Bread for the World Statement on Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees
Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World issued a response today to President Donald J. Trump’s executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days. The executive order also places a four-month moratorium on new refugees from entering the country, and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees.
The following statement can be attributed to Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World:
“Our country has a moral imperative to receive those in need, no matter what religion they follow or where they are from. The United States has the most rigorous refugee screening process in the world. Placing a moratorium on new refugees entering the country, and indefinitely banning Syrian refugees, will only lead to more hunger and hardship, and inevitably the death of innocents.”
Bread for the World’s 2017 Hunger Report Fragile Environments, Resilient Communities, explains how state fragility – which is often the result of war, poor governance, and climate change – stands in the way of ending hunger and extreme poverty, and has led to the refugee crisis in Syria and elsewhere we see today.
Beckmann added, “Preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. will tear apart families and leave countless people in a state of legal limbo. This action reeks of bias against Muslims and will work in favor of those who would do us harm. Our country is better than this.
“Bread for the World sees these actions as a hunger issue, especially since the seven countries are among the poorest in the world. When people are driven from their homes they go hungry. When families are torn apart they suffer. The effects of war and malnutrition can impact a child for his or her entire life. These actions are making the situation worse for families fleeing war and famine.
“Demonizing immigrants, and promoting deep divisions in society are contrary to God’s love and contribute to the persistence of hunger and poverty. We urge President Trump to immediately withdraw this order and call on him as president to live up to our nation’s ideals of inclusion and to foster respect for all people.”
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