Thread by @AndyKimNJ

I’ll never forget the feeling when I learned that my own government questioned my loyalty. Before Congress I worked in diplomacy at StateDept. I once received a letter banning me from working on Korea issues just because of my last name. I was stunned. (THREAD) #StopAsianHate

I had previously worked in Afghanistan for State. I had a top secret security clearance. But here was a letter saying we don’t trust you. What confused me more is that I didn’t even apply to work on Korea. The StateDept was proactively telling me they didn’t trust me. 2/13

And it wasn’t just me. I learned that other Asian Americans at State had same thing happen. It was called “assignment restrictions” - a bureaucratic way of saying “failing loyalty test.” politico.com/amp/news/2021/… 3/13

I thought to myself how I was born here in America. I don’t even speak Korean well at all. I have relatives in South Korea but I barely know them. I kept asking Why did my government not trust me? 4/13

I understand security concerns all over the world. I understand that I share a last name with a brutal dictator. That’s why I endured grueling clearance processes multiple times. But once I received a Top Secret clearance, why this letter? 5/13

I raised my concerns about this letter to more senior people at State and was advised by several to not make a fuss about it since I wasn’t actually interested in working on Korea. They missed the point. I wasn’t thinking of my career path, I was thinking of respect. 6/13

I started to feel like maybe I didn’t have a place in government. I started to think about quitting. Everyone keeps saying our diversity is our strength. That letter from StateDept said otherwise. How do I do foreign policy if my own government treats me like I’m foreign? 7/13

StateDept and our government as a whole needs to confront the lack of diversity in its ranks. We need a government that looks a lot more like the rest of America. And State is meant to be a place where we show rest of the world our diversity. 8/13

And now in the aftermath of the brutal mass murder in ATL, we as a nation must confront the xenophobia, discrimination that AAPIs experience. I wanted to show as we turn to Gov right now to fix these problems, that Gov itself has problems we must fix. 9/13

Pres Biden and VP Harris went to Atlanta yesterday to shine a light on the rise in AAPI hate. Now they have an opportunity to make sure the 20 positions at DoJ are reflective of the country they keep safe. More than 100 open positions at StateDept. 10/13

This and next year will see elections at all levels of govt; we should lift up AAPI and other minority voices by encouraging our community to register, vote and run. To hold those in power accountable for their words. 11/13

In 2018, I stepped up to run for Congress. Many people told me I had no chance to win this seat because it is over 80% White with less than 3% Asian. But I won’t let others define what I am or am not capable of accomplishing and what jobs I am allowed to do for my country. 12/13

In 2019 I was sworn-in as the then only Korean American in Congress. Now I sit on Foreign Affairs Committee with oversight over StateDept. I will now demand that we fix this problem, working with @TedLieu and others. And we will press for more fixes across our Gov and nation(END)