News

The New Jersey Asian American Legal Project (NJ-AALP) is an initiative of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) to address the unmet legal needs of Asian Americans in New Jersey.

Although there are over half a million Asian Americans living in New Jersey, few resources are available to assist them in overcoming the cultural and linguistic obstacles they face when accessing legal services.

Many Asian Americans are unable to obtain legal help because they either do not speak English well or encounter cultural barriers that discourage them from doing so.

Moreover, many Asian Americans are unaware of their legal rights and responsibilities under U.S. law. And those who are aware often do not exercise their rights due to fear of how it would affect their immigration status, their jobs, or their families. Undocumented workers can be

especially vulnerable because of their employers’ express or implied threats to report them to authorities if they complain about workplace violations. Despite this, there are few community resources available in the state to assist Asian Americans with their legal needs.

NJ-AALP seeks to address this gap in legal services by providing community education and serving as a bridge to the legal system.

Brochures for the New Jersey Asian American Legal Project (NJ-AALP) are available in the following languages:

• English
• Gujarati
• Hindi
• Korean
• Tagalog
• Chinese