10/1/207 FIRM Opposes Trump’s Third Attempt at Travel Restrictions
St. Paul, Minnesota – October 1, 2017– FIRM, a group of immigrants and children of immigrants from the Philippines working for racial and immigrant justice in Minnesota, strongly opposes President Trump’s proclamation that restricts travel from the following countries: Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea, Venezuela and Chad. Many of these countries are predominantly Muslim. We at FIRM believe this is a bigoted ban that discriminates against people based on their religion and country of origin.
“We find it unacceptable that the US Government continues to turn away people who are fleeing the terror and horrific conditions of their homelands,” Maica Lelis, FIRM Board Member, states. “The people seeking refuge in the US are not dangerous criminals. In fact, for many of them, they are the ones whose lives are being threatened by terrorists. In many cases, the instability and violence they are fleeing is a direct result of actions by the U.S. or our allies, so we have a moral obligation to provide these innocent civilians with safe haven.”
Immigrants and refugees entering the US are thoroughly vetted prior to their arrival, which is demonstrated by the fact that no refugee has ever been convicted of an act of terror on US soil. As a pro-immigrant organization who believes in compassion and justice, FIRM calls on our courts of law to halt this unconstitutional ban whose roots have been shown repeatedly to be in anti-Muslim sentiment.
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FIRM is a non-profit and non-partisan organization founded in 2016 by a group of Filipinx community leaders in response to the rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and bigotry against marginalized communities.