On July 31, the CDC eviction and the Federal Housing Finance Agency foreclosure moratoriums expired (the single family home eviction moratorium is set to expire September 30, 2021), leaving millions of renters and homeowners vulnerable to displacement from their homes and communities. These housing protections have disparate impacts for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, each of whom has unique housing needs and challenges.

Despite being the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S., AAPI residents are often left out of the national conversation when it comes to housing needs. The housing field must acknowledge that there is a long history of overlooking the needs of AAPI residents in this field and continue to affirm the challenges low-income AAPI households face, using disaggregated data where possible, as the nation transitions into a COVID-19 recovery.

A 2018 Pew Research Center report showed that income inequality increased most among Asians from 1970 to 2016, making them the most economically divided racial and ethnic group in the United States (Kochhar & Cilluffo). Historically speaking, waves of Asian immigration and forced migration have created extreme wealth inequalities for AAPI communities. When AAPI communities are lumped together as one — as so often happens — the differences between subgroups in the AAPI umbrella are erased and research does not serve those who are most vulnerable. This is exacerbated by the “model minority” myth, or the notion that Asian American residents are model citizens who succeeded in the U.S. based on merit, boasting high educational achievement (Center on the Legal Profession, 2018; Chow, 2017).

The “model minority” myth perpetuates the idea that Asian American citizens are wealthier compared to other communities of color. Yet, Asians in the top 10% of the income distribution earned more than 10 times as much as Asians in the bottom 10%, according to the Pew Research Center (Kochhar & Cilluffo, 2018). This narrative is harmful both in perpetuating the stereotypes that Asians are economically well-off (erasing the experiences of those who are lowest income in our community), while also perpetuating anti-Blackness by using Asian “economic mobility” as a justification for blaming Black and Latinx communities for their lack of wealth (Center on the Legal Profession, 2018; Chow, 2017).

Read the full article about low-income AAPIs by Brian Kim at the Johnson Center.