[liberationtech] Price of the #MuslimBan

[Yosem Companys]

From: Leila Janah <leila at lxmi.com>

Hi there,

I've tried to avoid commenting too much on Trump's election to avoid
demonizing Republicans and people in my network who support him.

But at a certain point, policy transcends politics. No one can avoid
speaking out against Trump now that he's made our country hostile to
immigrants, refugees, and people of diverse faiths.

President Trump's ill-conceived ban on refugees and immigrants from
several majority-Muslim countries attacks the rights of legal US
residents and heightens, rather than reduces, the risk of radical
Islamic terrorism.

The immigration ban pits America against our allies and lowers our
standing in the world, making our companies less competitive (Google
cofounder Sergey Brin went to SFO to stand with protestors) and
destroying our reputation as a progressive business leader attracting
the world's top talent.

Halting the US refugee program puts tens of thousands of lives in
needless peril. As it is, we admit far fewer refugees than much
smaller countries, like Germany, Turkey, Lebanon, and Kenya.

Refugees are not free-loaders seeking to cause trouble. Refugees are
Holocaust and genocide survivors, victims of extreme religious and
political persecution, and families broken by violence.

We are a nation whose strength comes from our compassion and
diversity, whose core philosophy welcomes the many waves of immigrants
who have always made our country great.

We are not Trump. We are not hate, bigotry, and persecution. It is our
collective obligation to do whatever we can to ensure that religious
diversity and our (relatively tiny) refugee program aren't sacrificed
for the political purposes of an increasingly erratic leader.

Hours after the #MuslimBan, a mosque was set on fire in Texas and
thousands of people had flooded into US airports to protest the
immigration ban. Is this "making America great again?"

If you're as appalled as I am, take action now in two ways:
1. Donate to the ACLU (www.aclu.org) which funds legal campaigns to
protect the fundamental rights Trump threatens. If you can't donate,
follow the ACLU and share their content across your social networks.
Entrepreneurs Tony Fadell and Chris Sacca have pledged to match
donations up to $100K if you tweet them your receipts.

2. Subscribe to the New York Times and uphold solid reporting of these
issues. President Trump has repeatedly bullied journalists and
attacked the Times. Truth matters.

We are all complicit in this if we don't take a stand. Let's fight for
the America we believe in.

Leila