Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Tuesday morning that “there are tears in the eyes” of the Statue of Liberty following President Trump’s executive order temporarily barring travel from seven majority-Muslim nations.
“It’s anti-American in what this country stands for,” the Democrat, who supported Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.”
“The Statue of Liberty’s message is in fact one of open arms and welcoming people, and I do think that there are tears in the eyes of the statue at the moment,” Ms. Albright said. “And I do think that the whole aspect of this, in terms of deciding that our safety and security depends on keeping people out rather than welcoming people and understanding what this country is about.”
Mr. Trump’s order, which has sparked protests at airports across the nation since it was signed Friday, temporarily bans travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries with a history of terrorism — Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia and Libya. The order suspends all refugee admission for 120 days, and refugee admission from Syria is suspended indefinitely.
Ms. Albright said Tuesday that the order will not help protect the country from terrorists.
“It has not made America safer,” she said. “I think this was the most unprepared plan that I’ve ever seen in terms of the lack of coordination with other parts of the government. We’re seeing that every hour where various departments were not in fact notified.
SEE ALSO: Madeleine Albright ‘ready to register as Muslim’ to protest Donald Trump refugee policies
“Also, not clear about the unintended consequences of this decision,” Ms. Albright continued. “It has actually created more danger, because there are countries that are now in fact not able to cooperate with us in terms of intelligence sharing or generally mistrust. There’s going to be tit for tat where our people are kept out. For instance, we have troops in Iraq now, and so we have to worry about how they are going to be treated.
“I think it’s created chaos internationally,” she added. “I think it is one of the worst decisions And then blaming a whole religion for this is truly outrageous and un-American.”
In anticipation of the order’s signing last week, Ms. Albright joined a “solidarity” movement championed by the Women’s March on Washington.
“I was raised Catholic, became Episcopalian & found out later my family was Jewish. I stand ready to register as Muslim in #solidarity,” the former secretary of state tweeted to her 170,000 followers Wednesday afternoon.
“There is no fine print on the Statue of Liberty. America must remain open to people of all faiths & backgrounds. #RefugeesWelcome,” she added.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.