Last week, the Trump administration released three new executive orders signaling the administration’s intent to double down on “tough on crime” policies that have fueled mass incarceration and police violence for decades. The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) and the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center (SEARAC) strongly condemn the latest executive actions, which send the message that this administration intends to scapegoat and criminalize communities of color, including Southeast Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, under the false pretenses of “public safety.”
 
The executive orders call for the attorney general, former Senator Jeff Sessions, to set up a “Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety,” and empower Sessions to report on whether existing laws adequately punishes individuals who commit crimes against law enforcement, opening the door to tougher sentencing laws.
 
The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to stoke fear among Americans by claiming that violent crime has surged when in fact, crime in the U.S. is at an all time low. The 2014 murder rate was lower than at any point during a 44-year period since 1965, and increased only slightly in 2015.[1] The orders also threaten to worsen relations between law enforcement and communities they serve as police could exploit their power over communities with little consequence. Further, it counter acts recent bipartisan efforts to address mass incarceration through sentencing reform.
 
“It’s not surprising that these orders came hand in hand with the newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose track record shows his opposition to worker, immigrant and civil rights,” stated APALA National President Johanna Puno Hester, Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “These ‘safety’ task forces that are to be created will make our communities less safe overall. We’re not fooled by these directives, and we will continue to resist, organize, and fight back.”
 
“What’s worrisome is the expansion of the police, military and prison state, where crimes--or those perceived to be--against law enforcement are more severely punished,” stated APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana. “The executive orders that seek to prevent violence against law enforcement represents an effort to institutionalize the misguided ‘Blue Lives Matter’ and ‘All Lives Matter’ platforms and could have disastrous consequences for our families and friends who encounter police whose power over our bodies will go practically unchecked.”
 
Quyen Dinh, Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, added, “As a community of refugees, Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese youth are subject to some of the highest arrest and incarceration rates in states such as California. Our community needs restorative justice policies that nurture trust between vulnerable communities and law enforcement. Instead, the Trump administration has chosen to drive a bigger wedge between them. We call on Congress to reject baseless fearmongering and get back to work finding solutions that will make our communities stronger through new models of restorative justice, police accountability, and community healing.”
 
For more information on our criminal justice work, please check out the “AAPIs Behind Bars: Exposing the School-to-Prison-to-Deportation Pipeline” by APALA, SEARAC, Advancing Justice Los Angeles, Asian Prisoner Support Committee, and the National Education Association.

Honolulu, Hawaii – Last Monday, on December 12, members of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) National Executive Board and staff convened a roundtable with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) to discuss the importance and alignment of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) issues within the broader Asian American community as it relates to mass incarceration and economic justice. 
 
Convening at CNHA member organization Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Center for its work to connect children with their mothers in the system, roundtable speakers included Michelle Kauhane, CNHA President and CEO; Annelle Amaral, member of Hawaii Paroling Authority and president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Oahu Council; and a formerly incarcerated staff member at the center who graciously shared her story of reentry into society.
 
“The school-to-prison pipeline undoubtedly disproportionately affects Native Hawaiians as well,” commented CNHA President & CEO Michelle Kauhane. “40% of Hawaii’s inmate population is Native Hawaiian. We need to be looking at the root causes of our overly incarcerated population – lack of a living wage, poor public schools, an unfair criminal justice system.”
 
APALA National President Johanna Puno Hester added: “It is so important that we include Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in all policy discussions including efforts to reform the criminal justice system because there is so much alignment with the incarceration of Asian American folks more broadly. Even still, NHPI populations also experience different strains like being separated from their families as brothers and sisters are sent to do their time on the continental U.S.”
 
“We’re so excited to welcome Michelle Kauhane to APALA's advisory committee on NHPI issues, co-chaired by APALA National Executive Board Members Executive Secretary-Treasurer Josie Camacho and State Director of the United Public Workers, Dayton Nakanelua,” added APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana. “Hawaii has the highest density of Asian American and Pacific Islander union members, and with this newly formed committee we hope to better voice the perspectives of the NHPI community in our advocacy, organizing and movement building.”
 
The APALA National Executive Board passed a resolution reaffirming our commitment to uplift Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander issues. To view the full resolution, please click here. APALA continues to advocate for a reformed criminal justice system through AAPIs Beyond Bars, a coalition of labor, education, civil rights, and criminal justice organizations addressing mass incarceration and deportation in the AAPI community. 
 

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The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO was founded in 1992 as the first and only national organization for Asian Pacific American union members to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights. For more information, visit www.apalanet.org and follow @APALAnational
 
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the well being of Hawaii through the cultural, economic, political and community development of Native Hawaiians.