NYCLU Statement on Executive Orders Targeting Muslims and Refugees

On January 27, President Trump signed an executive order that suspended resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely, suspended all other refugee resettlement for 120 days, and banned the entry of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days. All seven countries are predominately Muslim countries.The executive order went into effect immediately, and people were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport last night. The New York Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union are working to determine the exact count of refugees and foreign nationals with green cards or visas who may have been detained when they tried to make their way into the United States.

Tens of thousands of people participated in mass protests at airports last night across the country. The ACLU challenged the executive order in a Brooklyn federal court, and last night Federal District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly issued a stay, preventing refugees and immigrants from being deported under the discriminatory policy. The constitutionality of the order has not yet been ruled on.

The following statement is attributable to Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU:

“The United States is not a country that should stand for religious discrimination or for putting the lives of vulnerable children at risk during the greatest refugee crisis since World War II. President Trump’s ban on the entry of people from Muslim countries and suspension of the entire U.S. refugee program goes against everything this country represents from the very day it was founded. We are proud of the ACLU’s victory in temporarily halting parts of the order, and of our lawyers for working with those whose loved ones are either detained or at risk. With the support of thousands who participated in mass protests around the country last night, we will never stop defending our values and our Constitution.”