WASHINGTON, D.C. – Against the backdrop of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of championing human and civil rights, today, our country takes a significant step in the opposite direction as threats of mass incarceration, deportation and family separation have already started to be carried out. With the inauguration of Donald J. Trump to the U.S. presidency, the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) reaffirms its commitment–in MLK’s name–to democracy, inclusion, family unity, equal opportunity, and justice for all people.
Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “On this Inauguration Day, we understand the road ahead of us, and will not back away from our mission of ensuring all in our communities-including immigrants and refugees are welcome in our communities where they can live free of fear and discrimination. We fundamentally believe in keeping our communitie vibrant and whole-and we take Donald J. Trump at his word–that his policies will attempt to devastate our communities and the American economy through an agenda of discrimination, persecution, and brutality. We call on our champions, state and local elected officials to lead, grounded in moral courage as we face an era of chaos and extremism that threatens our democracy, our economy, and the well-being of our vibrant and welcoming communities.”
And yet, we know in the long view- this is merely another chapter in America’s history, and that the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. is still alive and within us. We trust in the power and resolve of our members and allies that has been built and has prevailed through several administrations and congresses. The National Partnership for New Americans and its 83 member organizations will continue to defend the right to belong, the process of citizenship, family reunification, due process, freedom, and democracy itself. Regardless of who is in the White House, we remain resilient, grounded in a vision of a nation where all people, including immigrants and refugees, are welcome and can live lives of dignity, opportunity, and free from discrimination and fear. This year while NPNA continues its advocacy to defend immigrants at the federal level, we will also support members leading state and local efforts across the nation.
Said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of California (CHIRLA) and NPNA Co-Chair, “We take every threat by President-elect Trump seriously. His laser-focused vitriol and animosity towards immigrants, documented or not, is clearly part of the fire that animates his presidency and many of his followers. And like we did in 2016, CHIRLA is preparing, coordinating, and collaborating with city, county, state, and national leaders and movements, and strategizing and uniting with allies and supporters, and educating and organizing our community and the public at large. The immigrant community of today is not the same as the immigrant community of five, ten, or fifteen years ago. What is certain today is that we’re more organized, we’re more prepared, we’re more resilient, united, and ready to face the incoming President and his administration.”
Said Lisa Sherman-Luna, Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and NPNA Co-Chair, “As we prepare for Trump’s continued scapegoating, demonization, and attacking of our community, we want to send a message loud and clear: Immigrants are integral to this country’s past, present, and future and we are here to stay. Whether in local businesses, schools, or neighborhoods, immigrants are woven into the very fabric that makes Tennessee, and the rest of our country, strong and resilient, and that doesn’t change with who sits in the Oval Office.
Our vision remains the same. Together, we will continue educating, fighting, and organizing for a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee, and country, where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive.
The road ahead may be dark, but we must draw strength and power from the decades-long fight for justice in our nation, the movement leaders who came before us, and how we collectively fought to defend our communities against the overreach of Trump’s past presidency. We know we are more resilient, united, and ready to face the incoming administration with power, not panic.”
###
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 83 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.