John,
As a first-generation Chicana daughter, I refuse to stay silent after Trump’s disgusting comments on Somalis and Somali Americans.
I refuse to abide by a leader who says things like this to an entire diaspora of people:
“Go back to where they came from.”
“I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you.”
“[The country will] go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage."
These weren’t comments behind closed doors. Trump and his entire MAGA base feel comfortable enough to say things like this in a Cabinet meeting packed with media.
Emboldened by a lack of repercussions, Trump is saying the quiet part out loud and what he’s saying has moved far beyond mere dog whistles.
This is open racism and xenophobia at an unprecedented level. Words have weight, and Somalis and Somali Americans are in real danger thanks to Trump' s comments. Trump is also planning to flood the streets of Minnesota with ICE agents to continue their inhumane raids.
We’ve seen the damage and terror that ICE agents brought to cities like Chicago and right here in my home of Los Angeles. Let’s not let them do the same in Minnesota.
Immigrants of all backgrounds MUST be welcomed in this country. Immigrants bring life, beauty, culture, and so much more to our communities and the very minimum they deserve is to be treated with humanity and respect.
I know the pain of watching your people be treated like trash all too well. When I was 15, my family was ripped apart when my father was deported, and my sisters and I were raised by our single mother in northeast LA. That trauma and that history has never left me and it shapes all of the work that I do to this day.
I’m in solidarity with every single Somali and Somali American Trump has hurt with his words and intends to hurt with his actions. I stand in solidarity with every immigrant and child of immigrants who chases a dream for a better future in America.
I am with you, searching and fighting to make that dream a reality.
In solidarity,
Angela
