[Peace] NIJC: Senator Kirk's Proposal to Reject Syrian Refugees Betrays Illinois' History

[Robert Naiman]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tara Tidwell Cullen
ttidwellcullen at heartlandalliance.org
(312) 660-1337; (312) 833-2967

*SENATOR KIRK’S PROPOSAL TO REJECT SYRIAN REFUGEES BETRAYS ILLINOIS’
HISTORY OF WELCOMING THE PERSECUTED*

*Statement of Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, Heartland Alliance’s
National Immigrant Justice Center*

CHICAGO (February 5, 2016) — Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant
Justice Center (NIJC) condemns Senator Mark Kirk's (R-IL) call
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for a moratorium on Syrian refugees. Senator Kirk's actions betray
Americans’ moral values and compassion for people seeking safety from
persecution and war, and defy Illinois’ history of welcoming refugees and
immigrants.

Our country’s immigration system has evolved through a constant negotiation
of how we uphold our commitment to providing refuge for people fleeing
violence, with the need to defend our national security. Refugees are
subject to the most stringent security and screening measures of any group
seeking to enter the United States. Promoting the categorical exclusion of
any group based on their nationality reveals a shameful ignorance of both
U.S. immigration law and foreign policy, and neglects the disastrous
cultural and security impacts that would be wrought by such policies. Using
the lives of vulnerable people as fodder in election year politics is
shameful and dangerous.

In this time of crisis, Illinois must remain a compassionate voice for the
men, women, and children who are fleeing Syria. To know the terrible
violence they face, and turn our backs on them, is unconscionable.

*Link to this statement: *
*http://immigrantjustice.org/press_releases/senator-kirk-proposal-reject-syrian-refugees-betrays-illinois-history-welcoming*
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*With offices in Chicago, Indiana, and Washington, D.C., Heartland
Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center is a nongovernmental
organization dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to
justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through a unique
combination of direct services, policy reform, impact litigation and public
education. Visit **immigrantjustice.org*
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*.*



*Connect with NIJC:*



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