Value Our Families Denounces Trump’s National Emergency Declaration
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February 15, 2019—Washington, DC—The following is a statement from Value Our Families following President Trump’s national emergency declaration:
Trump’s remarks and action declaring a national emergency is an astounding display of xenophobia and racism. It is a reckless stunt to rile up his base and endanger our democracy and countless communities along the border.
There is no national security emergency at the border, and yet Trump is fear-mongering to justify wasting billions of dollars on an immoral border wall. The real crisis is Trump’s self-made humanitarian crisis that separated and jailed thousands of immigrant families.
Trump continues to spew anti-immigrant rhetoric while systematically attacking our nation’s immigration system. Today, he used the term “chain migration,” a deeply offensive and dehumanizing word used to inaccurately describe our family-based immigration system. Family-based immigration, family reunification, and the diversity visa program are crucial parts of our immigration system.
We cannot allow our nation’s immigration policies to be hijacked by false nations of security and nationalism. We urge Congress to protect our border and immigrant communities and to end this so-called “national emergency.”