New Trump Ban Continues to Target Muslims and Betray American Values

President Trump has issued a new ban that suspends the refugee resettlement program and bans entry to the United States for nationals of six Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya – with few exceptions, such as for current visa holders. The ban also maintains a cap on resettlement of refugees that is less than half of the resettlement level directed by President Obama. The order revises an earlier ban that has been rejected by federal courts.

The following statement is attributable to Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union:

“President Trump’s new executive order once again violates the very principles on which the United States was founded and uses phony rationales to openly discriminate against people on the basis of their religion, while at the same time abandoning refugees during a time when the United States should be demonstrating its leadership by offering assistance to some of the world’s most vulnerable and desperate people.”

“It’s deeply disappointing that the Trump administration has failed to learn the basic Constitutional principles that led to the rejection of his first Muslim ban by the federal courts. Religious freedom and equality are two of the hallmarks of our country and our laws, and we will fight to defeat his discriminatory policies again and again.”