The City of Detroit is proud of our status as a Welcoming City, where immigrants from all countries are embraced. When President Obama was attacked for his decision to increase acceptance of Syrian refugees, Detroit became a national leader in publicly offering a home for these families.

I’ve had a chance to visit some of our refugees as they’ve moved into their new homes in Detroit.  Their stories are deeply moving:  fleeing with young children from the horrors of war, barely subsisting in overcrowded refugee camps in Turkey or Jordan, often for years, until the lengthy U.S. vetting process finally clears them.

When you hear the pride and excitement in their voices for their chance to start a new life in this country, you realize what America means to so many in the world.  Our country won’t be made safer by telling victims of oppression that America’s doors are closed to them or by telling them they’re unwelcome because of their religion.

That’s just not who we are as Americans.

Editor’s Note: This statement was released by Mayor Mike Duggan today in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on Immigrants and Refugees.

Lead image courtesy of Global Detroit.

  Detroit immigrants, Mayor Mike Duggan, President Donald Trump, Syrian refugees, Tawfik Alazem