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Political organization reaches an all-time high in Austin’s Asian American community

The Chinatown Center on Lamar Boulevard served as an early voting location.
Eligible Asian American voters in Texas are more politically organized than ever before and are poised to make an impact this election.
Rapid growth in this population, current government policies and the 2020 Census may have contributed to the group's active participation in this election cycle and possible continued political dialog after Nov. 3.
Texas has the third largest population of eligible Asian American voters in the U.S. with 698,000 voters. The latest Census Bureau data shows Austin's Asian community has grown, becoming the second largest in the state with more than 80,000 Asians—surpassing the Black population for the first time in history.
At least five Texan candidates of South Asian descent are running for county, state and federal office this year which is indicative of heightened political awareness within the community, The Texas Tribune reports.
"We have more Asians running for office activating our communities. Also, we have seen heinous attacks on our communities from the White House through policies around immigration, racist COVID-19 attacks, and the Muslim ban that has made our community want to stand up and fight back," said immigration attorney Pooja Sethi, District 10 Austin City Council candidate.
Asian American voters exhibit tremendous diversity in terms of national origin, geographic region, religion and English-langauge proficiency, according to Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, a national nonpartisan organization that mobilizes Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPI, in electoral and civic participation.
Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Filipino, Cambodian, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Hmong and Laotian origin voters are included in the Asian category, according to AAPI Data, a publisher of demographic data and policy research.
In many cases, Asian Americans are naturalized citizens who did not grow up with the American political system. They could not apply the same political ideology in the U.S. that they had seen in their home countries.
"It is important for Asians to be a part of the political process to have our voices heard, and work long term for a strong sustainable community through political voice and engagement," said Ahmed Moledina, chairman-elect of the Greater Austin Asian American Chamber of Commerce.
In 2016, only about half of 1.3 million Asian Americans in Texas were eligible voters.
This year, politically active organizations in the Asian community collaborated in forums, where they invited political candidates to meet the population. Zoom made it easy to attend and attendees spoke about issues that mattered to them.
WiseUp TX, a non-partisan non-profit that informs the Asian population about political issues, had over 1,500 attendees in each of its three forums this election season on Facebook. It partnered with the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce and 20 other AAPI organizations to host Democratic, Republican and Libertarian candidates for the Texas House, city of Austin and Travis and Williamson counties.
"Community attendance gives you a really great indication of how organized all Asian American and Pacific Islander, AAPI, organizations, including the South Asian community, are to make sure our community is continuously informed in all the ways that we can really make a difference this election cycle," said Azra Siddiqi, founder of WiseUp TX.
According to a 2020 Asian American Voter Survey, most in the Asian American Pacific Islander communities have concerns for health care, immigration, the environment, guns and education. A live survey conducted by Pakistani American Collaboration for Texas, or PACT, a political advocacy group, reflected the same this October.
Co-founder of PACT Imran Baqai said the organization has already started planning post-election discussions on "polarized topics" such as healthcare, immigration, gun control and police reform.
"The last four years have energized this group and forced them to wake up, get organized, and get involved in the political process," Baqai said. "The nomination of Kamala Harris has also energized the entire immigrant community," added Sabiha Rahman, co-founder of Friends of India Texas, another recently formed Asian political group. Vice presidential nominee Harris' mother is an Indian immigrant.
Additionally, the much politicized Census has encouraged community leaders to get involved with the Asian American population. The result is that members of the community are much more aware of the benefits of participating and the risks of going uncounted.
"Several community leaders took on the challenge to ensure every member of the community is counted. There is great concern about justice, polarization and political rhetoric," Ashwin Ghatalia, a member of Indian American Coalition of Texas, said.
While it is unknown if Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can turn this particular election, the fact that many community leaders are getting involved and several diverse candidates are standing for office could indicate a coming shift in the Texan political spectrum.
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Popular
Samsung could be adding to its presence in Northeast Austin, according to an Austin Business Journal report.
Samsung might soon be making more moves in the Austin metro.
The tech giant, which made waves as it announced plans to build a $17 billion chip plant in Taylor in late 2021, might be looking to expand in the Northeast Austin area, according to an Austin Business Journal report.
ABJ said the South Korean company is seeking more tax breaks from nearby Taylor and Manor school districts. The company filed documents requesting Chapter 313 incentives related to the breaks Saturday, and ABJ said each district will review the requests separately on Tuesday.
"While we do not have specific plans to build at this time, the Chapter 313 application process is part of our long-term planning to evaluate the viability of potentially building additional fabrication plants in the U.S.," Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC.'s director of communications, Michele Glaze, told the ABJ.
But Samsung has made headlines for more than just the $17 billion plant: In early 2022, the company caught heat for two separate spills of millions of gallons of wastewater into tributaries near its semiconductor plant.
While no expansion is promised, ABJ speculates that expansions could occur at the 1,200 acre planned Taylor factory or near the chipmaking factory on Austin's East Parmer Lane. Both expansions could bring even more revenue and job opportunities to Samsung's Texas home.
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Austin FC earned a last-minute 2-2 draw against Orlando City SC at Q2 Stadium Sunday night. (Austin FC/Twitter)
A first minute error gave Austin FC an early setback, but with the help of two red cards and two second-half goals, the Verde and Black still forced a last-minute tie in a messy home battle against Orlando City SC Sunday night.
With the 2-2 draw, Austin dropped from No. 1 in the MLS West conference but still earned a point in the standings thanks to a penalty kick goal from Sebastian Driussi and a breakthrough shot from striker Moussa Djitte, who scored his first goal with the club in the final minute of play.
Here are the top three takeaways from the match:
A fateful mistake
Pouncing on the early chances 🔥 #DaleMiAmor | #VamosOrlandopic.twitter.com/RDn1w7NCHM
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) May 23, 2022
Just days after his highlight reel-worthy LAFC performance, Austin keeper Brad Stuver scratched heads as he gave away a goal seconds into the game. Stuver's fateful pass went straight to Orlando's Junior Urco, who was already in the box and tapped a quick pass to Ercan Kara to score the first goal of the match.
The mistake forced Austin to chase a tie for the rest of the match, especially as center back Ruben Gabrielsen benched himself in the 20th minute. The team later said Gabrielsen has come down with something similar to a stomach bug.
Orlando would score two minutes later, and Austin FC left the first half looking like the opposite of its "Best in the MLS" self from just days prior.
The two red cards
Sebastián Driussi right down the middle.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 23, 2022
His 8th goal of the season cuts the lead in half for @AustinFC. pic.twitter.com/4sGccamVg3
By the 60th minute of the match, however, the tides had turned. Orlando's Rodrigo Schlegel, who had already racked up a yellow card on a handball, was ousted from the game two minutes later for yet another handball, this time in the penalty box.
Austin's main man Sebastian Driussi took the kick and sent it in for his eighth goal of the season to make it 2-1.
And just over five minutes later, Orlando's Cesar Araujo was the second man in purple kicked out of the match after he kicked Alex Ring on a slide tackle near the box. Austin was left with just over 20 minutes, and just nine opponents left, to try and tie it up.
The 'Mouss' is loose!
Moussa Djitté STOPPAGE TIME EQUALIZER for @AustinFC! 😱 pic.twitter.com/db7iQwff6Q
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 23, 2022
As the whistle blew and regulation time ran out, Orlando seemed to have won the match. The team had withstood many, many close calls—including two shots off the post from Austin FC's Diego Fagundez and Maxi Urruti—as Austin FC flooded the box with 22 cracks at a goal.
But thanks to the chaotic nature of the game, Austin FC was given nine extra minutes to tie it up. Moussa Djitte was the one who finally broke through five minutes into stoppage time, earning his first goal in Verde to put a 2-2 cap on the wild home match.
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