Trump’s Backdoor Muslim Ban Is an Affront to America’s Core Values and the Constitution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2017

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

Trump’s Backdoor Muslim Ban Is an Affront to America’s Core Values and the Constitution

NILC and our partners will take the administration to court

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump today acted on his campaign promise to institute a Muslim ban, signing an executive order restricting people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for a period of at least 90 days. Trump also is halting most refugee admissions for 120 days—an action that includes an indefinite halt to admissions of Syrian refugees—and is adding screening requirements for all immigration benefits. Today’s order also slashes the number of annual refugee admissions from 110,000 to 50,000 for this fiscal year.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“Today’s announcement is a troubling turn in our country’s history. President Trump unilaterally imposed actions today setting forth an agenda that turns its back on some of the world’s most vulnerable populations and attempts to punish people based purely on where they’re from and what they believe. The National Immigration Law Center will not stand for any such discriminatory policy and we—along with our partners in the civil rights, Muslim, and immigrant and refugee communities—are prepared to take the administration to court.

“Policies that codify hate by singling out entire groups of people contradict our most cherished American values and defy the Constitution. History has shown us how these types of policies that single out communities based on religion or national origin not only inflict great harm on our communities, but are utterly ineffective at addressing national security concerns.

“On a day when we should all be reflecting on our past mistakes, Holocaust Remembrance Day, it would serve the president well to remember that our country’s past indifference and inaction led to the senseless killings of thousands of Jews who sought unsuccessfully to flee persecution in Nazi Germany. It is appalling that on this day, of all days, President Trump would take such heartless and harmful actions against people who have been displaced by horrific violence and abject poverty.

“History will judge us harshly for turning our backs on the most vulnerable because of our ignorance and fear. The National Immigration Law Center remains steadfast in using all of our resources and expertise to defend those this administration has decided to attack.”

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