Angelina Jolie is the latest celebrity to voice outrage following the implementation of Donald Trump’s travel ban.
On Friday, Jan. 27, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order to blocks citizens from Muslim-majority countries including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya from entering the United States for 90 days, as well as indefinitely suspending the admission of Syrian refugees into America.
Chaos erupted in airports globally as pre-approved refugees were barred from flights into the United States and detained if they had already landed at airports in U.S. cities.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s response to President Trump’s travel ban was to welcome anyone “fleeing persecution, terror and war” to Canada, writing: “Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.”
In response to Trump’s widely criticized executive order the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jolie, has penned an impassioned op-ed piece for The New York Times.
In her essay Jolie points out that “refugees are men, women and children caught in the fury of war, or the cross hairs of persecution. Far from being terrorists, they are often the victims of terrorism themselves. The global refugee crisis and the threat from terrorism make it entirely justifiable that we consider how best to secure our borders. Every government must balance the needs of its citizens with its international responsibilities.”
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The mother-of-six went on to reference her own children who are “all born in foreign lands and are proud American citizens.”
She added: “I very much want our country to be safe for them, and all our nation’s children. But I also want to know that refugee children who qualify for asylum will always have a chance to plead their case to a compassionate America. And that we can manage our security without writing off citizens of entire countries — even babies — as unsafe to visit our country by virtue of geography or religion.”
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“We must never allow our values to become the collateral damage of a search for greater security,” she concluded, before reiterating that laws must be implemented based on facts, no fear. “Acting out of fear is not our way. Targeting the weakest does not show strength… We have to make common cause with people of all faiths and backgrounds fighting the same threat and seeking the same security. This is where I would hope any president of our great nation would lead on behalf of all Americans.”
Also speaking out on behalf of refugees is fellow Hollywood heavyweight, Ben Stiller, who recently met with Syrian refugees on a humanitarian trip to Jordan.
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