Actor and comedian Asif Ali, known for his roles in Deli Boys and WandaVision, is urging Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to turn concerns about their rights, safety, and families into political action. In a new video campaign launched by Stop AAPI Hate Action ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In the video, Ali addresses discrimination, immigration enforcement, civil rights, and the historical experiences of Asian American communities, urging viewers to recognize their collective political influence and engage civically. “You see the news. You read the headlines. Your rights are under attack. People are being targeted and ripped from their families. And you ask yourself: What can I do? I’m just one person,” Ali says at the beginning of the video.
“But America is home to millions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. And as history has shown, we’ve never been alone,” he adds.
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The video draws parallels between present-day concerns and earlier struggles involving legal challenges to discrimination, opposition to the desecration of sacred land, efforts to secure reparations for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Responses to post-September 11 discrimination and anti-Asian prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the government questioned if we belonged here, we took them to court, and won. When they desecrated sacred land, we mobilized to stop them. When they locked us up in concentration camps, we fought for reparations. When they called us terrorists, we called them out. When they blamed us for a virus, we fueled a movement,” Ali says.
“Every time they tried to silence us, we got louder. Together. And we can’t stop now,” he continues.
Campaign targets AAPI voter engagement in midterm elections
Stop AAPI Hate Action, the political and advocacy arm of Stop AAPI Hate, is seeking to convert concerns about discrimination and civil rights into greater voter participation ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
The organization announced the launch of its new 501(c)(4) advocacy arm on May 28, 2026, outlining plans for a nationwide voter mobilization program focused on competitive congressional districts. Its stated goal is to strengthen AAPI civic participation and expand the community’s political engagement.
The campaign is reaching out to AAPI voters in key House and Senate races across the country, where election results will determine the balance of power in Washington. Its broader approach includes grassroots organizing, multilingual voter outreach and volunteer-led phone banking.
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In its May announcement, the organization said it aimed to raise and spend approximately $1 million on its 2026 voter mobilization effort, with outreach planned in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean, alongside targeted South Asian and Filipino voter engagement.
Ali’s video emphasizes the potential influence of AAPI voters, describing the community as one of the country’s significant voting constituencies.
“We are 1 in 15 voters in America. We’ve been fighting injustice for generations,” he says, before urging viewers to draw on that history as they respond to concerns affecting their families and communities. “So when they try to come for our families, our freedoms, our futures, we know what it takes to stop them,” Ali concludes.
AAPI voters and the 2026 elections
The campaign comes as Asian American and Pacific Islander communities receive increased attention in discussions about voter engagement and competitive congressional races.
According to AAPI Data’s 2026 AAPI Voter Survey, published August 26, approximately 16 million AAPI individuals are eligible to vote in the United States in 2026, including 1.6 million newly eligible voters since 2022. The organization also identified competitive congressional districts in states including Arizona, California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia as areas where AAPI voters could be consequential.
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Stop AAPI Hate has also published research examining experiences of discrimination and the effects of immigration policies and political rhetoric on Asian American communities. In a September 2026 report on anti-South Asian hate, the organization said its findings drew on online monitoring, a nationally representative survey of South Asian adults, immigration enforcement data and reports submitted to its reporting center.
Stop AAPI Hate Action’s voter engagement initiative forms part of its effort to build long-term political participation within Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Through Ali’s video, the organization is making a direct appeal to voters to connect concerns about civil rights, discrimination and family security with participation in the electoral process.