WASHINGTON — Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), and CAPAC Chair Emerita Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) issued the following statement on Aug. 26 in response to a right-wing political podcast advocating for the incarceration of Chinese Americans during a hypothetical war with China:
“As Chinese American members of Congress, we are appalled by recent comments made on a pro-Trump podcast while discussing a hypothetical war with China. The panel made deeply disturbing statements, arguing that ‘it seems like we should’ send Chinese Americans to incarceration camps and that it is difficult to ‘tell where their allegiances are.’
“These comments invoke centuries-old racist tropes that cast Chinese Americans as perpetual foreigners and question their loyalty to the United States. Such rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence against Chinese Americans and those perceived to be Chinese, and contributes to a climate in which one in five Americans are currently concerned about Chinese Americans posing a threat to U.S. society.
“To call for a return to one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history — the incarceration of more than 120,000 American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II —i s dangerous and unacceptable. This kind of rhetoric has no place in our country and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
During an episode of the video podcast “Tim IRL,” co-host Ian Crossland said, “If there was a war between the Chinese and the Americans, and the Chinese landed in, like, Alaska and started coming through Canada … Do you think we should intern all the Chinese Americans we can find? Because it kind of seems like we should.”
The Japanese American Citizens League released the following statement on June 28: “Yesterday, JACL was made aware of comments made on the ‘Timcast IRL’ podcast discussing the possibility of the mass incarceration of Chinese Americans in the event of a hypothetical war with China. The episode featured co-hosts Ian Crossland and Phil Labonte, commentators Chris Karr and Kevin Smith, and included troubling remarks questioning the loyalty of Chinese Americans, comparisons between incarceration camps and ICE detention centers, and references to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
“While JACL strongly supports freedom of speech, invoking the incarceration of Japanese Americans to suggest that another ethnic group could or should face similar treatment is both ignorant and dangerous. The U.S. government has formally acknowledged the incarceration of Japanese Americans as a grave injustice, a chapter in our nation’s history that will forever symbolize what can happen when fear and prejudice are allowed to overcome our commitment to constitutional rights and our shared humanity.
“Americans must never be afraid to stand against injustice. Today, JACL stands with the congressional leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) in denouncing these statements and challenging those who made them to understand the history they invoke, recognize the harm of their words, and do better.”