Post submitted by former HRC Communications Campaign Director Brandon Lorenz

Today, HRC released the following statement after media reports that President Donald Trump will follow up his executive order to start construction of a border wall with an executive order to suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and create further obstacles for all people seeking to enter the U.S.

“President Trump’s attacks on immigrants and refugees are a direct assault on America’s most fundamental values,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Donald Trump’s unjust and unconscionable executive orders make life more dangerous for countless LGBTQ people, and could equal a death sentence for those trying to escape violence and persecution from places such as Syria. No wall, no matter how high, can block America’s promise of liberty and justice for all.”

Countless LGBTQ refugees fleeing violence in countries like Syria and Iraq will suffer from the executive order to suspend the refugee admissions program. The executive order will prevent refugees from escaping some of most violent regimes in the world. HRC’s report, “Helping LGBTQ Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Age of ISIL,” highlighted how men alleged to have sex with men are hunted down by ISIL, targeted on social media and subjected to extreme violence. Among the vicious attacks: ISIL has tied nooses around these men’s necks and dragged them behind trucks, burned them alive, thrown them off buildings and stoned them to death.