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National Partnership for New Americans Calls for Trump’s Impeachment to Hold Administration Accountable and Prevent More Violence

WASHINGTON –  In response to the introduction of an article of impeachment against President Trump in the U.S. House of Representatives this morningNicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership of New Americans, a coalition of 41 immigrant and refugee rights organizations, released the following statement:

“Congress must move swiftly to impeach Trump to prevent more bloodshed, to hold him accountable for inciting insurrection, and for the last four years of division and destruction.

The assault on the Capitol last Wednesday was not the first time that the Trump administration caused death and abandoned the basic principles of democracy and decency.  Hundreds of its policies have led to asylum seekers’ deaths and irreversibly damaged the lives of immigrants and refugees, all while sowing demagoguery and disunity. Attempting to overturn the democratic results of the presidential election last week with the support of dozens of Congressional members and street mobs was a new low taken straight out of the coup and political destabilization handbook that the United States has perfected in Latin America and throughout the world.

The police response, or lack thereof, to the insurrection at the Capitol demonstrated the disparity in how police respond to protesters and rioters. Compared to Black Lives Matter protestors, who were peacefully demanding the full human and civil rights of Black people in Washington, D.C. and across the country, the treatment of rioters in this case echoed our country’s dark history of white mobs terrorizing Black communities with police impunity. 

Congress now has a moral and historical responsibility to formally condemn Trump’s incitement of insurrection last week and his incitement of violence and racism in the previous four years. This is necessary for accountability and for turning the page as we look toward a new era of leadership in the White House. It is also necessary as an acknowledgment that what Trump has done to the country is unacceptable.”

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The National Partnership for New Americans is a national multiethnic, multiracial organization that represents 41 of the largest regional immigrant and refugee rights organizations in 37 states. Its members provide large-scale services for the communities, to leverage their collective power and expertise for a national strategy. More information about the New American Voters 2020 campaign is available at http://newamericanvoters2020.org/