The moment that the administration confirmed yesterday’s Executive Order had taken effect, chaos ensued at American airports as people in urgent need of protection were sent back to the dangerous situations from which they escaped. President Trump’s action was so hasty that it blocked Iraqi arrivals who sacrificed their own personal safety to support American troops abroad and tore apart families eager to be reunited.

We must stop the implementation of this reckless and discriminatory order so that we can address the panic that this harmful decision has caused around the world. We fear for the children who make up half of those seeking refuge in the US, those who have supported American troops and all of the families that have to worry about losing their loved ones to the terrorists that we seek to defeat.

The Administration must recognise the need for expertise from those who have made refugee resettlement into the success story that it has become over the last 60 years, including the Departments of State, Homeland Security and Defense. Lives are at stake and history will judge us based on what we do in this moment to save innocent refugees who are depending on our decisive action.

Read more about refugees and resettlement in the U.S.