AMEMSA Representation in Politics

The U.S. Government contains 535 active Members of Congress. 435 Members serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 100 Members serve in the U.S. Senate. Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years, while Members of the Senate serve six-year terms. Despite the constant flow of new and returning politicians, as of 2006, there have been 17 Arab-American Members of Congress to represent the 3,000,000 Arabs in America.

Additionally, there have only been nine South-Asian Members of Congress, one of whom is Vice-President Kamala Harris, for the 5.4 million South Asians in America. As one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the country, the severe lack of political representation means their struggles, concerns, and needs are being consistently overlooked by our government. Despite the discouraging number of elected South Asian officials, the number of South Asian candidates has increased from 2 to 40 candidates in the last twenty years. Once overlooked, South Asian-Americans are becoming a rising force in politics to make their voices heard.

In 2020, Indian politician Suraj Patel’s campaign displayed the influence that close-knit ethnic communities can have in the political world. While organizing his campaign, Patel released three advertisements: one in English, one in Spanish, and one in Gujarati. Gujarati is a language native to western India. While only a small portion of his targeted audience spoke Gujarati, he emphasized the importance of speaking directly to people, like his parents, that immigrated to this country and grew up similarly to him. This campaign was a success as over 80% of the $1 million he raised was from his South Asian-American supporters.

Insufficient AMEMSA representation in politics has been an issue for decades. While we have seen a rise in Arab and South Asian-American political candidates, support from AMEMSA communities is not enough to get these politicians in office. On the other end, Members of Congress can begin combatting the lack of representation by hiring diverse Congressional Staff. An article by The Hill states:

“The lack of top staff diversity impairs the ability of members of Congress to understand the diverse perspectives of their districts and to accurately represent all Americans. Congress would function more effectively with top staff that more accurately reflect America’s diversity.”

The fight for representation is an ongoing and constant battle as minorities struggle to make their voices heard. Although the 117th Congress is our most racially and ethnically diverse yet, we will not be satisfied until AMEMSA voices are being heard and listened to in the Capital.