T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights condemned President Trump’s day-one executive orders on immigration, which promote his racist, xenophobic agenda by targeting and demonizing immigrants. The rabbinic human rights group denounced these executive orders as antithetical to democratic values and Jewish ethical teachings.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“As we had anticipated, President Trump used the first hours of his presidency to set in motion multiple harmful policies targeting immigrants and asylum seekers. He has suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, reinstated the dangerous ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, ended the use of the CBP One app — stranding thousands of migrants who had sought legal entry to the U.S. — and ordered the mass arrest and deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. Trump also sought to overturn the 14th Amendment by changing the terms of birthright citizenship, another attempt to punish immigrants without legal status.
“These actions are immoral. The assault on immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers threatens the lives and the safety of members of our communities, and of people seeking a better life in the United States. The American Jewish community understands that immigration policy can save and destroy lives. Many of our own family members arrived in this country seeking refuge from violence and discrimination. We know that the accusations now lobbed against potential immigrants echo those once used to close the gates of the United States to Jewish and other unwanted immigrants in 1924 — a policy that led to an untold number of deaths of potential refugees from Nazi Germany.
“In the Torah reading cycle, we are currently in the midst of reading the story of the exodus from Egypt. It’s a story in which our own experience as gerim – immigrants and strangers in a new land – shifts from one in which our ancestors find refuge from famine, to one in which the authorities turn against a people suspected of disloyalty. From this experience, we learn a series of laws aimed at protecting gerim in our own midst. The Jewish community has a long history of standing up for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, and we refuse to allow any authoritarian government sway us from this historic commitment.
“The story is not over. Court challenges to President Trump’s Executive Orders are already being filed. We are prepared to support partner organizations bringing these legal cases. And we are actively organizing our rabbis across the country to work in interfaith coalitions to combat the onslaught of harmful policies and legislation, and to protect immigrants in our own communities, cities, and states. American rabbis and cantors will remain in solidarity with immigrants, and will demand policies that reflect the dignity and rights of all individuals.”
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About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering our network of over 2,300 rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.