WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, led a virtual press conference on March 10 with the Minnesota State Asian Pacific Caucus and Minnesota-based community organizations to highlight the devastating impacts of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies on Asian communities.
Meng was joined by Minnesota State Rep. Ethan Cha, chair of the Minnesota Asian Pacific Caucus; Minnesota State Rep. Liz Lee, secretary of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators; Xay Yang, executive director of Transforming Generations; Quyen Đình, executive director of Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC); Chhaya Chhoum, executive director of Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN); and ThaoMee Xiong, executive director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
“Forty people have died in ICE custody since the president took office last year,” said Meng. “These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader pattern of lawlessness and moral decay that has come to define the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and it is our communities that are suffering.
“We must rein in DHS and take every action to protect our communities, like passing the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act, which would end the deportation of Southeast Asian American refugees and provide a pathway for them to live and work in the United States. CAPAC is proud to champion this legislation.”
“I am a refugee from Laos who became a naturalized citizen in 1990,” said Cha. “Today, I’m serving as a legislator in the Minnesota House. Yet the fear of being targeted by masked, anonymous agents is very real.
“Just last year, Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman was murdered, and Sen. John Hoffman was shot 12 times by a person in an unmarked car and uniform. The threat to our communities is real, and people are living in fear, worried that they might get picked up by federal agents.”
“My people consider being Hmong to be synonymous with being free, because of our resilience and survival, despite a history of persecution from ruling governments in the many places where we have migrated for thousands of years,” said Lee. “It deeply saddens me that Trump and federal leaders are choosing to mark the 250 years of our beautiful country by undermining our democracy and taking away our human and civil rights.
“For the Karen communities in my district and across Minnesota, the loss of Temporary Protected Status and the burden of immigration re-vetting interviews are placing immense strain on families. We will continue to organize and gather to ensure that all of our legal rights are observed and respected.”
DHS’ racial profiling and aggressive enforcement practices have resulted in trauma, family separation, and death.
Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar who was nearly blind and spoke no English, was found dead in New York days after Border Patrol agents left him outside of a closed doughnut shop miles from home.
Chongly Scott Thao, a Hmong American and U.S. citizen, was unjustly dragged from his home in Minnesota by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents following a warrantless search and forced to stand in freezing temperatures wearing only his underwear.
In the wake of Operation Metro Surge and Operation PARRIS, Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in Minneapolis are living in fear, afraid to leave their homes without carrying their passports and worried they could be detained or deported at any moment. ICE agents have reportedly asked Minnesota residents to tell them where their Asian neighbors live.
“Southeast Asian communities are being systematically targeted. Immigration enforcement knows where they live,” said Yang. “People are not getting the medical support they need, workers are refusing to go to work, and families are living in hiding. Survivors of violence and refugees who fled war are being retraumatized. That’s no way to live.”
“Southeast Asian American communities have been dealing with ICE violence for decades, with more than 15,000 people living under deportation orders to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam,” said Đình. “We know that the problem isn’t new — but the scale is. In 2025 alone, nearly 900 individuals were deported to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, compared to an average of about 90 per year between 1996 and 2023.
“Together, we must continue fighting against increased funding for DHS and instead advance progressive policies like the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act (SEADRA) to build an America that truly honors our full humanity.”
“We are seeing an escalation unlike anything we have seen before, with community members being kidnapped, detained, and displaced to third countries,” said Chhoum. “Deportation is the ultimate failure to the refugee resettlement program. Our community deserves to remain together and not be displaced so many times in this lifetime.
“As we continue with the SEDRA campaign, we call for accountability to make sure refugees fled from war in Southeast Asia are protected.”
“Southeast Asian refugees came to America hoping to find peace,” said Xiong. “Instead, we find ourselves once again living in fear and terror because federal agents are breaking into our homes without judicial warrants.
“ICE and DHS may not be as visible as they were two weeks ago, but the violence continues in a very covert way, which no democracy should be allowed to partake in. We must hold the administration accountable for the civil rights violations that they are committing.”