In meeting with Markey prior to his confirmation, Secretary Kelly stated opposition to targeting Muslims

Boston (January 29, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today called on new Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly to denounce and rescind the recent order from President Donald Trump that suspends entry of all refugees into the United States for 120 days, blocks the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries into the United States for 90 days, and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely.
 
In a meeting with Senator Markey before his confirmation, Secretary Kelly, a retired Marine Corps General, stated his opposition to targeting Muslims and explained that his focus as Secretary would be on the deportation of those in the United States illegally who have committed serious crimes, not a shutdown of immigration into the United States based on national origin and religion.
 
“While the Executive Order will not reduce the threat of terrorism as the President claims, it has already reduced the moral standing of the United States in the eyes of its people and the world,” writes Senator Markey. “It is a recruiting gift to terrorist groups and will increase the risk of harm to Americans everywhere.”
 
“The Executive Order is already harming many in our home state of Massachusetts, as students, professors, and others affiliated with schools, hospitals, and research organizations — and their family members — are separated or stranded,” continues the Senator.
 
"Painfully, the President’s action calls to mind a shameful chapter in U.S. history when, in 1939, this country turned away a refugee ship carrying some 900 German Jews fleeing Nazi Germany,” concludes Senator Markey. “More than 250 of them would later die in the Holocaust.  Americans need to know that you will not support this Executive Order or other actions by President Trump that will take the United States back to those dark days, and that you will fight to have this un-American action undone.”

A copy of Senator Markey’s letter to Secretary Kelly can be found HERE.

 
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