Why The Climate Reality Project Strongly Opposes the Administration's Anti-Immigrant Policies

Last week, President Trump signed executive orders suspending immigration to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, banning Syrian refugees indefinitely and moving forward with the construction of a border wall. The Climate Reality Project President and CEO Ken Berlin released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s recent actions on immigration.

The Climate Reality Project strongly opposes the border wall, the ban on refugee immigration, and the shaping of immigration policy based on religion. As an organization proudly composed of world changers from more than 130 countries, we reject division as a basis for policy. The Climate Reality Project stands in solidarity with communities of all races and faiths who seek to build a more just, prosperous, and sustainable future.

The dedicated community working toward solutions to the climate crisis is a truly global one, and these actions by the Trump Administration compromise our ability to continue to advocate for a brighter, healthier future for all. We already have heard directly from individuals who are now prohibited from traveling to the United States to attend our upcoming Climate Reality Leadership Corps training to learn what’s happening to our planet and how to inspire action. Others fear leaving the country in case of a new executive order. Isolationism and fear of the wider world are not American values.

As we have tragically witnessed in Syria, there is a clear link between the climate crisis and the global refugee crisis. Scapegoating refugees fleeing horror in search of a better life and spending billions on a wall will just make our challenges more difficult. Moving forward, we hope the new administration will take steps to protect citizens of all nations and accept the consensus of both our scientific and national security communities that the climate crisis poses a grave risk to global stability.