DNC AAPI Media Director John Santos released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s plan to send 5,000 troops to the southern border:

“President Trump’s plan to send more than 5,000 troops to the southern border is a wasteful misuse of government resources designed to distract voters from the GOP’s failures to address issues like health care and stagnant wages that are important to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters.

“AAPI voters are increasingly alarmed of President Trump’s hostile rhetoric against foreigners and immigrants, especially since almost two-thirds of AAPIs are born outside of the country. While a majority of AAPI voters approve of providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and ensuring access to government services to all immigrants regardless of their status, President Trump’s administration has made a policy out of harassing and dehumanizing those who are coming to our country in search for a better life.

“We have seen this before: Faced with an inability to unite the country and to solve the major issues facing us, Trump time and again resorts to inflaming tensions and hatred towards immigrants. It’s vile and unacceptable, and American voters have had enough of it.”