Trump Presidential Proclamation is a Repeat of Chinese Exclusion Act

Washington, DC - OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is extremely disturbed at President Trump’s Proclamation banning all present and future Chinese STEM students in the United States. The administration’s claim that these students are selling national secrets and information to the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) in China is baseless and xenophobic. Following President Trump’s categorical ban on asylum seekers and worker visa suspension in recent months, it is clear that the administration is capitalizing on a chaotic national situation to implement drastic and inhumane immigration bans.

“Banning Chinese international students in our universities sends a clear and harmful message to Asian Americans” states Rita Pin Ahrens, OCA’s Executive Director. “In 2011, Congress came together to express regret over the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first ever ethnic-specific ban. Yet not ten years later, the President and Members of Congress are using xenophobic fear tactics and conspiracy theories to openly discriminate. By scapegoating an entire ethnic group with unfounded claims, this proclamation further entrenches institutional racism against all people of Asian descent.” 

Join OCA in our open letter to the Trump Administration addressing this blatant attack on students in the United States, for which the sign-on deadline has been extended to the end of business day on Wednesday, 6/3/2020. Sign on for your organization or chapter, or as an elected official here: https://bit.ly/securecampusform 

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

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