Because who can possibly forget the photo
of Alan Kurdi, the 3-year-old Syrian boy who was washed up on a Turkish
beach. Or Omran Daqneesh, the 5-year-old Syrian boy covered in blood as
he waited for emergency care after being rescued from a building in
Aleppo hit by an airstrike. These devastating images have become
symbols of the refugee crisis. We cannot let them symbolize our
inaction, too. The President's executive order creating this Muslim ban undermines
the foundational ideas of this country, a Nation founded by immigrants
with the intention of providing freedom, opportunity, and a better life
to all who seek it. Making good on one of his most extreme campaign
promises, the President signed this order with little or no input from
his own national security advisers nor from specialists at the State
Department, Homeland Security, or the Justice Department, once again
signaling his strong and continued dismissal of facts, evidence, and
advice from seasoned experts. Contrary to the President's misguided belief, Islam is not the issue,
and his decision to go after Muslims instead of terrorists only fuels
our enemies' propaganda. The President's Muslim ban undermines our
national security goals and is counterproductive in the fight against
terrorism. The ban jeopardizes our strategic partnerships with allies
in the Middle East who are on the very front lines in the fight against
ISIS. Asylum seekers and foreign nationals have provided invaluable
assistance to our military and diplomats in a variety of roles
overseas. I agree with Senators McCain and Graham, who said this ban
will become ``a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.''
Ultimately, this order is more likely to increase terrorist recruitment
than to deter it. Outrage over this ban extends far beyond national security and
counterterrorism experts. For example, we are seeing sharp criticism
from business leaders across the country, including CEOs of companies
like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Airbnb. They recognize that
immigrants play a huge role in fostering our Nation's entrepreneurial
spirit, advancing new technology, creating startups, all which spur
innovation and economic activity across the country. Universities and academics across the country are also grappling with
what the President's restrictions mean for their students and for
scholarship and academia more broadly. Students benefit from the
inclusion of all world views, which provide us with a deeper
understanding of science, the arts, economic policy, national security,
and all other aspects of our society. Let's be clear. My own city of Chicago has been and will continue to
be home to an immigrant and refugee community from all around the
world, and we are forever enriched and grateful for the contributions
that make this country great. I, along with the majority of American
people who took to the streets to make their opposition heard loud and
clear, demand that the administration rescind this shameful order
before even more grave and lasting damage is done. Let's call a spade a spade. Despite the White House's insistence that
this is not a Muslim ban, the policy laid out by the President will
almost exclusively impact Muslims. In fact, the President went so far
as to point out that this administration will prioritize the admittance
for Christian refugees. If this is not a religious test, then what is? Refugees of all faiths, creeds, race, and national origins have
looked to America as a beacon of freedom. So long as this ban is in
effect, that light shines less brightly. We will not etch a new
inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Keywords matched
immigrants Refugees refugee Asylum seekers immigrant refugees