Washington, DC – SEARAC strongly denounces President Trump’s travel ban and unequivocally condemns his Administration’s use of military force against peaceful protesters in Los Angeles demanding dignity, safety, and justice for immigrants.
Over the weekend, protesters demonstrated against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raiding immigrant communities in Los Angeles. In retaliation, the Trump Administration unilaterally escalated violence by sending 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to suppress and attack protesters who were calling for ICE to leave Los Angeles and demanding protections for immigrants. These actions come on the heels of a June 4 proclamation banning travel and immigration to the United States from 19 countries, including Laos, and last month’s large-scale deportation of 158 Southeast Asian refugees.
The Administration continues to exploit national security fears to justify attacks on immigrant and refugee communities, including detaining individuals without due process and kidnapping and disappearing immigrants. This sweeping travel ban is another weapon in its arsenal to deport immigrants, targeting people mostly from African, Latinx, Muslim-majority, and Asian countries. In 2018, the Trump Administration broadened visa sanctions on Laos for not complying with its demands to speed up deportations from the United States, establishing an immigration ban for communities from Laos. The Biden Administration lifted parts of the ban, decreasing its impact to just diplomatic visas.
Ordering the National Guard and Marine Corps to attack protesters protecting immigrants and refugees from ICE also demonstrates severe escalation by this Administration against anyone expressing political dissent, including US citizens. Protesters were met with batons, tear gas, and armed troops, an excessive response to individuals exercising their First Amendment rights.
A statement from Quyên Đinh, Executive Director of SEARAC:
“The President’s travel ban and the militarized attacks on protesters are not just policies, they are acts of violence against communities who have long fought to live, heal, and thrive in this country. The travel bans are a continuation of this Administration’s attacks on Southeast Asian immigrant communities. The Administration’s continued escalation in tactics, including establishing travel bans and disappearing immigrants, to now ordering our armed forces to attack US citizens protesting their anti-immigrant policies is inhumane and unconscionable.”
“Southeast Asian Americans have seen these violent tactics before when we were forced to flee from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam 50 years ago. We will not stand by as history repeats itself. We urge Congress to step in and use all available authority granted them to stop these attacks on non-citizens and citizens alike. We also urge our senators to oppose funding this Administration’s attacks on our Constitution by rejecting the House-passed reconciliation bill.”
A statement from Mandy Diêc, California Deputy Director of SEARAC:
“Los Angeles is shaped by the dreams, power, and labor of immigrant communities, including Southeast Asian American families who came here seeking safety, freedom, and opportunity. We are witnessing Los Angeles residents rise up to protect their immigrant and refugee neighbors from the unjust and violent raids carried out by ICE, including those targeting Southeast Asian Americans. This is a collective response from Californians united against the cruelty of mass detention and deportation. The Trump Administration’s inhumane escalation of force in order to intimidate, fear-monger, and coerce protestors is inexcusable, and we call on leaders to stand with immigrant communities who are hurting across the country. We must reimagine our immigration system to center healing, justice, and dignity and fight for a world where families are no longer forced to live in fear and where communities can thrive, whole and free.”
