Press Release
House.Leg.State.Mn.Us
Friday December 8, 2017
SAINT PAUL, MINN – On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations-led Global Compact on Migration (GCM), claiming it would undermine the ability of the United States to enforce immigration laws at home.
Minnesota State Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-Minneapolis), the first Somali-American to be elected to a state legislature in the United States, released the following statement:
“The United States of America was a beacon of hope and freedom to my family when we were seeking refuge, and it continues to be a beacon of hope and freedom to people around the globe who are living in extraordinary conditions without rights and surviving attacks by their own governments. These governments openly trample on the rule of law and the cause of fully equal human rights. This extreme action by the President, the Secretary of State, and their advisors is tarnishing generations of US leadership toward full human equality. It undermines decades of work, and it saddens me to say that I’m no longer surprised. We cannot say we are global leaders if we cannot find the moral courage to lead on behalf of the most vulnerable men, women and children on our planet.”