Ivanka Trump on Wednesday called the plight of refugees around the world a “global humanitarian crisis” and for countries to come together to solve the problem.
“I think there is a global humanitarian crisis that’s happening and we have to come together and we have to solve it,” Ivanka Trump said in an interview with NBC that aired Wednesday morning.
“That has to be part of the discussion, but that’s not going to be enough.” @IvankaTrump on opening borders to Syrian refugees in US pic.twitter.com/iIuI9ZXPYq— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 26, 2017
This year, the United Nations said the world is facing the greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945. More than 20 million people across countries in the Middle East and Africa are at risk of famine and starvation, said Stephen O’Brien, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator.
President Trump’s daughter said that opening the borders to let refugees into the U.S. “has to be part of the discussion, but that’s not going to be enough in and of itself” to fight the crisis.
“I’m incredibly hopeful that legislation is put together,” Ivanka Trump said.
The Trump administration banned the entry of refugees for 120 days and halted immigration from six (previously seven) Muslim-majority nations. The administration said the ban was put in place due to security concerns. The six nations were previously identified by the Obama administration and Congress as “countries of concern” over terrorism.
Ivanka Trump, a strong advocate of her father’s, said “My father’s focused on the top level issue. How to counter terrorism, how to stop the issue that continues to happen rather than deal with purely the aftermath.”
The first daughter, during her first official visit to Germany as part of the Trump administration, fought back criticism of her role in the White House and being called the “first whisperer.”
“I don’t like the intonation of that. … I don’t like the word ‘accomplice’ because in this context I don’t know that that’s productive,” Ivanka Trump said.
