News

Democrats denounce Trump’s actions barring refugees

Getty

Democrats resoundingly condemned Trump’s executive action on refugees and U.S. entry from several predominantly Muslim countries Friday. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said “tears are running down the checks of the Statue of Liberty” and called the order “backward and nasty.” 

Trump’s executive order bans Syrian refugees “until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made to the [U.S. Refugee Admissions Program] to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest.”

{mosads}His action also suspends the entire refugee program for 120 days, and also halts entry for visitors and certain visa holders from Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq for 90 days.
 
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and freshman Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said the order constitutes a “Muslim ban.”  

Warren called the move “a betrayal of American values.” 

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote in an Huffington Post op-ed that “Trump has now handed ISIS a path to rebirth.”

On Twitter, he shared a widely spread photo of a 3-year-old Syrian boy who drowned as his family attempted to migrate to Europe, along with the message: “To my colleagues: don’t ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today.”  

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) invoked the same image. 

“There is no legitimate national security reason to ban refugees — the vast majority of whom are women and children who have experienced absolute horror,” she wrote in a statement. 

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), whose name often comes up in 2020 speculation, called the order “fundamentally un-American.” 

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen called it “grossly inhumane.” 

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote on Twitter: “Shame. Shame. Shame. Today is a dark day. I feel sick.”

Trump’s action earned support from top Republicans like Speaker Paul Ryan, who wrote in a statement: “President Trump is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country.”

Tags Chris Murphy Chuck Schumer Dianne Feinstein Elizabeth Warren Jeanne Shaheen Paul Ryan

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See all Hill.TV See all Video

Most Popular

Load more

Video

See all Video