Sheryl Sandberg: Trump's immigration orders defy American values

Sheryl Sandberg: Trump's immigration orders defy American values

01/31/17 06:41 PM EST

http://thehill.com/sites/default/fil...?itok=gJEElLU9

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg wrote on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders “defy the heart and values that define the best of our nation,” in a post lamenting Trump’s new policies on refugees and immigration.

“Families have been separated. Frightened children have been detained in airports without their parents,” Sandberg wrote in her post. “People seeking refuge have been turned away and sent back to the danger they just managed to flee. This is not how it should be in America.”

Sandberg invoked the story of her great-great grandmother who she wrote immigrated from Lithuania to America to escape religious persecution.

The Facebook COO had previously written a scathing post on Trump’s revival of a Reagan-era ban on giving aid to global health programs that offer abortions or support abortion rights.

In her post regarding the immigration ban on Tuesday, Sandberg — the head of LeanIn.org and a women's advocate — also pointed the often forgotten hardships women deal with in immigration.

“Anything that pulls families apart and traumatizes kids has a huge impact on women and their children,” she wrote.
“Latina workers have been described as the 'perfect victims' of sexual abuse; they are disproportionately more likely to be sexually assaulted at work. Undocumented women rarely contact local law enforcement about crimes like rape or domestic abuse, because they fear being deported if they do,” Sandberg continued.

On Friday, Donald Trump signed an executive order barring foreign travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days. The action also blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and suspends all refugee resettlement in the U.S. for 120 days. Earlier that week, Trump also signed orders directing the construction of a wall on the Mexican border.

Trump’s order on Friday prompted critical words from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.”

Much of the tech industry followed in suit on Saturday and Sunday, issuing statements and internal letters blasting the order and offering help to affected employees.

Tech telecom companies, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile however have not issued statements on the matter. Representatives from AT&T and Verizon did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Hill.






http://thehill.com/policy/technology...merican-values