Asian Americans are heading into the midterms with 2.3 million more eligible voters than in 2022. That 20% jump to 13.7 million eligibles makes us the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the electorate. Here’s a bit of a headscratcher: about a third of registered AAPI voters surveyed this year still said they hadn’t heard from either major party. Go figure!
While we figure out what to do with our apparently expanding political clout, let’s see how the Trump administration is making life potentially harder for H-1B workers, accusing Berkeley Law of discriminating against Asian applicants and catching hell over a DHS post aimed at “Mr. Singh.” Plus, Hong Kong’s Tiananmen crackdown reaches another grim milestone, filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton returns to his Hawaii roots for a major project and New York reporter CeFaan Kim looks back on the 9/11 experience that kept him away from the memorial for much of the past 25 years.
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Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the 2026 electorate
Asian American voters are growing faster than any other major racial or ethnic group heading into the midterms. A big reason has to do with naturalized citizens, who make up an unusually large share of the electorate. The bigger surprise is how many of these voters still say neither party has bothered to reach them.
What else we’re tracking
Chinese American voters are less predictable than Democrats may think
Chinese American voters are not behaving like a single political bloc. While the group still lean Democratic overall, one specific subgroup actually tilts Republican. There is also enough ticket-splitting to make close races a lot less predictable.
Trump admin seeks to end H-1B grace period
The Trump administration wants to scrap a rule that currently gives laid-off visa holders time to find another employer. For thousands of Indian and Chinese families, that could mean having to make major decisions almost immediately.
Trump admin says Berkeley Law discriminated against Asian, white applicants
Berkeley Law is now at the center of another fight over race and college admissions. Federal investigators point to admissions data and essay prompts they say disadvantaged Asian and white applicants. The school says the government is reading its process completely wrong.
Sikh, Indian American groups condemn Homeland Security’s ‘Mr. Singh’ post
A social media post from the DHS has angered Sikh and Indian American groups over the way it portrayed a man named Singh. The since deleted image contained messaging that essentially tells a certain “Mr. Singh” to “get off our roads” and “self-deport or find out.” Sikh groups condemned the language that turned a common Sikh surname into shorthand for someone who doesn’t belong in America.
Hong Kong jails the organizers who kept Tiananmen’s memory alive
The three Hong Kong democracy activists behind Hong Kong’s massive Tiananmen vigils have now been handed lengthy prison terms. The sentences drew condemnation from Taiwan, which accused Hong Kong authorities of fabricating charges in the name of national security and conducting “political trials” to “protect an authoritarian regime.”
Maui-born director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm ‘Hawaii Five-O’ film
A filmmaker who started making movies as a kid in Haiku could soon take on one of television’s most famous Hawaii-set franchises. “Hawaii Five-O” has been around for decades, but previous movie plans never got off the ground. The franchise also comes with a long and complicated Asian American history of its own.
NYC reporter CeFaan Kim says he avoided the 9/11 Memorial for 25 years
CeFaan Kim has spent years reporting on New York, but there is one part of the city he largely avoided. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, he finally explained why. His account begins inside the World Trade Center just minutes before everything changed.
Why read Issue #258?
We talk a lot about getting a seat at the table, and understandably so. Nobody likes being ignored. But eventually you get the seat, and then somebody is going to ask what you came to say.
And who says we’ll even agree on that? Having more influence doesn’t suddenly give 13.7 million people the same priorities or any guarantee we’ll use it well. Still, if somebody finally has to listen, it seems worth figuring out what you want before somebody else decides for you.
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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.