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) released this statement from Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930, in response to the acquittal of the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile in July 2016:
 
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Philando Castile. We are deeply upset that another Black brother’s murder has yet been brought to justice. The officer’s acquittal serves as a brutal reminder that our criminal justice system continues to fail Black and Brown folks. As people of color, we refuse to make normal the attacks on Black bodies for simply being Black as we continue to battle a system that bases criminalization on one’s proximity to blackness. Let us not forget that our freedom is indelibly tied to the freedom of Black folks everywhere. We call for justice for Philando Castile and will always say and live #BlackLivesMatter.

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​Washington, DC – Yesterday, the administration released its latest budget that outlined significant cuts to social welfare programs, tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, and increases to border security, immigration deportation funding, and law enforcement. The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) condemns this latest budget, which will widen the gap between the rich and poor and further enable a corporate, anti-worker, anti-immigrant, and racist agenda.
 
“We are not surprised by this budget – it confirms everything we have seen and knew would continue to happen,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “Our broken criminal injustice system already disproportionately impacts communities of color. With the government’s blessing for more agents and more detention beds, the private prison industry will continue to profit on the incarceration of Black and Brown bodies.”
 
APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana added: “Budget cuts to social welfare programs and the repeal and replacement of critical healthcare will be detrimental to millions of people and working families throughout the country. The budget serves only to line the pockets of the wealthy 1% while taking away essential services for struggling families and communities only trying to make ends meet. We are calling on Congress to put people over profit and resist this xenophobic and white supremacist agenda.” 
 
Hester continued: “As an immigrant myself, I am disgusted that more taxpayer dollars are going towards the mass criminalization and deportation of immigrant and refugee communities. Instead of investing directly into workers, students, and putting more people on the path to the middle class, we’re seeing moves to a more militarized state. This administration has repeatedly shown its relentlessness to destroy our democracy and the values of freedom and diversity we hold dear. That’s why it’s important now more than ever to resist, organize, and fight back against these oppressive tactics.”

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