Refugee Council USA Condemns President Trump’s Overnight Implementation of Refugee Ban
January 22, 2025
Washington, DC – This morning, reports surfaced of the State Department’s plans to implement the refugee ban overnight, canceling flights for refugees who were already booked for travel before January 27th, the effective date of the refugee ban executive order signed by President Trump on Monday.
“The indefinite refugee ban came early, a particularly cruel, unexpected, and unconscionable decision. This news shatters the dreams of refugees, who have already undergone thorough vetting by the U.S. government, and planning to reunify with loved ones and places children’s lives in danger who were waiting for flights to reunify with their parents in the United States. This refugee ban betrays our American values of compassion and welcome. Denying refuge to the persecuted is not who we are as a nation” said John Slocum, Executive Director of Refugee Council USA.
“Founded by communities of faith, welcoming refugees is a bipartisan, public-private partnership with unprecedented American support. RCUSA unequivocally condemns the Trump administration’s refugee ban and calls on our national, state, and local elected leaders to join the public outcry, urging a complete and immediate rescission of this harmful and immoral executive order.”
RCUSA previously denounced the anti-refugee executive order and released this letter to express our solidarity with refugees and forcibly displaced populations and to urge our elected leaders to protect our nation’s capacity to welcome.
Media contact: Mariam Sayeed, msayeed@rcusa.org
RCUSA is a diverse coalition advocating for just and humane laws and policies, and the promotion of dialogue and communication among government, civil society, and those who need protection and welcome. Individual RCUSA members do not all address all refugee-related issues, nor do all individual members approach common refugee-related issues identically.
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