The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) strongly opposes the anti-immigrant Executive Orders issued last week by the Trump Administration. These policies expand deportation, criminalize immigrants, defund sanctuary cities, and enforce harmful border policies.
Last week, President Trump signed an Executive Order that halts the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days, slashes overall refugee admissions by at least 50%, bans the arrival of Syrian refugees indefinitely, and suspends travel from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days — the beginnings of a ban on Muslims.
These anti-refugee, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim policies target communities of color and perpetuate racial and religious profiling. Sikh Americans, Muslim Americans, and all people of faith should have the freedom to pray without backlash from their government and to walk the streets devoid of fear of being harassed based on the way they look or the language they speak.
Our communities are stronger when we stand united against hate and remain united under our common values to freely practice our faith and to simply exist without fear, intimidation, or threat of physical violence. As an organization dedicated to upholding the social justice and religious freedom of all, SALDEF will continue to work to protect the civil rights of Sikh Americans and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from Muslim, Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ, and other targeted communities.
Contact your Members of Congress to express your strong opposition to the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, and anti-Muslim actions and demand they release a public statement.
#SolidaritySelfie: To show your solidarity with refugees and immigrants, take a selfie like the one above with a sign that says “Sikhs Stand with Refugees” or “Sikhs Stand With Immigrants”, post your photo on your Facebook and tweet it to @SALDEF and to @POTUS. Be sure to include the hashtag #SolidaritySelfie
Incident Reporting: We encourage the Sikh American community to continue to report any bias or hate incidents to SALDEF.