Washington, DC – Last night, President Trump lied to the American people. He spun an illusion of America where communities are safe from violence, healthcare costs are the lowest they’ve been, and children have all the supports they need to learn.
The President’s State of the Union address could not be further from the reality for communities across the country. Quyên Đinh, SEARAC Executive Director, shared:
“Leadership should protect and preserve belonging, safety, and hope. What we have seen this past year is the opposite.
Rather than expanding access to healthcare and strengthening pathways to opportunities, the Trump Administration has killed Americans, violated our sense of safety, divested from our communities, and stolen from American taxpayers. This Administration has harmed American families while benefiting only the wealthiest. Like other historically marginalized communities, Southeast Asian families have borne the burden of these policies.
For 50 years, Southeast Asian Americans have contributed to the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the United States. Our communities arrived as refugees in the aftermath of the US wars in Southeast Asia and have rebuilt our lives here. Despite its promise to protect our communities, this Administration’s cruel and deadly immigration policies have endangered and killed Southeast Asian Americans. Deportations and detention perpetuate trauma, separate families, and normalize violence against refugee and immigrant communities.
Communities of color are being pushed to the margins. Attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are attacks on equal opportunity. Stripping resources from our schools, ending programs designed for historically underserved students, and erasing the complex, but fundamentally American, histories of our diverse populace sends a clear message about who the Administration thinks does or does not belong in our schools, institutions, and society.
We are grieving. But we are not silent.
Across the country, people are organizing, protecting one another, and refusing to let fear define our future. Our communities are unveiling the truth of this Administration’s cruelty. Our strength has always come from collective action, from generations standing together and demanding better. Despite the President’s lies last night, we know that progress, justice, and truth will ultimately prevail.”
