Contact: Cindy Hoffman: 202 524 5330
choffman@ywca.org

Statement by Casey Harden, Interim CEO of YWCA USA

“Today’s executive order is a reworked version of the Muslim ban the president rolled out earlier this year. This updated immigration ban is still based on religious and ethnic profiling.

“The fact remains that renaming and re-framing institutionalized racism does not make it any less damaging. The United States must halt and dismantle our history of racial discrimination. We urge President Trump to take into careful consideration our country’s history, the importance of religious freedom, and the horrible outcomes of writing racism into law.

“As one of the largest networks of domestic service providers in the country, helping over 500,000 survivors and their families each year, we are deeply concerned that the Trump administration is handing abusers another tool of power and control. In addition to galvanizing racism and religious intolerance into public policy, this order will likely delay the processing of applications for immigrants and refugees who are victims and survivors of intimate partner violence and other forms of gender-based violence. We must break down systemic barriers between survivors and safety – not build them up.

“YWCA stands ready to help educate the administration on these issues of racial justice, and gender based violence.”

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