Governor Mike Pence of Indiana has refused to allow entry to two Syrian refugee families that were approved for resettlement in the U.S. and scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Over half of the country’s governors have said they will refuse entry to refugees. Concurrently, the mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, went as far as to cite President Roosevelt’s decision to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“This shameful rhetoric has no place in a nation that was built by immigrants and refugees,” said Steven W. Hawkins, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “The attacks that have been carried out across the world are horrifying, and those responsible must be brought to justice. But we must not disregard the human rights of those seeking sanctuary from the very same violence that we condemn.”
“Our security is not served by turning our back on the ongoing refugee crisis, but by ensuring the secure and orderly resettlement of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
