FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2019
Contact: Jennifer Wang
(202) 812-9325 / jwang@napawf.org

Washington, D.C. – Tonight, President Trump gave his State of the Union address. Stacey Abrams then gave the Democratic Response.

National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum Deputy Director of Programs Jennifer Wang issued the following statement in response:

“Once again, the President has laid bare his malicious agenda against AAPI women and girls. His relentless attempts at stripping away the agency of AAPI women has never been clearer. Tonight, the President avowed to ask Congress to pass a draconian abortion ban, doubling down on his previous attacks that ranged from dismantling Title X, contraceptive access, and the Affordable Care Act, to his attempts to undermine immigrant access to health, housing, and nutrition by stoking fear in our communities.

“While he falsely claims of an ‘immigrant crisis’ at the border, families are being torn apart and systematically separated from each other due to targeted detention and deportation–such as the continuous deportation of Southeast Asian Americans who arrived in the US as refugees.

“Tonight, the President touted that there are more women working in the workforce than ever before. So we ask: will we finally see the wage gap closed, especially for those with the widest pay inequities? When will we raise the minimum wage for the women of color who are disproportionately represented in the low wage workforce? Will we finally get fairness for pregnant workers? When will working families have affordable child care options? Now, more than ever before, AAPI women and girls need these changes, and we call on Congress and the President to enact them.

“We applaud Stacey Abrams for her response to the State of the Union, telling her own story and her family’s story, and uplifting the lived experiences of some of the most marginalized people in this nation. She called for dismantling the border wall, promoting fair access to the polls for voters, expanding healthcare access, protecting LGBTQ rights, and raising wages for working-class Americans. She recognized that this country is made stronger with immigrants. We agree. She highlighted the alarming state of maternal health. We are likewise alarmed. The agency of AAPI women and girls will not be achieved if Congress and this Administration does not swiftly address the critical issues Stacey Abrams covered in her response.

“NAPAWF will continue to build power with AAPI women and girls to fight this administration’s continued efforts to silence and demean us by pushing policies that violate our agency to make decisions about our lives, our families, and our communities.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.