Actress Angelina Jolie warned in an op-ed published Thursday that President Trump’s executive order that temporarily suspends immigration from seven countries could lead to a shift in how society views religious groups across the globe.
“If we send a message that it is acceptable to close the door to refugees, or to discriminate among them on the basis of religion, we are playing with fire. We are lighting a fuse that will burn across continents, inviting the very instability we seek to protect ourselves against,” Jolie wrote. “If we Americans say that these obligations are no longer important, we risk a free-for-all in which even more refugees are denied a home, guaranteeing more instability, hatred and violence.”
“What will be our response if other countries use national security as an excuse to start turning people away, or deny rights on the basis of religion? What could this mean for the Rohingya from Myanmar, or for Somali refugees, or millions of other displaced people who happen to be Muslim? And what does this do to the absolute prohibition in international law against discrimination on the grounds of faith or religion?” Jolie continued in the op-ed.
The filmmaker is a member of the special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In Jolie’s opinion, U.S. refugee policy should based on facts, not fear, because they are “often the victims of terrorism themselves.”
Jolie, a mother of six U.S. citizens who were all born abroad, recommended the U.S. government balance the needs of its citizens with its international responsibilities, though she did not explain what she views as Americans’ needs.
Jolie also cited a favorite Republican politician, former President Ronald Reagan, who said “America is committed to the world because so much of the world is inside America.”
“The lesson of the years we have spent fighting terrorism since Sept. 11 is that every time we depart from our values we worsen the very problem we are trying to contain. We must never allow our values to become the collateral damage of a search for greater security. Shutting our door to refugees or discriminating among them is not our way, and does not make us safer. Acting out of fear is not our way. Targeting the weakest does not show strength,” Jolie wrote.
The actress did not list any other option besides taking in refugees. Trump has recommended creating safe havens in the Middle East.
