2015 Asian American Action Day
CBCAC joined our fellow PAVE coalition members for the fourth annual Asian American Action Day at the Illinois State Capital in Springfield. We brought 50 Chinese American community members with us to advocate for a pro-immigrant budget solution. Services offered at CASL and many other PAVE organizations are irreplaceable by state agencies due to a lack of language proficiency and cultural competency to serve our immigrant communities.
The Asian American community is essential to Illinois' future success and should be viewed as part of the budget solution.
▪ We have doubled in size in over last 2 decades, largely due to immigration
▪ Asian Americans and immigrants help grow the economy by increasing the tax
▪ base, along with creating small businesses
▪ We own 59,000+ businesses, employ 100,000+ people, and pay out $3 billion
▪ annually in payroll
However, our community requires investment and support. Many in our community also need assistance in becoming US citizens. Our small business owners have children and seniors that need to be cared for. Our community members struggle with limited English ability and need help navigating government bureaucracy; over 30% of Asian Americans are limited English.
