Advocacy
Policy Blueprint
In 2012, EPIC organized a convening in Washington, D.C. that brought together 25 leaders from Native Hawaiian, Chamorro, Samoan, Tongan, Marshallese, and Fijian communities, working across the country from Washington, California, Utah, and Arkansas. The convening resulted in a Policy Blueprint in 2014 that expresses a common set of beliefs, positions, and recommendations that will represent the foundation of a national advocacy effort. It is from within this framework that EPIC takes action to tackle the issues that impact our people.
Now in 2026, EPIC is proud to present an updated Policy Blueprint. This Blueprint reflects years of listening sessions, national FONO conversations, data analysis, and relationship-building with NHPI leaders, families, youth, advocates, and practitioners nationwide.
As both a vision and a framework, the Blueprint:
Elevates NHPI priorities across data & categorization, economic justice, civil rights, and civic empowerment
Shares our hōkūpaʻa (north star) for each priority and what we envision our kuleana (responsibility/privilege) as in achieving those goals by developing policy playbooks with community partners
Serves as a resource for policymakers, advocates, funders, and community leaders committed to equity and accountability
We invite policymakers, community organizations, funders, and allies to read, share, and use the Policy Blueprint as a living document — one that grows alongside our communities.
Other policy frameworks that EPIC has supported with:
NAPAWF’s Visibility, Voice, Vision: Asian American and Pacific Islander Reproductive Justice Agenda
Strengthening the Federal Government’s Data Disaggregation Pillar
Six Steps to Improve Federal Government Performance on Data Disaggregation
Data Disaggregation
Our 2012 policy blueprint affirmed that data is essential to informing policy decisions and justifying the allocation of resources needed to address persistent challenges through evidence-based interventions. That principle remains unchanged today. Efforts to suppress, exclude, or obscure data undermine effective policymaking, weaken our ability to advocate, and limit policymakers’ capacity to accurately assess, understand, and respond to the needs of our communities.
Economic Justice
Economic justice, like data equity, is a core policy priority for EPIC and will remain central to our advocacy efforts. We define economic justice as the ability of individuals and communities to fully participate in the economy and achieve sustained economic security in ways that promote dignity, equity, and intergenerational well-being.
Civil Rights
Civil rights are foundational protections guaranteed to all individuals, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. EPIC’s original policy blueprint identified civil rights as a core policy priority in recognition of the persistent and systemic barriers that continue to limit NHPI communities’ full and equitable access to the opportunities afforded to all who call America home.
Policymakers must recognize that the NHPI community encompasses an extremely diverse and complicated set of relationships between the U.S. government and NHPI homelands. This impacts rights and access to resources in a number of different ways depending on where an individual is born and acts to prevent successful integration in the U.S. While 14% of NHPIs are foreign-born, the rate varies widely between Pacific Islander groups i.e 65% of Fijians, 35% of Tongans, and 10% of Samoans. EPIC seeks to develop and create a clear and simple path to citizenship while ensuring essential services are available for all NHPIs, regardless of immigration status. This includes adequate legal counsel in deportation proceedings and translation and interpretation assistance.
With the ongoing administrative and legislative shifts impacting immigrant communities, weʻve created an Immigration Updates & Resources webpage that provides policy updates, analyses, and essential resources to help NHPI families and individuals navigate these changes. By making advocacy tools and strategies more accessible, we continue to empower our community members to be stewards of change.
We invite you to explore the webpage and stay engaged as we continue to uplift and protect the dignity and rights of immigrant families. Together, we can remain vigilant, informed, and committed to a future where all NHPIs thrive.
Civic Empowerment
EPIC continues to prioritize leadership development, organizational capacity building, and strategic partnerships with grassroots NHPI organizations as central to its policy and advocacy work. Our fourth policy priority—civic empowerment—is closely aligned with these efforts. EPIC advances the position that inclusive participation by NHPIs at all levels of government and across the full spectrum of civic engagement, from voting to holding elected office, strengthens democratic institutions and improves governance outcomes.