Madeleine Albright Reminds Us In a Facebook Rager That She Was a Refugee

Albright followed up on her somewhat confusing promise to sign up for a Muslim registry that has not quite yet been instigated with a longer screed on Facebook. She condemned the executive order with harsh words, and reminded us all that immigration is an American tradition with which she has personal experience, writing, “We have a proud tradition of sheltering those fleeing violence and persecution, and have always been the world leader in refugee resettlement. As a refugee myself who fled the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, I personally benefited from this country’s generosity and its tradition of openness.”

Albright went on to mention how this order will likely radicalize the people looking for a safe harbor and be used as propaganda by ISIS to recruit members, then explains once again that there is no data to support the idea that the extremely well-vetted refugees admitted to the U.S. are likely to be terrorists. She wrote:

The truth is that America can simultaneously protect the security of our borders and our citizens and maintain our country’s long tradition of welcoming those who have nowhere else to turn. These goals are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, they are the obligation of a country built by immigrants.

Refugees should not be viewed as a certain burden or potential terrorists. They have already made great contributions to our national life. Syrian refugees are learning English, getting good jobs, buying homes, and starting businesses. In other words, they are doing what other generations of refugees – including my own – did. And I have no doubt that, if given the opportunity, they will become an essential part of our American fabric.

Unfortunately, supporters of the Wall and Trump and registering Muslims don’t seem particularly interested in data or truth of any kind, but rather in what Albright described as “alternative facts—or as I like to call it, fiction.”

“When I came here as a child, I will never forget sailing into New York Harbor for the first time and seeing the Statue of Liberty,” she wrote. “It proclaims ‘give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ There is no fine print on the Statue of Liberty, and today she is weeping because of the actions of President Trump.”