Sen. Bellows signs letter denouncing Trump’s anti-refugee, anti-Muslim order
HALLOWELL — Sen. Shenna Bellows, D-Manchester, joined other elected officials as well as community members and clergy from the capital region in denouncing President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting refugees from around the world and lawful travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
The Capital Area New Mainers Project reached out to Sen. Bellows and other officials, urging them to sign a letter to President Trump. The letter was signed by more than 400 elected officials, organizations and individual residents of towns in the Greater-Augusta area. many of whom gathered at Mainly Groceries in Hallowell, a new business owned and operated by Khalid Zamat, an immigrant from Iraq.
“In signing a tragic order banning refugees from seven countries, President Trump set aside the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including the Fourteenth Amendment, ” Sen. Bellows said. “It is constitutionally and morally wrong for our nation to single out lawful refugees in this way.”
“We as a nation are stronger because of our immigrants both yesterday and today. We owe it to them and to ourselves to stand up against these tragic orders and for the Constitution,” Sen. Bellows said.
Other Senate Democrats who signed the letter are: Sen. Brownie Carson of Harpswell, Sen. Ben Chipman of Portland, Sen. Geoff Gratwick of Bangor, Sen. Dave Miramant of Camden and Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic.
The letter reads:
Dear President Trump:
As residents and community leaders in Maine’s capital area, we raise our voices to condemn your executive order that suspends entry by refugees into the United States and prohibits all travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations. We urge you and our elected officials to act immediately to lift the travel ban and to restore and strengthen the refugee program for people of all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds.
We strongly support the immigrants and refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries who have settled in our area. We welcome them into our community and view them as “New Mainers” – people who bring much-needed energy, vitality, and diversity to help our communities grow and thrive.
Like the rest of America, Maine was built by immigrants. From Syrians, Lebanese, and French Canadians in the late 19th century to Somalis, Iraqis, and Afghans in the 21st century, immigrants have come to Maine to clear forests, work in the mills, and establish businesses. Their energy, labor, and entrepreneurial spirit have strengthened our state.
But we in Maine also know about religious hatred and xenophobia. Know Nothings burned Catholic churches in the 1840s, the Ku Klux Klan attacked Catholics across our state in the 1920s, and Somali Muslims faced discrimination in the early 2000s. We do not want to repeat this shameful past. That is why we reject your efforts to target racial and religious minorities today.
This executive order is hateful and harmful, and it violates the spirit of our country. America proudly proclaims to be “the land of the free and home of the brave.” We must live up to that ideal. We must not cower in fear and let ignorance dictate our policies. We must not stand idly by as the world faces the most serious refugee crisis in history. We must stand bravely to welcome immigrants of all religious faiths into our communities.