SEARAC strongly condemns the Trump Administration’s move yesterday to cease funding for Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and five other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) programs.
Quyên Đinh, SEARAC’s Executive Director, responds:
“AANAPISIs and MSIs have helped millions of students of color, including Southeast Asian Americans, access higher education. These programs have been essential for low-income and first-generation college students, and they have improved how colleges and universities educate students of color. The Trump Administration’s decision to reallocate funds for AANAPISIs and MSIs is a continuation of its attacks on higher education and on non-straight and non-white communities.
SEARAC was at the table when Congress created the AANAPISI program two decades ago. As the descendants of refugees, we understand that our students still face intergenerational poverty, trauma, and racialized barriers to accessing educational opportunities, and this challenge requires a federal solution. Over the years, we have further advocated for growing the AANAPISI and other MSI programs because they have successfully created opportunities for students of color, as well as for everyone else that attends an MSI. We urge Congress to act immediately to protect the AANAPISI and all MSI programs.”
On Sept. 27, 2007, Congress established the AANAPISI program to improve the availability and quality of postsecondary education programs to support low-income, first-generation Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) students. Currently, while AANAPISI institutions make up just over 6% of all US colleges and universities, they enroll almost half of all AA & NHPI students in the country. AANAPISIs are important for creating more educational opportunities for SEAA students, who still face challenges to accessing higher education; data from the 2020 Census show that around half of SEAA adults have not attended college for any amount of time.
Media contact: Elaine Sanchez Wilson, elaine@searac.org
