Reflecting on Asian political influence in US

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has grown in numbers and influence in recent years, but there are still challenges to meet if it wishes to play a role in shaping America's future, said US lawmakers.

In selecting May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) gathered for a press conference at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington on Wednesday.

"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing racial population in the country," said Congresswoman Judy Chu, a Democrat from California and chairwoman of CAPAC. "And as our community continues to grow, it's so important for the AAPI community to understand the importance of exercising our voices."

The Asian American community has historically shown lagging participation in the American democratic process.

"At the 2014 election, only 55 percent of AAPI's were registered voters compared to the national average of 71 percent," said Congresswoman Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York.

"The right to participate in the political process is a powerful tool. If we don't vote, our growing numbers mean nothing in the political process," she said.

The AAPI community is "vastly underrepresented" at all levels of government, said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii.

"This speaks directly to the need for making sure that we have easy and open access to voting, voter registration, and making sure that voter participation actually occurs," she said.

"The divisive rhetoric of this election requires us to come together and reject the idea that Americans can be separated by their race, religion or sexual orientation," said Congressman Mark Takano, a Democrat from California. "And this needs to happen at all levels of politics, from the school board to the White House."

"We've made great strides in the Asian-American community, but there is still a ways to go," said Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California. "My hope is that people get more involved, that they vote, that they take more interest in civics.

Chu is cautiously optimistic about the prospect of growing the AAPI community's political influence.

"AAPIs are going from being marginalized to being the margin of victory," she said. "But in order to make sure we are the margin of victory, we have to get involved, we have to stay involved, and we have to exercise our right to vote."

Allan Fong in Washington contributed to this story.