AIISF Newsletter / April 2025
A Message From AIISF’s Executive Director
Dear AIISF Friends and Family,
I’m not going to mince words. It has been a challenging few weeks for AIISF.
In March, the administration released an Executive Order to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services and placed all of the agency’s staff on administrative leave. This effectively ended AIISF’s two-year IMLS grant to enhance the site’s permanent exhibits with additional stories of immigrants detained at Angel Island and immigrants who have more recently arrived in the US. It also erased the possibility of funding for a grant proposal that AIISF co-led with the Japanese American National Museum and 13 other institutions to explore the feasibility of starting a national Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander museum association.
Last week, AIISF and hundreds of other museums, libraries, and nonprofit organizations received an email from the National Endowment for the Humanities terminating our federal grant. The email stated that “your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination due to several reasonable causes, as outlined in 2CFR§200.340. NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” This grant would have funded a two-year partnership between AIISF, Angel Island State Park, and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience to examine our existing programs, exhibits, and tours and to consider how we could foster increased community dialogue.
Together, the two federal grants (that AIISF secured amidst highly competitive federal grant review processes) constitute about 10% of our budget. Simultaneously, while many of you have been generous in these uncertain and increasingly challenging times (thank you very much!), our total donor contributions are below what we had budgeted.
Based on these circumstances and forecasts for the coming months, AIISF has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Family Day event. Family Day is our largest public program and allows community members to come to Angel Island for a fraction of the regular cost. Our ability to host this event is largely dependent on significant financial sponsorships to offset the $60,000 in expenses. We hope to be able to bring Family Day back in 2026.
Despite these setbacks and challenges, AIISF remains committed to creating community, belonging, and inclusion in our workplace, events, programs, and exhibits. We will still ensure that our interactions are grounded in integrity, respect, and collaboration. And we will continue to promote learning—particularly about the nation’s complex history of racism and exclusion—while also celebrating the strength, resiliencies, and contributions that immigrants have made and continue to make to the US.
We appreciate and need your continued partnership and support.
Edward Tepporn
Executive Director
Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign
Through our Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign, you can commemorate your own immigration journey, honor your family’s immigrant heritage, or show your allyship with immigrant communities.
Whether you or your family came through Angel Island or elsewhere and whether you arrived in the US decades ago or days ago, we welcome your name and your support.
Save the Date!
AIISF Immigrant Heritage Award Reception
Saturday, April 26 | 5 pm - 7 pm
China Live Restaurant, San Francisco, CA
Join us for an evening of hearty hors d'oeuvres, a partially hosted bar, and live music by The Complements, an award-winning singer-songwriter duo whose music has been described as "the sonic representation of a smile."
Each year, these awards provide an opportunity to celebrate individuals who are immigrants or of immigrant heritage and who have made significant contributions to our community. We also will be presenting the Spirit of Angel Island Award, which recognizes those whose efforts have been instrumental to preserving the site and uplifting its history.
This year, we are honored to recognized Elizabeth Acevedo, Zinhle Essamuah, and Valarie Kaur. We are also thrilled to present Grant Din with the Spirit of Angel Island Award for his longstanding efforts to preserve the site and uplift its histories.
Angel Island Immigration Station Poetry Finder | NEW! Rooms 211 & 213
The AIIS Poetry Finder allows you to explore, read, listen to, and reflect on the experiences of Angel Island’s immigrants from inside the barracks and at home.
AIISF would like to acknowledge the hard work of co-creators and State Park volunteers Sam Louie and Samuel Lee; Angel Island State Park staff; translators Him Mark Lai, Genny Lim, Judy Yung, and Charles Egan; the project's Chinese dialect readers; and our supporters, who made the AIIS Poetry Finder possible.
NOW Available on the AIIS Poetry Finder:
Upcoming Events
hands on history
April 12 | 11 am - 2:30 pm
Angel Island Immigration Museum
Click here to learn more
Hands on History returns April 12!
Join us at the Angel Island Immigration Museum for our second weekend of arts and crafts related to the history of the island.
These activities are open to anyone who visits AIIM, at no additional cost.
Weekly Community Story Circles
Wednesdays through April 30
6 pm - 7:30 pm | On Zoom
Click here to learn more
Join AIISF Director of Education Danielle Wetmore in weekly Story Circles on Zoom every Wednesday through April 30.
Each week, we will converse about our personal connections to belonging in a space of warmth, strength, empathy, beauty, and community.
Gateways in Dialogue IV: Before the Islands
April 17 | 5 - 6 pm
On Zoom | Click here to register
Join us for the next event in our collaborative series with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation!
Director of Education, Danielle Wetmore, and Director of the American Family Immigration History Center, Stephen Lean, will talk about what immigration was like before either of our islands opened.
This event is free, but registration is required.
Border Surveillance: Places, People, and Technology
April 2 - May 26
Angel Island Immigration Museum
From April to May, discover a new exhibit from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) at the Angel Island Immigration Museum!
EFF staff have traveled along the U.S. - Mexico border to learn from communities on both sides; interview journalists, aid workers and activists; and map and document the technology installed there.
Explore the history of border surveillance, the surveillance technology infrastructure currently in place, and possible future technology deployments such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
Tiburon AAPI Heritage Festival 2025
May 17 | 1 - 4 pm
Zelinsky Park, Belvedere Tiburon
Click here to learn more
Join us for the Tiburon AAPI Heritage Festival 2025, a day of cultural celebrations, delicious food, traditional performances, and more!
Immerse yourself in the rich heritage of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities through art, music, and dance, as well as exhibits.
AIISF will be there sharing the history of the island and giving a short talk.
This in-person event is free to attend.
Community and Partner Events
EFF Panel: Tracking and Documenting Surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico Border
April 9 | 6 - 8 pm
Internet Archive
Click here to learn more
Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation's live panel event at the Internet Archive, exploring digital civil liberties at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Learn about the development of the Border Surveillance exhibit, now at the Angel Island Immigration Museum, too!
This in-person, free event will have light refreshments! Registration is required.
America's Field Trip Essay Contest
Deadline: April 16
Click here to learn more
Angel Island Immigration Station is one of the 11 landmarks included in the 2024-2025 America’s Field Trip contest. The contest is part of America250, a nationwide initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
25 first-place awardees from each grade level category and a chaperone will receive airfare and lodging for a 3-day, 2-night trip to a select historical or cultural site of their choice!
Oakland Ballet Company's Dancing Moons Festival
May 4 | 3 pm
Paramount Theatre, Oakland
Click here to learn more
Commissioned by the Del Sol Quartet in 2020, Huang Ruo composed Angel Island, an oratorio inspired by poetry at the immigration station.
Now, the piece has been transformed into a dance work featuring 12 Oakland Ballet Company members and created by 7 AAPI choreographers.
See the full performance this May! There will be live musical accompaniment by the Del Sol Quartet and vocal ensemble Volti with conductor Dr. Wei Cheng.
All Eyes On Us: Invention & Ingenuity During Artistic Diasporas
March 27 - December 13
Edge on the Square
Click here to learn more
Visit All Eyes on Us at Edge on the Square!
The exhibition spotlights “hidden dragons”: individuals whose artistic careers, practices and expressions shape-shifted or became dormant as they navigated the complexities of immigration, assimilation and survival.
Featuring sound art, installations, and more, the exhibition centers Asian American and diasporic stories of resilience, ingenuity and triumph over adversity.
Community Resources
Free Citizenship Workshops
The San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative, with the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs, is hosting free citizenship workshops on April 12 and 29.
The April 12 workshop will be at the County Fair Building from 10 am - 2 pm. On April 29, it will be at the San Francisco Public Library from 1 pm - 2:30 pm. Registration is required.
ImmSchools
ImmSchools is an immigrant-led nonprofit that partners with K-12 schools and educators to support undocumented students and families.
The organization leads professional development, immigrant-centered workshops, and organizing for immigrant-friendly policies.
AIISF is a small (but mighty) nonprofit that has worked tirelessly for the past 42 years to preserve the buildings at Angel Island and to elevate the stories of immigrants. Our ability to continue these preservation efforts and to continue to offer free or low-cost programs is dependent on the support of community members like you. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to AIISF.