By Ken Camp / The Baptist Standard
This is an abbreviated version of the story. For the full story, click here.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 27 that temporarily halts the refugee resettlement program and suspends visas from several Muslim-majority countries, drawing immediate reaction from religious leaders.
The measure blocks visa applicants from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen until what Trump called an “extreme vetting” process is implemented, and it indefinitely bars refugees from Syria.
The ban on refugee resettlement includes a narrow exception for individuals who face religious persecution and are members of religious minority groups in their countries of origin. …
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“Today’s action is a back-door bar on Muslim refugees, telling an entire faith group that they are not welcome on our shores,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. “Any attempt to ban Muslim refugees based on their religion betrays our values and sends the un-American message that there are second-class faiths.
“Our country, founded by immigrants who established religious freedom as a bedrock principle, is better than this. A threat to anyone’s religious liberty is a threat to everyone’s religious liberty, and we as Baptists stand with those facing religious persecution around the world, regardless of their faith.”
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Click here to read the article on the Baptist Standard website.
