Trump defends policy, citing national security concerns.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and television actress Mayim Bialik tweeted that they would register as Muslims if President Donald Trump created a registry of Muslims.
Madeleine Albright and Mayim Bialik Stand Up to Trump’s Muslim Refugee Ban[/tweetthis]
Madeleine Albright had earlier said at the Women’s Global March on January 21 that if Muslims were forced to register, all women would register as Muslims. The Women’s Global March coincided with the swearing-in of Donald Trump, who took over from outgoing President Barack Obama. The objectives of the march were to raise awareness of women’s rights, as well as the rights of refugees, the LGBT community, healthcare reforms and racial equality – all of which, according to them, Donald Trump had been critical of while he was running for President.
Albright served as Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Prior to this, she was the United States ambassador to the United Nations between 1993 and 1997.
As Secretary of State, she created history by becoming the first woman to serve in the position. She was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 by Barack Obama. Madeleine Albright was also an outspoken supporter of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s rival and the Democratic Party nominee for president.
On Wednesday, she took to social media, saying that she was raised Catholic, became an Episcopalian later on in life, and found out even later that she was Jewish. Yet, she stood ready to register as a Muslim if it came to that.
@madeleine Thank you Secretary Albright for your support as a #MuslimAlly. Inviting all to raise their voice at https://t.co/z8c5WTz1QT #Solidarity
— True Islam (@TrueIslamUSA) January 25, 2017
The day after, Mayim Bialik, known to many as Amy Farrah Fowler on the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory, tweeted that she too would register as a Muslim, adding that she was Jewish as well.
I'm Jewish. I stand ready to register as a Muslim in #solidarity if it comes to that.
— Mayim Bialik (@missmayim) January 25, 2017
Trump has been critical of opening U.S. doors to refugees, especially those fleeing Syria in the aftermath of the civil war in the Arab nation. He points out that terrorists could easily sneak in as refugees and wreak havoc in the United States. As the Republican frontrunner for the presidential post, he had openly attacked the then President Barack Obama’s plans to resettle up to 10,000 Syrian refugees fleeing persecution from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
On Wednesday, the President signed an executive order that takes away federal funding from states that harbor refugees. For her part, Madeleine Albright tweeted a picture of the Statue of Liberty with the quote “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This text is inscribed on the iconic statue that stands at New York Harbor, where millions of immigrants once made their way to the Land of Opportunity.