National Council of Asian Pacific Americans Denounces Missouri Representative's Anti-Muslim and Anti-Refugee Statements

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) is outraged by Missouri Representative Mike Moon’s recent letter to the Missouri Speaker of the House regarding Syrian refugees that includes many xenophobic, discriminatory, and offensive statements.

In his letter calling for a special session, Missouri Representative Moon wrote:

I do realize that the refugees we should be scrutinizing most is one who professes the muslim [sic] faith. Unless I'm mistaken, a practicing muslim can do whatever is necessary for the "good" of the faith - telling "fibs" is a small part of what they might do. And, from what I've seen, a practicing muslim comes in all flavors (black, white, brown, yellow - American, African, European, etc. etc.).  A “white” lie could allow an individual to pass through the vetting process.

Missouri Representative Moon then recommended that “Our preference, as a nation, should be to place the refugees in camps so that they can be properly cared for and returned safely home when the time is right.” A Saint Louis news report compared this recommendation to internment camps during World War II, when 120,000 Japanese Americans were unlawfully incarcerated.

“We are increasingly troubled by the rise of anti-Muslim and anti-refugee sentiment, but it is especially unacceptable when elected leaders use discrimination as the basis for making public policy decisions,” said National Director Christopher Kang. “Discrimination based on xenophobia or religious bias strikes at the core American principle of equality and the diversity that makes our nation stronger. We must learn from the lessons of our past--not succumb to fear or dehumanize people by categorizing them as ‘flavors’ based on the color of their skin or discriminating because of their religious beliefs.”

We remind Missouri Representative Moon of the lessons learned from the illegal incarceration of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II--that sequestering people for their own safety is xenophobic and must not be tolerated.

NCAPA denounces Missouri Representative Moon’s comments and demands an apology for these offensive remarks.