FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Trita Parsi

Phone: 202-386-2303

Email: tparsi@niacouncil.org

Washington, DC – The National Iranian American Council released the following statement regarding reports that President Trump plans to issue an Executive Order tomorrow banning refugees and visa holders from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States:

“Donald Trump is making good on the most shameful and discriminatory promises he made on the campaign trail. He called for a Muslim ban and is now taking the first steps to implement one. This will not stand. The American people are better than this.

“This Executive Order is a fundamental challenge to what America is supposed to represent. Many Iranian Americans, like most Americans, immigrated here for a brighter future based on the promise that America has represented for centuries. Donald Trump appears intent on throwing that America away and taking us down a slippery slope towards a dark future. We never imagined that the U.S. would become a country that bars its doors and formally condones xenophobia.

“The Iranian American community has already faced targeting thanks to Trump. In 2015, after Donald Trump called for a ‘Muslim ban,’ Republican lawmakers slipped language into legislation to bar dual nationals from Iran, as well as Iraq, Syria, and Sudan, from the Visa Waiver Program. Now, our relatives will face a ban on coming to this country at all, and later will face ideological tests. “We agree with the goal of making America safe from terror, but a blanket ban based on national origin does nothing to achieve that objective. Even if this were the right approach, it is notable that the list doesn’t include Saudi Arabia and would have done nothing to prevent 9/11 or the other terrorist attacks committed by radical Wahhabi jihadists in the US. But it does include Iran – from which no national has committed a terrorist act in America. “This is discriminatory. This is un-American. And last but not least: This is dangerous as it pits Americans against Americans while undermining the very principles of inclusivity and tolerance that define America. We will not be silent and will use every resource at our disposal to fight these shameful actions and protect the values and people who make America great.”

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