We’re not backing down without a fight.

Just hours after his inauguration, Trump has shown us a dangerous and disastrous playbook that obstructs our nation’s hope for progress.

AAPI Equity Alliance condemns the slew of discriminatory executive orders – from the planned immigration raids on his first day in office to the unprecedented attack on birthright citizenship – and we are preparing for the reverberating impacts this will have on our communities.

We all belong in this country we call home. As the children of immigrants and refugees, our parents sacrificed everything for the future we’re able to live out today.

In fact, we owe it to Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese American who successfully asserted his right to citizenship as a person born in the U.S. and affirmed the constitutional right of birthright citizenship for all children born within the U.S., as established by the Fourteenth Amendment. Millions of children of U.S. citizens and green card holders as well as those of H1-B visa holders, asylees and refugees and so many others have benefited from the U.S. Supreme Court decision issued in 1898.

According to AAPI Data, Asians are the only racial group that is majority foreign-born (65%). This means our communities rely on pathways such as birthright citizenship to receive all the rights bestowed on other Americans, and we would be disproportionately impacted by this attack.

This order has huge ramifications for the children born in the U.S. to parents who may not be citizens or green card holders at the time of their birth; by preventing them from becoming citizens, it will strip them of federal benefits and services, blocking off access to school lunch programs, affordable healthcare, federal student aid, and other essential services that citizenship would grant them.

We must protect this powerful legacy and legal precedent that led to the AAPI community’s ability to live and thrive in the U.S.

In Trump’s America, vulnerable communities are seen as threats. But, history tells us that it is not the communities targeted, but the dangerous policies that threaten our safety and livelihood. We’ve seen it under the Naturalization Act of 1790, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Supreme Court’s 1923 ruling in US v. Bhagat Singh Thind, and the Asiatic Barred Zone Act of 1917 — all of which specifically banned Asian people from either immigrating to the U.S. or gaining citizenship.

AAPI Equity Alliance refuses to sit by while our community is at the expense of discriminatory policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric. We are firmly fortified in our commitment to protect AAPIs from harmful policies and hateful rhetoric targeting our communities.

We are here for you, and our member organizations and partners have resources to support your needs as we face a second Trump administration, together. Our Post-Election Resource Guide is now updated with legal, mis/disinformation, Know Your Rights, mental health, and anti-hate resources.

“They want you to feel powerless and surrender and let them trample everything and you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and neither am I. The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving.” – Rebecca Solnit

Remember: Our ancestors left their homes to build a better life in a foreign land, and they persevered. We carry on their indomitable spirit of resilience, strength, and hope. No matter what comes our way, we’re not backing down without a fight.

We’re not going anywhere.

In Solidarity,

The AAPI Equity Alliance team