By writing this letter, I am speaking up to encourage an examination of two recent immigration decisions either being considered or already made by President Trump.

My objections to President Trump’s immigration policies are based not on political grounds, but as a statement of moral imperative. First, I am opposed to the ban of all Muslims; this is discriminatory and not in keeping with our American values. This ban is presented as a way to protect the United States from terrorist activity. However, all Muslims are not terrorists.

In a similar vein, I am deeply saddened to think that we are barring all refugees from entering the United States. The current “vetting” process is very exhaustive and refugees have waited between 18-24 months to be cleared to enter. We also have within our Constitution moral constraints that should prevent us from knowingly and forcibly consigning immigrants to situations of poverty or oppression.

In the future, if President Trump follows through with his statement to deport all undocumented Hispanic people, my objections would be the same.

I would urge those who feel the same to resist these policies. As citizens, we have an obligation to take responsibility to express our concerns and/or outright disagreement with those actions that we deem to be improper. Write your congressman and let your wishes be known. I would hope as citizens we would always err on the side of morally upright imperatives.

Cindy Ehlke

Enumclaw