“With several executive orders this week, President Trump has brought shame upon the United States and its rich humanitarian legacy. He has put the lives of refugees, most of them children, fleeing for their very lives, in danger once again. His orders barring individuals holding green cards and visas has created a humanitarian crisis and thrown our nation’s airports into chaos. He has now established a religious test for our Nation, in spite of his denials of the truth once again, by ordering that a Christian refugee child is more important than a Muslim refugee child. This is not only obscene, but must certainly be against the Constitution of the United States which Mr. Trump only one week ago publicly vowed to defend.
“Mr. Trump has singled out Muslim-majority countries for this ban ostensibly because they have produced terrorists who have attacked the United States. Yet he exempts the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from which came the greatest number of these terrorists, and some other countries, where he owns businesses, in an utter conflict of interest with security of the United States. Mr. Trump’s order betrays those who assisted our Nation in the war on terror sending them back to lands where their lives are certainly at risk.
“Trump’s orders are fundamentally inhumane and reckless. They are un-American and unconstitutional. These orders can only put our Nation, our citizens, and our allies at greater risk.
“Mr. Trump has also threatened to cut off federal funding to “sanctuary” cities, where government officials are defying the President’s anti-immigrant attacks to uphold the Constitution and preserve the peace. But we commend mayors in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and beyond, who are declaring their cities sanctuary cities in defiance of Mr. Trump’s unconstitutional and immoral directives. We demand that leaders in other American cities where our members live and work do the same.
“As the Union of hospitality workers, including thousands of workers at airports across the US, we welcome travelers and refugees from across the globe. We are proud to serve you. For the sake of our families, the people we serve and the values our nation holds so dear, we will fight President Trump’s un-American attacks on travelers from Muslim countries and immigrants of any ethnicity, race or creed.
“In the coming days and months ahead, Maria Elena Durazo, UNITE HERE’s General Vice President of Immigration, Civil Rights and Diversity, will be leading our Union’s fight against this illegal and immoral policy.”
