FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Zakiya Summers, 601-354-3408, zsummers@aclu-ms.org
Jackson, MS – ACLU of Mississippi Vice Chairman Jack Williams has issued the following statement on behalf of the organization in response to Governor Bryant’s attempt to block Syrian refugees from being placed in Mississippi.
“Although Governor Bryant has the difficult responsibility of protecting his citizens’ safety, he should do so while respecting the federal executive branch’s responsibility for foreign affairs. He should do so while respecting the federal government’s responsibility for setting refugee and asylum policy.
We ask that he learn from hysterias of years past, hysterias that led to the internment of Japanese American citizens and to the exclusion of Jewish refugees from our shores as they fled the tyranny of Nazism.
The ACLU of Mississippi urges Governor Bryant to welcome Syrian refugees who are fleeing the brutality of ISIS.”
