“As a person who spent nearly the first five years of my life in a Japanese-American internment camp with my parents during World War II, equality and fair and humane treatment of all human beings is at the core of my existence. Discrimination and racial profiling may not happen in the form of internment camps, but it still exists. We see it every day in our schools, prison system, and through hateful laws like Arizona’s S.B. 1070. S.B. 1070-type immigration bills and programs that authorize state and local police to enforce immigration laws, including 287(g) and Secure Communities, disproportionately impact Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and other immigrant communities of color. These laws and policies contributed to the deportation of more than one million immigrants in the last decade. 

AAPIs are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. The influx of Asians and Pacific Islanders moving to the U.S. has surpassed that of Latino immigrants, and these immigrant communities are vulnerable to xenophobia, manipulation, hate crimes, and racial profiling. As we move forward in developing a comprehensive solution, we must acknowledge the significant challenges and complex circumstances that Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant communities encounter as a result of a broken immigration system, including unjust deportation policy and family immigration backlogs. Congress must pass immigration reform that keeps families intact and respects human rights.” 

-Rep. Michael Honda, Immigration Taskforce Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus