deportations. This workshop aims to educate participants about how this American intervention has led to current refugee populations and the Southeast Asian diaspora, causing the immigration and deportation issues today, as we cannot act before we are informed. We hope this event will build coalitions between the Asian American community and other marginalized populations in order to engage in collective action against systemic oppression. At the end of the event, we will also provide a tool kit to participants with ways to help families affected by deportation and action items to stop this state.It runs from 10:45 am to 12:00 pm and is free and open to the public, but registration is required.