Democrat lawmakers move House resolution condemning Trump’s remarks targeting Asians

Democratic lawmakers on Friday introduced a resolution in the US Congress condemning President Donald Trump's amplification of ''racist rhetoric'' targeting Indian and Chinese Americans.

The House resolution, moved by Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ted Lieu, and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, condemned Trump's amplification on Truth Social of a racist post by radio host Michael Savage attacking birthright citizenship.

''The post used derogatory language about India and China, questioned immigrants' loyalty, and trafficked in harmful stereotypes targeting Indian Americans and Chinese Americans,'' said the resolution co-sponsored by Congresswomen Grace Meng and Judy Chu and Congressmen Shri Thanedar, Suhas Subramanyam and Ami Bera.

On April 22, Trump shared excerpts from The Savage Nation talk radio show, in which conservative commentator Michael Savage said: ''A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet.''.

India described the remarks as ''obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste.''.

The resolution also reaffirms that immigrants of all backgrounds are vital to the strength and future of the US and comes amid rising anti-Asian hate.

It also follows growing concern from civil rights advocates that rhetoric targeting people based on national origin or ethnicity reinforces harmful stereotypes and fuels discrimination and violence, a statement by the lawmakers said.

''When President Trump amplifies racist rhetoric targeting Indian Americans and Chinese Americans, it sends a dangerous message at a time when both communities already face hate and discrimination. The President of the United States should be condemning racism, not fueling it,'' Krishnamoorthi said.

''From the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II to a sitting president amplifying claims that Indian and Chinese immigrants have 'no loyalty' to this country, the message has too often been the same: Asian Americans have been treated as perpetual foreigners, no matter where we were born, how long we've lived here, or how deeply we've contributed to this nation,'' Lieu, a Congressman of Taiwanese descent, said.

''I came to the United States when I was three years old and have dedicated my life to serving my community and my country. Racist, xenophobic rhetoric has no place in America. Immigrants strengthen this nation every single day, and no amount of hateful rhetoric from a racist president will ever change that,'' said Lieu.

''Disgusting, hateful rhetoric like this being promoted by the President of the United States will only add fuel to the fire as anti-Asian hate is already on the rise,'' Jayapal said.

''For more than five decades, our organisation has worked to protect and advance the civil rights of Chinese Americans and all Asian Americans. We know from our history that words matter,'' said Vincent Pan, Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action.

''Language that demeans entire nationalities and communities fuels prejudice, discrimination, and violence,'' Pan added.

''Anti-Asian hate-filled rhetoric has become a national pastime of President Trump. His ongoing racist tirade against Indian and Chinese Americans must stop now before more innocent people lose their lives,'' said Shakeel Syed, Executive Director of South Asian Network.

''We applaud this resolution for unequivocally condemning racist rhetoric targeting Asian American communities. At a time when hateful speech continues to fuel real-world harm, it is critical that our leaders speak out clearly and hold the line against discrimination in all forms,'' said Sim J. Singh Attariwala, Director of Anti-Hate at Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

''The US is home to 24 million Asian Americans. When President Trump uses his platform to attack birthright citizenship, he sends a clear message: that our communities are perpetual foreigners who do not belong in his vision of America,'' said Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate.

''And when he singles out Chinese and Indian immigrants, he puts all Asian Americans at risk regardless of immigration status. Make no mistake, this is not about national security. It's not about policy at all. It's racism and xenophobia masquerading as law, and we refuse to let it stand,'' Choi said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)