Championing the achievements of the AAPI community, Vice President Joe Biden kicked

Championing the achievements of the AAPI community, Vice President Joe Biden kicked off a celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at a special celebration May 6 at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.

Biden’s appearance came near the end of a three-and-a-half hour ceremony, emceed by Indian American Gautam Raghavan, the White House Liaison to the AAPI and LGBTQ communities. Kiran Ahuja, executive director of the WHIAAPI, contributed a light-hearted moment to the ceremony by immediately demanding a group “selfie,” in the manner of Ellen de Generes, who hosted this year’s Academy Awards.

Biden began his speech by trying to call out trailblazing Judge Sri Srinivasan, the first Indian American to be appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “Where’s the judge? Is the judge still here? Where are you?”

When Srinivasan did not appear, Biden displayed his trademark charisma. “I get bad information. I just want you to know, judge, I didn’t do it,” he joked. He went on to list the Asian American contribution to the building of a nation, from working on the railroads in the early part of the 20th century, to spearheading innovative companies in the San Francisco, Calif., Silicon Valley.

“I’m standing before a roomful of people who represent an incredibly vibrant resource to the U.S.”

“AAPIs have succeeded generation after generation, from the corner store to Silicon Valley giants like Yahoo!”

The vice president championed immigration as the block on which the country was built. “It takes incredible courage and optimism to make a decision, ‘let’s pick up and leave everything we know and go, move to another country, where we’re not sure whether we’ll be accepted, but let’s go’.”

“Immigration builds and continues to build. It is not a blessing, it is a burden,” said Biden, noting that the Congressional Budget Office has reported that legalizing the 11 million undocumented residents of the U.S. would increase the federal budget by $1.4 trillion. “That’s not a Biden estimate,” he joked. “Why do we continue to challenge this?”

“The 11 million people in the shadows are already Americans,” he stated, adding that they already have exhibited their loyalty to the country, and share its optimism. “Please do not buy into the cynicism about immigration reform,” Biden exhorted, adding that he was confident that Speaker of the House John Boehner

Earlier in the ceremony, Srinivasan swore in 14 commissioners to the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs. Among the new Indian American commissioners are: Nina Ahmad, Chief Operating Officer of the Global City Regional Center, a unique new initiative of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that allows foreign nationals to earn a permanent green card to the U.S. by investing $500,000 or more and creating at least 10 full-time jobs in low-income neighborhoods;

Lt. Col. Ravi Chaudhary, an Air Force Officer who currently serves as the executive officer to the Commander, Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Shekar Narasimhan, co-founder of the Emergent Institute in Bangalore, India, which teaches MBA students to focus on programs impacting low-income people; and actor Maulik Pancholy.

(Full biographies of each Indian American commissioner can be found in India-West’s edition of May 9, 2014).

Srinivasan noted that he had moved from “oath taker” to “oath giver” and pointed out that even as the community celebrates, it continues to struggle with issues such as school bullying and racism.

The theme for AAPI Heritage Month is “I Am Beyond,” led by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. A press release issued by the White House read: “The phrase captures the aspirations of the American spirit and how Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have always sought to excel beyond the challenges that have limited equal opportunity in America.”

The AAPI Heritage Month celebration will continue throughout the month of May, with events taking place nationwide.

via http://www.indiawest.com