FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2017
CONTACT: media@cwsglobal.org | 212-870-2188
CWS STATEMENT ON TODAY’S SUPREME COURT DECISION ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER AGAINST REFUGEES AND MUSLIMS
“The SCOTUS decision today does not reflect our nation’s proud legacy of welcome, nor the strong support for refugees among the American people.”
The court agreed to hear the case regarding President Trump’s refugee ban later this Fall, and in the interim will allow his administration to suspend refugee resettlement for four months and ban immigrants and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries from the United States for three months. The justices ruled that individuals with a relationship with a family member or “entity” may still enter the United States during this time, which will include some refugees. Further clarity is being sought regarding if a refugees’ relationship with a resettlement office, faith organization, or community group may allow them to still enter during this time.
“The United States is committed to resettling the world’s most vulnerable refugees. The Supreme Court’s decision flies in the face of this commitment by restricting entry to refugees with certain connections to the United States. Some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees have no ties to the United States—including families with children fleeing war, violence and persecution. To make a U.S. connection a prerequisite for refugee admissions in our country is to jeopardize lives and deny safety to millions.”
“Enabling any variation of President Trump’s discriminatory refugee and Muslim ban to go into effect—even temporarily—is an imprudent, devastating blow to our fundamental values of justice and humanity. We will continue to use all measures at our disposal to fully rescind this un-American ban and urge our elected officials to exercise political courage in the face of this legal and humanitarian setback.”
“Together, our spirit will never yield to such exclusionary policies.”
Since 1946, Church World Service has supported refugees, immigrants and other displaced individuals, in addition to providing sustainable relief and development solutions to communities that wrestle with hunger and poverty. Learn more about our work and join our global homebase for refugee solidarity at GreaterAs1.org.
###