NEWARK, NJ – US Senator Bob Menendez issued the following statement in reaction to President Trump’s Muslim ban.

“With the stroke of a pen, President Trump’s action has undermined the core values that built this country. It is profoundly un-American to turn away those fleeing horrific violence and persecution or to discriminate against people based on nationality and religion. More than half of the millions of vulnerable citizens seeking refuge from Syria are children, who are today trapped between a brutal regime and violent extremist groups.

“Make no mistake, a ban on refugees from certain countries, paired with the preferencing of religious minorities, makes this a ban on Muslims.

“National security experts from across agencies and political parties have repeatedly affirmed that refugees are already the most aggressively vetted category of people coming to the United States and top Pentagon officials tell us this ban will be used as a rallying cry for violent extremist movements seeking to attack Americans and American interests.

“The issuance of this order on International Holocaust Remembrance Day shows President Trump’s disregard for the painful lessons of that horrific chapter of history.”

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