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Last Updated on November 19, 2015.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 19, 2015

CONTACT:
Angela Miller, angela@winwithoutwar.org

Coalition Blasts US House Vote To Punish Refugees Fleeing ISIS & Syrian Violence
Pledges to Fight “Politics of Fear”

The Win Without War coalition blasted the US House of Representatives today for passing legislation that would effectively shut the door to Syrians who are running for their lives against ISIS and the escalation of violence in Syria.

“Fear trumped compassion and common sense in the House of Representatives today,” said former US Congressman Tom Andrews (D-ME) on behalf of the Win Without War coalition. “Playing fast and loose with the fear card in Washington does not end well. We have seen this movie before. Not only does it trample on core American values, it ends with the loss of many thousands of US lives and trillions of dollars. Just ask the families who have lost loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The coalition pledged to fight the measure when it moves to the Senate and to mobilize its members against calls for deploying more Americans into war in Syria.

Make no mistake, today’s vote was not about adding an additional layer of security to America – it was about fanning the flames of fear for partisan political gain. Those behind this legislation know full well that refugees are the most thoroughly vetted group of people who come to the US.

Our nation was founded and built by families who were also fleeing from persecution and toward hope. It is distressing to see politicians shutting the door of America on those fleeing the violence in Syria so that they can score political points. We need to unite our nation behind values like the Golden Rule not divide it with fear and politics-as-usual.

One of the darkest points in US history was during World War II, when the politics of fear led to the refusal to allow the St. Louis, a ship filled with Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler, to land on our shores. As a result, hundreds of refugees were forced back to Germany where they perished in Nazi concentration camps. We cannot afford to allow this dark history to repeat itself.

We are committed to mobilizing our members and friends to stop the politics of fear and help save untold numbers of innocent lives.

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Win Without War is a coalition of national organizations with diverse constituencies originally founded in opposition to the Iraq War. The coalition remains active in opposition to the continued U.S. war in Afghanistan, the dangerous rush to war with Iran, and the underlying national security strategy on which these conflicts are based. We seek a fundamentally new approach to meet the national security challenges of the United States that is consistent with our nation’s highest values.

For more information, visit www.winwithoutwar.org.

November 19, 2015