Topline:
Pew Research Center found that poverty rates range greatly among Asian American groups. While 6% of Indian Americans live in poverty, the rate is 19% for Burmese Americans.
About the report: The report was part of a set of research published Wednesday to capture Asian Americans in economic hardship on a quantitative and qualitative scale. The project drew from focus groups, as well as census and survey data.
Read more: For a further breakdown of the findings.
A Nepalese immigrant in his early 40s described the stress and uncertainty he felt during college about how to afford rent, food and tuition despite having a scholarship.
A man of Hmong origin in his mid-30s said he struggled with the decision to either attend college or go straight into the workforce to provide for his family.
And a woman of Pakistani descent in her early 30s said she didn't see her father often while growing up because he worked constantly to support their family and other relatives in Pakistan.
These were some of the responses in a new report from the Pew Research Center about the wide variety of experiences among Asian Americans living in poverty, based on 18 focus groups in 12 languages with 144 participants.
The report was part of a set of research published Wednesday to capture Asian Americans in economic hardship on a quantitative and qualitative scale. The project drew from focus groups, as well as census and survey data.
Nationally, 1 in 10 people of Asian descent live at or below the poverty line. But the rate was vastly different depending on country of origin, researchers found. For instance, about 6% of Indian Americans live in poverty while the rate is 19% for Burmese Americans.
Through focus groups, researchers also found that the challenges and opinions around poverty for Asian Americans differed based on age and whether they were born in or immigrated to the U.S.
"There are also shared experiences among Asian Americans living in poverty such as day-to-day financial difficulties, assumptions by others that they do not need help because they are Asian, and the importance of financial security in achieving their American dream," said Neil G. Ruiz, who co-authored the set of Pew reports.
About 17% of Hmong Americans and 16% of Mongolian Americans live at or below the poverty line, according to a Pew analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey.
The rate of poverty was between 10% and 13% across Korean, Malaysian, Laotian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Cambodian groups. The poverty rate for Nepalese, Japanese, Sri Lankan and Filipino American groups were between 6% and 9%.
The analysis also found that 26% of all Asians living below the poverty line are located in just three major cities: New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. High rates of poverty among Asian Americans also exist in Fresno, Calif.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Pittsburgh, Penn., according to the analysis.
Within major cities, the rate of poverty among Asian groups can vary even further. For example, according to a 2021 report from the New York mayor's office, about 32% of Bangladeshi immigrants and 29% of Pakistani immigrants in the city experienced poverty.
When it came to finding help with bills, housing, food or jobs, Pew researchers found that 61% of Asian adults living in poverty turned to family or friends.
Nearly half of respondents said they also sought government assistance on a local, state or federal level. Meanwhile, 19% of respondents said they have never asked or received support from the government, nor from religious institutions or community organizations.
Some participants in Pew's focus groups shared that government programs were difficult to access, because they were not proficient in English and the programs were not translated in their native language, according to Ruiz.
He also found that Asian immigrants who were refugees or asylum seekers were more familiar with government assistance than Asians who moved to the U.S. for other reasons, such as educational opportunities.
Fifty-seven percent of Asian adults living in poverty said they were unable to save for emergencies this past year, according to the Pew survey.
In focus groups from this past year, participants shared that part of the issue was simply not having enough money to set aside, according to Ruiz. Another factor was a lack of financial literacy.
"When they are able to save, we heard people just don't know how," he said.
Ruiz added that not knowing how to save or invest was an especially common frustration among focus groups participants who were born in the U.S.
A 2023 survey by JPMorgan Chase found that confidence in reaching retirement goals varied across cultures. While 68% of Indian participants and 59% of Vietnamese respondents said they were confident in saving for retirement, only 35% of Korean participants felt the same.
The role and significance of education was a common theme in focus groups.
While many foreign-born Asian participants believed that education was a key to getting out of poverty, U.S.-born Asians respondents tended to believe that their future depended on the type of education they received, he said.
"Some people were not necessarily saying a bachelor's degree is the best thing," he added. "But then you did hear about financial education and learning how to invest."
In the focus groups, U.S.-born Asians who could speak English discussed the feeling that education was not enough to succeed, adding that networking and financial literacy played a role, according to Ruiz.
Topline:
Caltech has selected astrophysicist and Johns Hopkins University provost Ray Jayawardhana as its next president.
Who he is: According to his introduction video, Jayawardhana goes by "Ray Jay."
His academic work in astronomy explores how planets and stars form, evolve and differ from each other. He's part of a team that works with the James Webb Space Telescope to observe and characterize so-called exoplanets — planets around other stars — with an eye toward the potential for life beyond Earth.
In addition to his time as provost at Johns Hopkins, where he oversees the university's 10 schools, Jayawardhana has also taught at Cornell University, the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan and also had a research fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley. He got his undergraduate degree at Yale and earned his Ph.D. at Harvard.
Why now: In April, current Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum announced he'd retire after the 2025-26 academic year. Rosenbaum has led the university for the past 12 years.
What's next: Jayawardhana will step into his new role July 1.
Topline:
The Trump administration says it’s planning to freeze about $10 billion in federal support for needy families in California and four other Democrat-run states, as the president announced an investigation into unspecified fraud in California.
The backstory: The plans come on the heels of the Trump administration announcing a freeze on all federal payments for child care in Minnesota, citing fraud allegations against daycare centers in the state.
The potential impact on California: The plans call for California, Minnesota, New York, Illinois and Colorado to lose about $7 billion in cash assistance for households with children, almost $2.4 billion to care for children of working parents, and about $870 million for social services grants that mostly benefit children at risk, according to unnamed federal officials speaking to the New York Times and New York Post.
Read on ... for more on the fraud allegations and Gov. Gavin Newsom's response.
The Trump administration says it’s planning to freeze about $10 billion in federal support for needy families in California and four other Democrat-run states, as the president announced an investigation into unspecified fraud in California.
The plans come on the heels of the Trump administration announcing a freeze on all federal payments for child care in Minnesota, citing fraud allegations against daycare centers in the state.
The state’s Democrat governor, Tim Walz — who ran for vice president against Donald Trump’s ticket in 2024 — announced Monday he was dropping out of running for reelection. He pointed to fraud against the state, saying it’s a real issue while alleging Trump and his allies were “seeking to take advantage of the crisis.”
On Monday, the New York Post reported that the administration was expanding the funding freeze to include California and three other Democrat-led states, in addition to Minnesota. Unnamed federal officials cited “concerns that the benefits were fraudulently funneled to non-citizens,” The Post reported.
Early Tuesday, President Trump alleged that corruption in California is worse than Minnesota and announced an investigation.
“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
He did not specify what alleged fraud was being examined in the Golden State.
LAist has reached out to the White House to ask what the president’s fraud concerns are in California and to request an interview with the president.
“For too long, Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” said an emailed statement from Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the federal childcare funds.
“Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office disputed Trump’s claim on social media, arguing that since taking office, the governor has blocked $125 billion in fraud and arrested “criminal parasites leaching off of taxpayers.”
Defrauding federally funded programs is a crime — and one LAist has investigated, leading to one of the largest such criminal cases in recent years against a California elected official, which surrounded meal funds.
When it comes to the federal childcare funds that are being frozen, the dollar amount of fraud alleged in criminal cases appears to be a tiny fraction of the overall program’s spending in California.
A search of thousands of news releases by all four federal prosecutor offices in California, going back more than a decade, found a total of one criminal case where the press releases referenced childcare benefits.
That case, brought in 2023, alleged four men stole $3.7 million in federal childcare benefits through fraudulent requests to a San Diego organization that distributed the funds. All four pleaded guilty, with one defendant sentenced to 27 months in prison and others sentenced to other terms, according to authorities.
It appears to be equivalent to one one-hundredth of 1% of all the childcare funding California has received over the past decade-plus covered by the prosecution press release search.
The plans call for California, Minnesota, New York, Illinois and Colorado to lose about $7 billion in cash assistance for households with children, almost $2.4 billion to care for children of working parents, and about $870 million for social services grants that mostly benefit children at risk, according to unnamed federal officials speaking to the New York Times and New York Post.
In the largest category of funding, California receives $3.7 billion per year. The program is known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.
”It's very clear that a freeze of those funds would be very damaging to the children, families, and providers of California,” said Stacy Lee, who oversees early childhood initiatives "at Children Now, an advocacy group for children in California.
”It is a significant portion of our funds and will impact families and children and providers across the whole state,” she added. “It would be devastating, in no uncertain terms.”
About 270,000 people are served by the TANF program in L.A. County — about 200,000 of whom are children, according to the county Department of Public Social Services.
“Any pause in funding for their cash benefits – which average $1000/month - would be devastating to these families,” said DPSS chief of staff Nick Ippolito.
Ippolito said the department has a robust fraud prevention and 170-person investigations team, and takes allegations “very seriously.”
It remains to be seen whether the funding freeze will end up in court. The state, as well as major cities and counties in California, has sued to ask judges to halt funding freezes or new requirements placed by the Trump administration. L.A. city officials say they’ve had success with that, including shielding more than $600 million in federal grant funding to the city last year.
A union representing California childcare workers said the funding freeze would harm low-income families.
“These threats need to be called out for what they are: direct threats on working families of all backgrounds who rely on access to quality, affordable child care in their communities to go to work every day supporting, and growing our economy,” said Max Arias, chairperson for the Child Care Providers United, which says it represents more than 70,000 child care workers across the state who care for kids in their homes.
“Funding freezes, even when intended to be temporary, will be devastating — resulting in families losing access to care and working parents facing the devastating choice of keeping their children safe or paying their bills.”
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is ngerda.47.
Federal officials planned to send letters to the affected states Monday about the planned funding pauses, the New York Post reported. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, state officials said they haven’t gotten any official notification of the funding freeze plans.
“The California Department of Social Services administers child care programs that help working families afford safe, reliable care for their children — so parents can go to work, support their families, and contribute to their communities,” said a statement from California Department of Social Services spokesperson Jason Montiel.
“These funds are critical for working families across California. We take fraud seriously, and CDSS has received no information from the federal government indicating any freeze, pause, or suspension of federal child care funding.”
Topline:
California is investing $107.3 million in affordable housing in L.A. County to help fire survivors and target the region’s housing crisis.
What we know: In an announcement Tuesday, the state said the money will fund nine projects with 673 new affordable rental homes specifically for communities impacted by the January fires.
Where will these projects go? The homes will not replace destroyed ones or be built on burn scar areas, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. The idea is to build in cities like Claremont, Covina, Santa Monica and Pasadena to create multiple affordable housing communities across the county.
Officials say: “We are rebuilding stronger, fairer communities in Los Angeles without displacing the people who call these neighborhoods home,” Newsom said in a statement. “More affordable homes across the county means survivors can stay near their schools, jobs and support systems, and all Angelenos are better able to afford housing in these vibrant communities.”
Dig deeper … into how Los Angeles is remembering the anniversary of the fires.
Topline:
Housing officials in the city of Los Angeles say a pandemic-era voucher program is set to run out of money later this year, putting thousands of renters at risk of homelessness.
The program: The federal Emergency Housing Voucher program was launched in 2021 as a way to get vulnerable people off the streets and into housing during the COVID-19 crisis. The city of L.A. received more than 3,300 of these vouchers.
The numbers: With federal funding now running out, the city is preparing to wind down the program. On Monday, the city’s housing authority said it had told 2,760 tenant households and 1,700 landlords that unless new funding is found, vouchers will expire by November or December of this year.
Read on … to learn more about the families using these vouchers, and how tenant advocates are responding to the expiration.
Housing officials in the city of Los Angeles say a pandemic-era voucher program is set to run out of money later this year, putting thousands of renters at risk of homelessness.
The federal Emergency Housing Voucher program was launched in 2021 as a way to get vulnerable people off the streets and into housing during the COVID-19 crisis. The city of L.A. received more than 3,300 of the vouchers.
With federal funding now running out, the city is preparing to wind down the program. On Monday the city’s housing authority said it had told 2,760 tenant households and 1,700 landlords that unless new funding is found, vouchers will expire by November or December of this year.
“We are providing this notice nearly a year in advance because our families deserve the respect of time to prepare, but this is not a notice of resignation,” said L.A. Housing Authority President Lourdes Castro Ramírez said in a news release. “We are exhausting every avenue — at the local, state and federal levels — to bridge this funding gap.”
The Housing Authority said each household using a voucher had an average of 1.58 members. That puts more than 4,000 Angelenos at risk of losing their housing later this year.
Congress originally intended the program to continue through 2030, but last year, the Trump administration announced funding would end sooner. The program’s demise risks reversing L.A.’s reported progress at stemming the rise of homelessness.
After years of steady increases, the city has registered slight reductions in the number of people experiencing homelessness for the past two years. In 2023, the region’s homeless services authority reported 46,260 people experiencing homelessness in the city of L.A. By 2025, that number had fallen to 43,695.
The accuracy of those official counts has been questioned by local researchers, but elected officials have cheered the numbers as a sign that the tide is turning in addressing one of L.A.’s most vexing problems.
With thousands of renters now at risk of losing a key resource helping them afford the city’s high rents, sharp increases in homelessness could be on the horizon, said Mike Feuer, a senior policy advisor with the Inner City Law Center.
“They're going to fall into homelessness, and they're going to increase L.A.'s homeless population by almost 10%,” Feuer said. “Those are the implications of what the Trump administration is doing.”
According to L.A.’s Housing Authority, about 1-in-4 voucher holders has children and 1-in-5 is elderly. And about 40% are disabled. These households have an average income of less than $14,000 per year, and they receive an average of $1,789 per month in rental subsidy while paying about $350 out of their own pockets.
The loss of federal funding for Emergency Housing Vouchers is distinct from the issues facing renters using Housing Choice Vouchers, another federally funded program often referred to as Section 8. Existing vouchers in the Section 8 program have continued to be funded, but federal funding reductions have caused city officials to cut the amount of rent new vouchers in that program can cover by 10%.
L.A. Housing Authority officials said they have dedicated staff reaching out to tenants to explore other housing resources that might keep them housed after the vouchers expire.
Manuel Villagomez, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles specializing in subsidized housing, said with city and state budgets strapped, tenant advocates are not counting on California to find alternative funding sources to continue the program.
“It seems like it's a tragedy in the making,” Villagomez said. “We're preparing for the worst.”
