New — but definitely not improved. That was Senator Patty Murray’s reaction to President Donald Trump’s newly announced travel ban to replace his earlier one that was halted by a federal judge in Seattle, a decision that was then upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court.
Washington state’s senior senator minced no words Monday in her rejection of Trump’s newest executive order on foreign visitors to the U.S., which is still aimed at Muslim majority countries but no longer includes the nation of Iraq.
“No matter how many games President Trump plays with the language of this executive order, it is clear that these attempts to slam the door on Muslim immigrants and refugees are un-American, they won’t make us any safer, and they are flat-out wrong,” Murray said.
“Millions of people across the country have stood up and made their voices heard to oppose this hateful and divisive ban in the weeks since President Trump first announced it — and we’re not going to give up now,” she added.
“President Trump should work with us to focus on actually keeping our families safe, not on dangerous, divisive, and hateful actions that betray our American values and would hurt women and children fleeing horrific violence across the world,” Murray said.
Murray strongly condemned Trump’s original executive order on immigration that was announced in late January as “hateful, unconstitutional and in no way reflecting our nation’s values.”
Back home in Washington, she met with a local family affected by the ban at Sea-Tac International Airport immediately after it was put into place on Jan. 27. Murray also co-sponsored two bills to block President Trump’s harmful ban on refugees, visitors and immigrants, and when the Ninth Circuit Court upheld a Seattle judge’s action to block the order, Murray called it “a victory for the millions of us in Washington state” who stood up and made their voices heard.
She also spoke on the Senate floor after the original executive order was announced and shared deep concerns with the Trump administration’s policies — including the executive order.