On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Duckworth Responds to Trump Blocking Refugees Fleeing Danger

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement regarding the executive order signed by the President today to restrict visas from several Muslim-majority countries and halting the Syrian refugee resettlement program, which offers a small number of highly-vetted human beings fleeing terrorism and a murderous regime.

"As a child, I witnessed the refugee crisis borne out of people fleeing the Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao in Southeast Asia with my own eyes. I'm proud that our nation acted during that crisis to take in refugees, but I remain motivated by the knowledge that we could have done much, much more. The Statue of Liberty isn't engraved with do not enter signs, it is proudly emblazoned with 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.' This is a quintessential American value and though we've not always lived up to our ideals, the President would do well to remember that we cannot afford to turn our backs on them, especially today-Holocaust Remembrance Day.

"We are a nation that leads with strength-a nation that knows 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself'-not a nation that cowers in fear when faced with difficult choices. The America that I know is not one that slams its doors on families and children fleeing barbarism and terror, but one that shines brightly as a beacon of hope for all human beings. Giving in to our fears, as the President has done, is not the action of a strong country. Today's order will ultimately serve to weaken our own national security, playing into our enemy's hands and helping convince another generation of young people simply seeking safety that America is at war with them."

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