February 5, 2025
The following statement can be attributed to Stop AAPI Hate.
NATIONWIDE – We are sickened and appalled by the ongoing ICE raids and deportations ordered by the Trump administration, which have proven to be even more cruel, expansive, and predatory than he had promised. Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen families torn apart, children terrorized, communities destabilized, and critical industries stalled as a result of ICE’s racist witch hunt.
As the only racial group that is majority foreign-born — and with Asian people accounting for 1 out of every 7 undocumented immigrants — our community is experiencing devastating consequences. Chinese, Indian, and other Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants are actively being dehumanized, detained, and deported. Plus, Trump’s inhumane mass deportation plan is stoking racism against all AAPI people, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
The administration’s use of the U.S. military to carry out deportations is particularly chilling. We are horrified to learn that they have started to send immigrants to Guantánamo Bay, a military base where there will be no due process for the 30,000 people they plan to imprison there. Trump also ordered a military flight to deport more than 100 people to India — another unprecedented move that exposes his insidious intention to portray immigrants as wartime enemies rather than who they truly are: everyday people seeking opportunity, safety, and a chance to reunite with their families.
We are also deeply concerned that what Trump and his loyalists said would be a targeted operation is, in reality, a free-for-all attack on people of color. Countless Latino, Asian, Black, and Native American people of all statuses are being racially profiled; immigrants without criminal records are being deported; and even some U.S. citizens and veterans have been arrested. Meanwhile, the new Laken Riley Act — which lets ICE detain and deport immigrants for minor offenses or mere allegations — acts as cover for the government to justify targeting even more people for little to no reason. The administration is showing us that people of color — whether documented or undocumented, citizen or not — are, in their eyes, all less worthy of belonging in America with full rights and equal opportunity.
Trump’s mass deportation operation is reminiscent of Japanese incarceration during WWII. The government weaponized the military to forcibly take Japanese Americans — including many children and U.S. citizens — from their homes and imprison them at concentration camps, simply because of their ethnicity. Families were separated, children were locked up in deplorable conditions, and lives were shattered.
Today, we are seeing similar devastation as the Trump administration’s cold-blooded agenda destroys lives and stokes widespread fear and chaos. Parents are worried about sending their children to school, families are facing aggressive ICE encounters at their homes, and workers are terrified to go to their jobs. Meanwhile, teachers, doctors, and religious leaders are now forced to serve as bodyguards for their students, patients, and congregations due to Trump’s executive order slashing protections for safe spaces in our communities.
To make matters worse, ICE agents are using deceptive tactics like lying about who they are to hit arrest quotas that reduce human beings to numbers; people are impersonating ICE to harass people of color; and state legislatures have been emboldened to propose chilling measures, like fingerprinting undocumented children and certifying civilians as bounty hunters to turn on their neighbors.
While the Trump administration paints a false picture of a heroic operation in the name of national security and economic benefit, we see their anti-immigrant agenda for what it truly is: a hate-fueled campaign designed to terrorize millions of people; permanently marginalize communities of color; and diminish the dignity, human rights, and safety of immigrants.
A nation of people with no humanity and compassion for each other is easier to divide and control — and that’s why Trump, his far-right loyalists, and his billionaire backers are seeking to instill hate and fear into our communities. As we face attack after attack from the Trump administration, we must remember that we share more in common with each other than we ever will with those who seek to divide us. And by embracing unity as our strength, it’s possible to build a future where everyone — now and for generations to come — can live in a society that upholds the dignity and humanity of all people.
Visit our Community Resources page for know your rights information and other immigrant resources.
