- Hans Van de Weerd, chair of the Refugee Council USA and a vice president for the International Rescue Committee, also one of the VOLAGs in the business of resettling refugees, said: “These are frightening days for refugees and testing days for America. What we’ve learned about the proposed Executive Order is that it abandons this country’s long-standing message of tolerance. If President Trump insists on turning his back on those who try to flee terror, it is inhumane and irresponsible.
“This Executive Order sets a terrible example for the rest of the world. It is important to understand the potential consequences of the Executive Order and their harmful nature. This will create a situation where thousands of families will lose their access to opportunity and security. Here in the U.S., it would leave Muslim families and communities in uncertainty over whether they will ever be reunited with their loved ones.
“To us, it seems the decisions of the administration are ill-informed and hasty, built on false premises and ‘alternative facts.’ Refugees are not terrorists and it is absurd that this [Executive] Order seems to blame them for the terror they are trying to flee.”
- United Farm Workers National Vice President Diana Tellefson Torres, said in a statement:
“Any type of refugee ban for any period of time is appalling and in direct opposition to long-held American values. Seeking refuge in the U.S is most often the last resort for those who face genuine risk of persecution and can’t return to their countries from which they fled. This ban not only turns America’s back on the world’s most oppressed people, it also undermines our nation’s founding principles. We are a nation of immigrants, a nation that has historically offered refuge to the oppressed. The UFW Foundation and UFW will continue standing firmly with immigrant and refugee families, and denounces today’s executive action.”
Trump’s temporary refugee ban is ‘Un-American’
MoveOn.org issued a statement on Trump’s “Un-American Muslim ban and suspension of Refugee Program.” Ilya Sheyman, executive director, said:“Trump’s executive order banning refugees and creating a de-facto religious test for immigrants is cruel and un-American. This heartless and anti-Muslim act is not based on any legitimate security concern—but rather fear-mongering and prejudice.
“Make no mistake: This is a Muslim ban in all but name. A ban that may cost thousands of men, women, and children their lives and will endanger America.”
She compared the Muslim refugees to Jews trying to escape the Holocaust.
“To make this announcement on Holocaust Remembrance Day, when Americans are called to reflect on how our country slammed the door on Jewish refugees, sending them back to their deaths in Nazi Germany, is proof that Trump’s cruelty, racism, and dismissal of history knows no bounds.
“We will fight this Islamophobic and dangerous proposal.”
Lesbians for refugees
The National Center for Lesbian Rights issued a statement calling Trump’s order “an attack on American values.” Executive Director Kate Kendell, said: “The announcement today represents a direct attack on our most cherished values as a nation. To single out Muslim persons for stigma and suspicion undermines our commitment to inclusion, religious freedom, and our common humanity. Today that Lady of Liberty, symbol of America’s greatest promise to the world, hangs her head and weeps.”
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee or PCCC called the executive orders “hateful actions” and co-founder Stephanie Taylor piled on with the following statement:
“This is not what America is about. We stand strongly against these hateful actions, and in solidarity with our Muslim and immigrant neighbors. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Trump handed our economy over to billionaires and bankers, these new policies are fueled by hate and contradict what America is all about. The rest of us want an America where families of all colors and creeds are united in our desire for good jobs, safe communities, and a secure future for our kids. We know which side we’re on.”