February

15, 2017
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump:

We, the undersigned, members of the Presidents Advisory Commission on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) resign from our appointments effective immediately. We sent to
you a letter on 1/13/17 stating the goals and principles that defined our work as Commissioners
but have received no response. Although the Commissioners' term ends 9/30/17, we can no
longer serve a President whose policies aim to create outcomes that are diametrically opposite
to our principles, goals, and charge.

Under Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, the charge to Commissioners has been to help the
federal government better serve AAPIs by engaging our communities, identifying our needs and
priorities, and increasing access to our government. The Commissioners have engaged with
AAPIs throughout our country, from all walks of life, and across the political spectrum using the
following principles that are fundamental to our work:

Protecting the civil rights of all those living in our country, including the most vulnerable;
Respecting the unique attributes of all individuals and communities;
Promoting family values by keeping families together and reuniting those separated by
immigration; and
Ensuring linguistic, cultural, and financial access to health care as well as economic and
educational opportunities for all.

We firmly believe these principles are fundamental to our nation and need to be implemented
and enforced at all times. Since your Inauguration, the Executive Orders you have issued and
policies you promulgated have greatly impeded the ability of the federal government to serve
all who live here. Specifically, your actions have had the following deleterious consequences for
AAPIs and for all Americans:

Proposals to cut federal resources to sanctuary cities will harm all residents of those cities
by reducing support for critical municipal services such as police, fire, health, and
emergency services. These actions will fuel tensions between native-born Americans and
immigrantsregardless of their status. Two out of three AAPIs are immigrants.

Bans on refugees and those coming from the seven predominantly Muslim countries have
torn families apart, have created confusion about our immigration and visa policies, and
have created tension with countries that we need to better understand. By singling out
individuals, families and communities for their religious beliefs, your actions create a
 religion-based test for entry into our country and threaten freedom of religion, a
fundamental constitutional right. Banning Muslims bans members of our AAPI community.

Increased border and immigrant enforcement, as well as building a wall between Mexico
and the United States, will not improve the security of our country. Rather, it will split
working families apart, severely impact companies and their workforce, and exacerbate
tensions with a key ally and trading partner. Many AAPI individuals and businesses depend
on good international relations for personal and economic reasons.

Repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will harm at least 20 million Americans who were
previously uninsured, two million of whom are Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and
Pacific Islanders, along with millions more who benefited from key provisions of the ACA.

In addition to these actions, we object to your portrayal of immigrants, refugees, people of
color and people of various faiths as untrustworthy, threatening, and a drain on our nation. The
fact is that Native Peoples, immigrants from all parts of the world, and people of color have
built this country. Among the Commissioners, there are immigrants, refugees, and descendants
of those who have experienced systematic discrimination. We, and the communities that we
represent, have worked diligently to make America great and have fought to keep it free. We
have and will always strive to ensure that America, our America, will never go back to the days
of exclusion, segregation, and internment all policies which have severely impacted AAPIs.

AAPIs are an integral part of the mosaic of our great country and have been since the 1500s.
We share the same dreams as other Americans for a stronger, brighter and more inclusive
America. We urge you and every member of your Administration to respect all Americans by
protecting civil rights and civil liberties for everyone, promoting broader dialogue and
understanding, and keeping the federal government accessible to all people living in the United
States regardless of their status as citizens, immigrants or refugees.

Sincerely,


Tung T. Nguyen, MD, Chair. Vietnamese American, San Francisco, California
Mary Okada, Co-Chair. Chamorro American, Guam
Michael Byun, Commissioner. Korean American, Akron, Ohio
Kathy Ko Chin, Commissioner. Chinese American, Oakland, California
Jacob Fitisemanu, Jr., Commissioner. Samoan American, Salt Lake City, Utah
Daphne Kwok, Commissioner. Chinese American, Annandale, Virginia
Dee Jay Mailer, Commissioner. Native Hawaiian, Honolulu, Hawaii
Maulik Pancholy, Commissioner. Indian American, Brooklyn, New York
Linda Phan, Commissioner. Vietnamese American, Austin, Texas
Sanjita Pradhan, Commissioner. Nepalese American, Des Moines, Iowa

cc: Secretary Betsy DeVos, Department of Education
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, Co-Chair, White House Initiative on AAPIs