The gathering at airports around the nation the last couple of days in protest to the Muslim Ban have been nothing short of inspiring, and a clear message that the people will fight every attempt to instill hate in this country. The executive order Trump signed Friday suspended resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely, suspended all other refugee resettlement for 120 days, and banned the entry of nationals from predominately Muslim countries- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen- for 90 days.
Trump's anti-Muslim policy is first and foremost unconstitutional. One of the principal beliefs of which our country was founded is that we have freedom of belief. The ban violates the first Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from preferring or disfavoring any religion, as well as the Equal Protection Clause, the part of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees that everyone is entitled to equal protection under the law.
Beyond being illegal, Trump's Muslim Ban is immoral and inhumane. He is turning away refugees- families, women and children- that have managed to survive a brutal civil war and are at risk of being killed. Closing our borders to anyone, let alone some of the most vulnerable people in the world is outrageous.
I hope that other cities across the nation follow suit and that we can collectively refuse Trump's illegal and inhumane immigration policies, and instead opt for inclusiveness and respect for individual rights, and stand together to fight for our Muslim brothers and sisters and those that seek refuge from the horrors that face them at home.
I have been hysterical the last couple of days over this brutal ban accompanied by those who were detained. But I continue to be so moved by how we have been banning together in such large numbers in resistance to hate and in support of those being attacked. As sad and as anxious as I find myself consistently these days, you all really act as a big shoulder to lean on, and proof that there is hope so long as we continue to fight. We are better than this, and we must continue to rise up and demand that our country lives up it's ideals, our individual ideals, of inclusiveness and equality for all. Refugees and immigrants are welcome here!
Thank you to the ACLU for your work in blocking this ban, to all the attorneys working pro bono to fight for those detained, and thank YOU for your continued activism. Stay loud!
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