WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the one-year mark of President Trump’s second term, the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) denounces the administration’s continued assault on our democracy and communities. Over the past year, in an attempt to remake the composition of America in a white nationalist vision led by Stephen Miller, this administration has expelled foreign-born individuals and their children and violated the rights of U.S. citizens while simultaneously dismantling legal immigration pathways, including decreasing refugee admissions by 600 percent and prioritizing the resettlement of white Afrikaners. 

After Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abducted and detained tens of thousands of people in ICE’s deadliest year on record, the administration is beginning its second year by banning travel from 36 countries, overwhelmingly targeting potential visa applicants from Black and Muslim majority nations through an indefinite pause, and further indefinitely pausing new visa applications for 75 countries. These actions and policy changes have undermined public safety, civil rights, family unity, economic stability, access to healthcare, diplomacy, and democratic norms at the expense of immigrant and refugee communities—and all Americans.

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “We are experiencing the most lawless, reckless, and damaging governance in the nation’s history, bolstered by an extremist anti-immigrant agenda. Now, the nation watches our government fall to stunning levels of corruption, erode democratic and diplomatic norms, and undergo a violent takeover of our cities. America’s reality reads like a scene from 1930s Germany.”

“But, the people will not be distracted by the day-to-day chaos intended to divert our attention from the failures of this administration. Voters have realized the depth of collateral damage, and it is our duty to oppose a fascist takeover of the United States at the hands of Donald Trump and his shadow president, Steven Miller. We will not back down from our vision of inclusion despite this era of intimidation, retaliation, attacks on our freedoms, and the assault on our Constitutional protections.

“We envision a democracy that guarantees due process, ensures public safety, and enables everyone—regardless of their or their family members’ birthplace—to reach their full potential. Until this vision is fully realized, we will continue to exercise our rights—as patriotic observers in Charlotte, Chicago, Minneapolis, and more have courageously done. Our democracy has, and will always be, worth fighting for.”

###
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 88 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.