National CAPACD Responds to the State of the Union:
Our Communities Deserve More

After a tumultuous first year marked by divisive rhetoric and exclusionary policies, the President’s State of the Union Address yesterday continued this Administration’s pattern of hostility towards immigrants and communities of color. The President failed to recognize how the immigration plan he put forth denies DREAMers the rightful opportunity to thrive in America and instead, attempts to criminalize immigrants who play an integral role in shaping American society.

Additionally, in his State of the Union Address, the President made claims of future federal investments in improved infrastructure. While no specific details of the proposed plan have been revealed, National CAPACD believes that any proposed infrastructure plan must be accountable to local community needs. New infrastructure investments must remedy, not reify, the displacement of low-income community members from high cost neighborhoods. This includes allocating public funding for the benefit of community residents, rather than for the benefit of private corporations.

In response to the State of the Union, National CAPACD’s Executive Director Seema Agnani stated, “The President’s agenda continues to disadvantage and harm communities of color, immigrants, and low-income Americans who struggle to feed their families, stay warm in the winter, and keep up with the rising costs of decent housing. We need policies that promote the quality of life for all Americans, especially those who have systematically been denied this possibility in our country.”