APALA National President Monica Thammarath of the National Education Association commented on Trump v. Hawai’i: "We are outraged and refuse to allow history to repeat itself. This ruling is a stain on the wrong side of history during Trump's white supremacist, right wing era. As an Asian American and Pacific Islander community, we understand the pain of xenophobia – from the heightened surveillance of Muslim- or perceived-to-be-Muslim communities after 9/11 to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Our fight for a world free from discrimination and hate has just become that much more difficult, and we join together with thousands across the country to denounce this ruling that will have disastrous consequences on our communities and our nation's values and moral fabric. We will not be banned."
APALA Executive Director Alvina Yeh commented on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, et al.: "The SCOTUS ruling that validated Ohio's 'use it or lose it' practice to purge voter rolls is deeply disappointing and problematic. This aggressive practice is especially harmful for communities of color and workers who might face a variety of obstacles to voting, from language barriers to transportation issues to inflexible work schedules. In other words, there are many reasons contributing to low voter turnout, but that should not mean that voters should be removed from the rolls. States should be making it easier to vote, not creating more barriers to it. We are outraged that such blatant voter suppression continues to happen and remain resolute to registering and turning out the vote for our communities."
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