WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) released the following statement today after President Trump signed an executive order intended to block the issuance of visas to individuals coming from predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq. The order, while portended to prevent terrorists from entering the United States, will predominantly impact refugees fleeing these impoverished and war-stricken regions.
“In recognizing today as Holocaust Remembrance Day, Donald Trump released a statement that reads, in part, ‘we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.’
“Just hours later, Trump signed an executive order blocking thousands of refugees from seeking safe-haven in the United States. To shut the doors on the weakest and most desperate on the planet is to set a policy in direct contradiction to the heroism Trump praised just hours earlier. The United States of America has never known a politics as toxic as this. We’ve never had a leader craven enough to praise the very bravery in others that he refuses to exhibit in himself. Donald Trump’s cowardice defines our national policy and reflects on our values for as long as he holds office, and I hope for all of our sakes, and for the sake of desperate refugees, that time period is as short as possible.
“Trump got one thing right in his statement: Dark times do allow lights to shine bright. We saw that with the Women’s Marches in Washington, across the country, and around the world rejecting his hate. We see it with the twitter accounts popping up thanks to public servants in federal agencies who refuse to cow to Trump’s gag orders. And we see it in the press – the often maligned journalists whose work of holding a dishonest administration accountable has never been as important as it is right now.
“Collectively, we all refuse to cower under Trump’s shadow. The stain he has placed on the White House cannot outlast the good in humanity that is shining past him each and every day. People will undoubtedly perish as a result of this executive order. I am committed, as I believe the vast majority of decent people across this country are committed, to ending this horrifying policy as soon as humanly possible.”
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