Press Releases

APALA Denounces Trump’s Fabricated State of Emergency

2/15/2019

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2019
Contact: apala@apalanet.org

Washington, DC - After the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019, which includes $1.375 billion for a physical barrier, increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention beds, and more - President Trump announced that he is declaring a state of emergency in order to circumvent Congress and the American people to secure funding for his border wall.

APALA National President and appointee from the National Education Association Monica Thammarath stated, "We denounce the fabricated state of emergency the President has declared when our communities are facing real crises. Our Southeast Asian refugee siblings along with other immigrant communities are increasingly threatened to be ripped apart from their families and communities, workers in growing cities are struggling to keep their homes because of corporate greed, and students and educators across the nation are faced with under resourced classrooms - these and more are the people's priorities and our state of emergency. We will continue to push and fight for our communities’ real needs, especially in the face of fabricated emergencies from this Administration’s White Supremacist agenda.”

APALA Statement on One-Year Ban of H2A and H2B Visas for Filipino Workers

2/6/2019

For Immediate Release: February 6, 2019
Contact: apala@apalanet.org

The Administration continues it’s rampant anti-immigrant and anti-worker agenda by quietly banning workers from the Philippines, Ethiopia and Dominican Republic from H-2A and H-2B Visa Eligibility

Washington, DC - Last month, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that workers from the Philippines, Ethiopia, and the Dominican Republic will not be not eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs for the next year. Flying under the radar for most of the public, this regulation is a quieter part of the administration's rampant anti-immigrant agenda by dividing workers, American and foreign, while depriving us all of rights, opportunities, and a dignified wage. Instead of singling out countries and cutting off the economic livelihood for workers struggling to support their families, the administration and congress should work together to reform our broken immigration system that leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by bad employers and greedy recruiters. Hardworking immigrants in the U.S. workforce deserve opportunities and protections, things that will only be guaranteed with appropriate oversight and accountability over our current guestworker programs.

H-2A visas allow foreign workers to work in the U.S. as agricultural workers. H-2B visas allow foreign workers to work in the U.S. as non-agricultural workers, such as resort, hospitality, landscaping, food service, and construction workers. Both of which are temporary visas for low-wage workers.

APALA Executive Director Alvina Yeh stated, “While our long term vision is to increase opportunities that include pathways to citizenship, temporary overseas work such as allowed by the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the United States is an important source of income for our brothers and sisters in the Philippines and elsewhere to find work and support their families. Guest workers deserve rights and opportunities, just as we do. Until greedy corporations and abusive employers are held to account, the administration should not expand the program or unfairly target individual countries and workers. By quietly banning low-wage Asian workers, the administration is dangerously upholding the model minority myth, hoping to easily sweep us out the door, but we will not stay silent while our Filipino brothers and sisters are singled out.

“Instead of targeting vulnerable populations, the Administration should address greedy corporations and abusive employers. In order to strengthen labor conditions in the U.S., the administration should hold labor violators accountable, invest in Department of Labor investigations to raise workplace condition standards and safety, provide data transparency, and more. All of which can be applied to the H-2B visa program to strengthen it as an opportunity for low-wage workers, as we work towards long-term policy solutions that guarantees workers a path to citizenship.”

APALA Stands with Delegate Kathy Tran and her Family

2/1/2019

For Immediate Release: February 1, 2019
Contact: apala@apalanet.org

Washington, DC - Delegate Kathy Tran from Virginia’s 42nd District, along with her family and children, have been receiving death threats for introducing a bill that would lower barriers for Virginians to obtain a late-term abortion procedure. The Repeal Act has been introduced before but has caused a storm in the media this time around because of the GOP’s insistence on misrepresenting Delegate Tran.

APALA National President and appointee from the National Education Association Monica Thammarath stated, “GOP politicians must stop taking cues from the President and apologize for their malicious tactics. Instead of creating a space for discussion and negotiation, GOP politicians are spreading misinformation of the work Delegate Tran is leading for our community and women across Virginia and the country. Delegate Tran has clarified that the Repeal Act does not fundamentally change abortion law in Virginia. Instead, it lowers the barrier for people to gain access to a late-term abortion procedure, an already tough feat for low-income communities and those who face barriers to health care because of language, transportation, and childcare. This bill aims to improve the lives of women, working people, immigrants, and all who believe that our communities deserve access to comprehensive health care.”

APALA Executive Director Alvina Yeh added, “We are proud to have Delegate Tran as the first Asian American woman to win a seat in the Virginia House. Like my family, Delegate Tran came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam in the 1970s. Because she knows what it’s like for working people and immigrants in the U.S., Delegate Tran has been fighting to create more opportunities for immigrants, secure equal pay for women, expand Medicaid in Virginia, and much more. As part of the blue wave that hit Virginia and other states across the nation this past midterm election, Delegate Tran is part of a powerful group that threatens the GOP. Inciting hate and targeting her family is not how the GOP should legislate.”

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance stands with Delegate Tran and her family.

Delegate Tran will be hosting a town hall this Saturday, February 2, 2019 from 1:00-3:00PM in Lorton, VA. We invite the AAPI community and the broader progressive community to join APALA DC to attend and show support. If you would like to carpool and attend with the APALA DC Chapter, please fill out this form.

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Press Releases

APALA Denounces Trump’s Fabricated State of Emergency

APALA Statement on One-Year Ban of H2A and H2B Visas for Filipino Workers

APALA Stands with Delegate Kathy Tran and her Family

For Immediate Release

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