ANCA issues statement on President Trump’s Immigration Executive Order

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has issued a statement regarding the January 27, 2017, White House Executive Order on immigration, titled, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States”. The statement says the Committee remains concerned regarding the developing situation surrounding the White House’s January 27 immigration Executive Order, both at the level of U.S. policy and in terms of this action’s impact on Armenian individuals and families.

The ANCA continues to engage relevant stakeholders – including Congress and the White House and recommends those Armenians whose relatives or friends have been detained at U.S. ports of entry or who have been blocked from re-entry to the U.S. to contact the Committee immediately and inform about their situation. Moreover, the ANCA urged the Armenians from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, who are not U.S. citizens, to refrain from leaving the U.S., due to the increased risk that they will be denied re-entry, regardless of their immigration status.

The Committe reminded that they are regularly consulting with civil and legal rights organizations. “As Americans of Armenian heritage – a community of proud immigrants, many descended from the families of Armenian Genocide survivors with roots in Syria, Iraq, Iran and other countries cited in this order – we remain deeply concerned by the moral, legal and humanitarian implications of these new restrictions,” the statement says.

On January 27 Trump signed an executive order on restricting the entry of citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen to the country for 90 days. The ban applies to the citizens of those countries regardless of whether they have a residence permit, Green Card or Visa.