Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison did not mince words criticizing President Trump’s immigration executive order Monday, calling it a “Muslim ban” and an attack on American values.
“This is not about American national security,” he said on MSNBC. “This is about prejudice. This is about singling people out.
.@keithellison on Trump's travel ban: It's absolutely a Muslim ban https://t.co/kvnWBBdXcj— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) January 30, 2017
Trump’s executive order banned immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries temporarily and blocked all immigration and refugees from Syria indefinitely. Legal permanent residents from the affected countries were stopped and detained as well over the weekend before a court blocked parts of the order.
Thousands protested the order at airports and in major cities around the country, and Ellison said it’s clear what the administration is trying to do.
“This is a Muslim ban and we should focus on that … our country doesn’t do that,” the Minnesota Democrat said.
He added, “How can we say this is not a Muslim ban when the president said he wanted a Muslim ban?”
Ellison, the only Muslim member of Congress, said it concerns him that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on Sunday other majority-Muslim countries could be added to the list of blocked countries in the coming months.
“Religious tolerance is a core American value,” Ellison said. “Donald Trump has broken that core American value and that is a problem.”
