1,000 signatures reached
To: Bill English
Bring refugees banned from the US to New Zealand
We call on Bill English to immediately offer places under the New Zealand Refugee programme to refugees who were bound for US resettlement this month. As of 27 January, these people have, without any warning, been refused entry to the US under the Trump Administration.
Why is this important?
This photo is of five members of the Jouriyeh family, Syrian refugees headed to the US as part of a resettlement program. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) - as reported in The Times Of Israel.
A number of families and individuals are due to enter the US as refugees in January and February. They have been through all the vetting, medical, legal and other checks necessary to enter the US as refugees. At the last minute, their place in the US has been taken away from them, without notice, by an Executive Order from the Trump Administration.
Offering a home in New Zealand under the New Zealand Refugee programme will give these families and individuals a place to go. We will be able fast-track many of our usual procedures, as these people have already met vetting requirements for entry into the US set under the previous administration. A review of New Zealand's refugee quota last year showed that we have the capacity to welcome far more refugees here than we currently do. We have room for these people, they are ready to travel, and we can step up and offer them an alternative to the home they were hoping for.
Such an action on the part of our government will also demonstrate that New Zealand does not support the inhumane, and likely illegal action that the Trump Administration has taken in banning refugees by Executive Order, without any regard for the lives of people already in the system and already accepted as refugees.
Bill English, we call on you to seize this moment and open our doors to people who have been denied their place in the US through no fault of their own.