Washington, DC - The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) blasts the Republican driven tax bill that passed in both the House and the Senate with no Democratic support. APALA issued the following statement in response:

APALA 1st Vice President Kim Geron stated: "What the GOP has done will have dire consequences for millions of working people throughout the country, including the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Instead of passing a clean DREAM Act for undocumented youth at risk of detention and deportation, the GOP continues to prioritize the insatiable greed of corporations and billionaires at the expense of those fighting for their lives."

"The self-serving GOP is clearly out of touch with its constituents and their families who depend on crucial services like public education, healthcare and other essential public services," added APALA Executive Director Alvina Yeh. "This bill will increase taxes on working families in the long run while continuing to pad the pockets of the ultra-rich and feeding into the growing wedge of financial and racial inequity between the rich and the poor. As the budget is negotiated, it is critical that Congress include a clean DREAM Act that recognizes the invaluable contributions undocumented immigrants have on our communities. Without a clean DREAM Act, the GOP will continue to betray immigrant communities aligning itself with a white supremacist agenda."

Geron concluded: "We are sick and tired living in an economy that is rigged in favor of corporate and wealthy interests. We need every single vote in 2018 to rid Congress of elected officials who do not accurately represent the interests of the people. The GOP should watch out -- we are coming in full force. Our fight is not over."

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Washington, DC - The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) is outraged by the Supreme Court's decision to fully reinstate the third version of the Muslim Ban. APALA National President Monica Thammarath released the following statement:
 
"Six of the eight countries in this third iteration are Muslim majority countries. The reinstatement of the Muslim Ban is unacceptable at the highest level of our judiciary and will have disastrous consequences on our nation's values and moral fabric. In a time where communities of color, immigrants, and refugees are under attack, we must redefine the narrative of security in this country. To be non-white is to live in an un-safe world simply because of the color of one's skin. As an Asian American and Pacific Islander community, we understand the pain of xenophobia – from heightened surveillance of Muslim- or perceived-to-be-Muslim communities after 9/11 to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The Supreme Court is letting history repeat itself -- a stain that will go down in history during Trump's white supremacist, right wing era."

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Washington, DC - The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) blasts the GOP-backed tax bill, which the Senate passed early Saturday morning with no Democratic support.
 
APALA National President Monica Thammarath stated: "What the Senate has done is a shameful move to pad the pockets of the wealthy 1% at the hands of America's working and immigrant families. In addition to providing massive tax cuts for corporations, the tax scam threatens public education and affordable care and will exacerbate the growing income inequality in this country. Let's not be fooled by this ploy of 'trickle-down economics’ -- this is a power play of party politics to feed the insatiable corporate greed of the most powerful."
 
"When we look at who benefits most from the GOP tax bill, it's clear: wealthy, white men who continue to play politics that have dire and severe consequences on people's lives," added APALA Executive Director Alvina Yeh. "The tax scam is more than just a tax bill -- it affects low- and middle- income, immigrant families who are already facing serious attacks with the ending of DACA and TPS. The administration continues to wage war on our communities based on class, race, gender, immigrant status, and we cannot let this reprehensible moment today define our country's values."
 
"More than ever, we need to organize our communities to get the legislators who do not represent who we are as a country out of office for good. We refuse to work with the white supremacists in the Oval Office, and we remain committed to building political power for people of color throughout this country," concluded Thammarath.
 
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