Dear Friends,
Growing up, my mom worked in the garment district in DTLA and my dad worked graveyard shifts to make ends meet every month. Some days, neither of them would be home. I remember how dark and quiet the car rides were when they dropped me off at my grandparents’ before heading to work.
If it weren’t for my extended family – aunties, uncles, and cousins – who were willing to jump in at a moment’s notice to cook dinner, babysit, and pick me up from school, I wonder how my parents would’ve survived as new immigrants.
My name is Jennifer Chou, Managing Director of Policy at AAPI Equity Alliance, and my family’s story is just one of many. Right now, hundreds of thousands of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Angelenos are in similar situations with 23% and 28%, respectively, qualifying as low-income.
Trump’s Big Ugly Bill slashes essential safety net programs, like CalFresh and Medi-Cal, that our communities depend on to survive. All in order to fund tax cuts for the rich and a whopping $170+ billion for immigrant detention and enforcement to supercharge his campaign of terror.
AAPI Equity Alliance developed a factsheet analyzing the most severe consequences to understand how the Big Ugly Bill will impact AAPIs in LA.
- Health
- 1 in 4 AAPI Angelenos are covered by Medi-Cal
- 1 in 4 Angelenos enrolled in Covered California are AAPI
- AAPIs in Covered California could see net premiums increase by 74% by 2026
- CalFresh
- 98,000 AAPI households in LA are at risk of losing some or all of their CalFresh benefits as early as 2026
- Immigration
- 2 in 3 Asian Americans and 1 in 4 of Pacific Islanders are immigrants
- 107,000+ of the undocumented population in LA are AAPI
- 111,000+ AAPIs with legal status are living with undocumented family member(s)
- The number of Asians arrested by ICE has tripled since the start of 2025, with Californians accounting for 20% of all Asian arrests
- Tax
- In 2026, AAPIs face a 1% tax when sending money back to their ancestral homelands
- AAPI households could lose $2,200 in child tax credit for their 2025 taxes.
These are called safety net programs for a reason. Taking away these lifelines from those who need them most will only mean more families like mine will struggle to get by.
Everyone, no matter the cards they’re dealt with, deserves the chance to build a strong foundation for their family in America. And, in today’s economy, it doesn’t take much to derail a stable household and fall into uncertainty.
We at AAPI Equity Alliance urge our partners and community members to stay vigilant of when these major changes will take place, some as soon as 2026.
Together with our coalition of 50 member organizations, we’re bracing for the impacts and strategizing ways to show up for our community. As we learn more in the coming months, we’ll share opportunities for impacted AAPI Angelenos to get the resources they need.
With Gratitude
Jennifer (Jen) Chou
Managing Director of Policy