Author
Aarti Kohli
Executive Director
Aarti Kohli
Executive Director
This Martin Luther King Jr. Day reminds us that the fight for civil rights demands both bold vision and concrete action. Today, as the new administration issued executive orders targeting Asian and immigrant communities, we chose action. I'm proud to share that the Asian Law Caucus and our partners have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the administration's unconstitutional attack on birthright citizenship. While these orders are designed to create fear and chaos, we want you to know: we are prepared, we are united, and we are fighting back.
The orders announced today echo dark chapters in our nation's history - from the Chinese Exclusion Act to the incarceration of Japanese Americans under the Alien Enemies Act to the sweeping surveillance and profiling of Muslim Americans after 9/11. Politicians have long used false claims about public health, safety, and national security to target and exclude communities of color. Today’s Proclamation explicitly uses this same language of ‘public health, safety, and national security’ to justify widespread restrictions and suspensions of rightful entry. Against this racist rhetoric, we are forging a different path, one that will build a country that upholds our values and our common humanity.
Our communities have shown remarkable courage throughout history, in the face of exclusion, surveillance, and discrimination. Our clients are workers, tenants, caregivers, and leaders across their communities. Tomorrow, they will go to work, care for their families, and continue contributing to our collective wellbeing and safety- just as they have always done.
Here's what we are doing:
1. We are taking immediate legal action. Today, along with the ACLU, the ACLU of New Hampshire, the Legal Defense Fund, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and other partners, we filed a lawsuit challenging the administration's attempt to end birthright citizenship - a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment that our communities fought hard to secure in 1898.
2. We are carefully monitoring and preparing to challenge harmful orders, including:
- The threat of a reinstated ban against our freedoms to move, travel and be with our loved ones, targeting people from Muslim-majority and other countries
- Attacks on sanctuary jurisdictions that are keeping communities safe and families whole
- The dangerous plan to invoke the Alien Enemies Act against our rights, the same law used to justify the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans
3. We have assembled a rapid response team of legal experts and community advocates who understand our communities' specific needs and concerns. We will provide accurate, timely information about your rights and any changes in policy in multiple languages.
We are stronger than fear. We have built networks of support, legal expertise, and community power. By joining together, we can all take action for a country of justice and belonging:
- Stay informed through our verified channels and speak up against unjust policies
- Share accurate information with your networks in multiple languages
- Support our sustained legal fights
Dr. King showed us that meaningful change requires both legal advocacy and community organizing. Our ancestors and elders demonstrated this through decades of strategic litigation and grassroots mobilization. They faced exclusion laws and incarceration - and they persevered through unified action. Today, we continue their work.
Together, we will protect our communities and advance justice.
