In reaction to Trump’s executive order, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families, issued the following statement:
“We are not fooled by President Trump’s so-called changes to the Muslim travel ban. This new executive order once again bans refugees from entering the United States and creates a de-facto religious test for immigrants, impacting both new immigrants and people who have been living in the country for years. The Trump Administration may have changed some of the language – but their goal remains the same. These heartless, Islamophobic policies aren’t based on valid security concerns because extensive vetting from these regions is already in place – but rather are rooted in prejudice that is antithetical to our nation’s values.
“We reject these divisive and racist policies. We teach our children to be inclusive, not to bully, and to treat other people as they would like to be treated. Our children learn in school that the rights of all people in our country, no matter their background, to live, love and worship as they will – are enshrined in our US Constitution. It’s time for our leaders to stand up for our U.S. Constitution and the true values of our nation.
“Taking away the basic rights of any group and building barriers between people, based on religion, race, or national origin, not only undermines the moral and economic strength of our nation, it creates an opening to undermine the rights of all other groups. To be clear, this policy is about human rights abuses in the name of immigration policy.
“We will be watching, too, to ensure that the ‘extreme vetting’ the Trump administration proposes after the 90-day waiting period is humane, nondiscriminatory and does not use religion, race or country of origin to deny innocent people the refuge they desperately need. That isn’t the America we want for our children. And we won’t stand for it.”
On Monday, March 6, 2017, the White House issued an immigration order restricting entry into the United States for nationals of six majority-Muslim countries and suspending all refugee admissions for 120 days. The “new” order removes Iraq from the list of Muslim countries whose nationals are barred from entry for 90 days and allows dual citizens, green card holders, and those with a valid visa to enter, but keeps the same restrictions from the January 27 executive order on those from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.
Established in 2006, MomsRising is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive.
