Writers Guild of America Blasts Trump’s Muslim Ban as ‘Unconstitutional and Deeply Wrong’
The Writers Guild of America has blasted President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and citizens from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States.
“It is both unconstitutional and deeply wrong to say that you cannot enter our country because of where you were born or what religion you were born into,” said WGA West president Howard Rodman and WGA East president Michael Winship in a statement on Sunday.
“The Writers Guilds of America, East and West condemn Donald Trump’s profoundly un-American ‘Muslim ban,’ and applaud the Federal Court’s decision to grant a stay that will keep those being held at American airports from being forcibly returned to their countries. Human rights – including the freedoms of speech and religion – are essential to all Americans and to all who come here to build better lives.”
Trump signed the executive order on Friday to suspend entry of refugees to the U.S. for 120 days, and imposed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria. A 90-day ban was also placed on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose movie “The Salesman” is nominated for the foreign-language-film Oscar, issued a statement Sunday saying he will not attend the Oscars even if exceptions are made to allow him entry to the U.S. Rodman and Winship said it’s wrong that Farhadi might not be allowed into the U.S.
“We are especially troubled by reports that Asghar Farhadi, director of ‘The Salesman,’ which won Best Screenplay at Cannes and is now nominated for an Oscar, may together with his cast and crew be prevented from entering our country,” they said. “From its early days, the entertainment industry has been built by the imagination of immigrants. Our guilds are unions of storytellers who have always welcomed those from other nations, and of varying beliefs, who wish to share their creativity with America. We are grateful to them, we stand with them, we will fight for them.”
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