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PHR Responds to Re-Authorization of Travel Ban

For Immediate Release

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision today to reinstate parts of the Trump administration’s travel ban, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) issues the following statement attributable to Meredith Fortin, PHR asylum program officer:

“We are deeply disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to re-authorize parts of the Trump administration’s draconian, needlessly cruel travel ban. It will only sow more chaos and heartbreak. What is particularly troubling about the court’s ruling today is that by designing a ‘bona fide relationship’ requirement, the court is effectively creating separate classes of refugees.

“As we at Physicians for Human Rights know, refugees are routinely fleeing hellish circumstances: whether it’s in Syria, where attacking hospitals has become a method of warfare, or in Yemen, where the stifling of humanitarian aid and the targeting of infrastructure has led to deadly outbreaks of once-vanquished diseases. And every day, PHR’s partners globally document the physical and psychological scars of torture, ill treatment, and sexual violence often borne by refugees or asylum seekers.

“Having a connection to the United States has no relevance to the suffering refugees have endured. Creating arbitrary classifications of refugees – already one of the most stringently-vetted classes of immigrants to come to the United States – flies in the face of American values and will create needless confusion and uncertainty. We await the Trump administration’s next steps and support all efforts to end this harmful ban once and for all.”

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.

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Kevin Short

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