Asian Wisconzine Section/Heidi M. Pascual
Celebrating Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
learn about Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal — the first Indian Asian American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first woman to represent Washington State’s 7th congressional district. She is a respected leader who took her passion for immigrant rights from her local community to the halls of Congress — an inspiration to many.
Born in Chennai, India in 1965, Jayapal grew up in India, Indonesia, and Singapore. At the age of 16, she came to the US to attend college, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics from Georgetown University. Afterwards, she earned her MBA from Northwestern University. Jayapal initially worked as a Wall Street financial analyst after college, but her experience of being an immigrant drew her to community organizing.
Jayapal, who had just become a naturalized citizen at the time, realized America’s perception and treatment of migrants would drastically change following the September 11 attacks of 2001. In its aftermath, immigrants of color — particularly Muslim and Sikh community members — experienced government targeting and hate crimes. In response to the xenophobia, Pramila Jayapal founded OneAmerica (formerly known as Hate Free Zone) in 2001.
One of OneAmerica’s many accomplishments was when they won a ruling that determined that the Bush Administration’s deportations of Somali immigrants were illegal in 2003. Jayapal organized the pro bono legal efforts, and this ruling prevented the deportation of more than 2,700 people around the US. With OneAmerica, Jayapal also launched the largest voter registration drive in Washington state history in 2008 — over 23,000 people!
When long-time Washington state senator Adam Kline announced his retirement in 2014, Jayapal entered the race to succeed him. In the general election, Jayapal won by a landslide with about 70 percent of the votes. This win secured Jayapal’s position as the state senator for Washington’s 37th legislative district. During her time as a state senator, Jayapal secured funding ($5.25 million) for pre-apprenticeship programs that would expand people of color and women’s access to union jobs, and was a key advocate in pushing for automatic voter registration in the state.
In 2016, Pramila Jayapal ran for and was elected as the U.S. representative of Washington’s 7th congressional district, covering most of Seattle and the surrounding metropolitan areas. With this victory, she became the first Indian woman to ever serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In Congress, Jayapal has become a key figure in the progressive movement, becoming chairwoman of the Progressive Congressional Caucus — now the largest ideological caucus in the Democratic Party. In this role, she worked to address economic inequalities, pushed for universal healthcare, and advocated for climate change legislation. Additionally, she is the Congressional Asian Pacific Asian Caucus’ Immigration Task Force Chair and Vice Chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
To the women of color making strides to uplift their communities, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal offers these words of advice: “I want to remind women of color out there to stand your ground, and don’t ever be afraid to speak up.”
