Chu Leads Call to Withdraw English-Only Head Start Proposal, Questions ICE Bond Denials; Lieu Pushes National Film Tax Credit
Chinese-American members of Congress took a series of actions in Washington and Southern California in early to mid-October. On October 6, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) and Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) joined leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus — the three caucuses known as the Tri-Caucus — in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to withdraw a proposed Head Start rule that would mandate English-only instruction and eliminate longstanding language-access protections.
Head Start provides early childhood education and comprehensive support to low-income children. In their letter, the members noted that nearly 40 percent of Head Start children are dual-language learners — almost 290,000 nationwide — and 30 percent come from homes where English is not the primary language. Requiring English-only instruction, they wrote, "is not supported by the evidence and risks undermining that very goal" of strong English skills, and conflicts with Congress's directives in the Head Start Act. They urged HHS to withdraw the English-only requirement and retain language-access protections.
On October 9, Chu led 29 members of Congress in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Mullin, Attorney General Blanche and Executive Office for Immigration Review Acting Director Owen demanding answers about rising immigration bond denials and increasingly unaffordable bond amounts. Data cited in the letter show bond requests more than doubled from 34,845 in 2024 to 80,130 in 2025; the share denied by immigration judges rose from about 36 percent in 2024 to 43 percent in 2025 and 55 percent in the first three months of 2026; and the national median bond rose from $6,000 to $7,500. At the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, 57 percent of bond requests have been denied since November 2025. "Everyone deserves a fair shot at freedom while they fight their case," Chu said. "Immigration judges must be free to make decisions based on the facts and the law, not political pressure."
Also on October 6, Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36) joined Rep. Laura Friedman, other members of the Los Angeles congressional delegation and major entertainment unions at the Alex Theatre in Glendale to push the bipartisan Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act. The bill would create a national film tax credit of 20 percent on qualified U.S. labor expenses, with additional 5 percent bonuses — up to 30 percent in total — for categories including rural opportunity zones, federal disaster areas and independent productions; post-production and visual effects work would qualify, the credit would be transferable, and it would apply to productions beginning after December 31, 2026. "Southern California is the birthplace of the modern film and television industry," Lieu said. "We can't let the United States' film industry lose ground to foreign competitors." Backers note that roughly 65 countries offer filming incentives while the U.S. has long had no national one. Chu is also a co-lead of the bill.
On October 15, Chu issued a statement in Pasadena responding to an October 4 FBI arrest. According to the FBI, an individual accused of spying on the son and family of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te in Seattle, at the direction of the Chinese government, was arrested on October 4 and charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent; the allegations remain before the courts. "I am deeply troubled by allegations that the Chinese government conducted a spying operation here in the United States targeting the son and family of President Lai Ching-te," Chu said in the statement.
Chu, first elected in 2009, was the first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress and is Chair Emerita of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Meng is CAPAC's current Chair. (GSM, based on releases from the offices of Reps. Chu and Lieu)
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联邦众议员赵美心官方肖像（第118届国会）。图片来源：美国众议院／Wikimedia Commons（公共领域）。Photo: Official portrait of Rep. Judy Chu (118th Congress). Source: U.S. House of Representatives / Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
