Rep. Chris Stewart, my name is Rebecca, and I am writing this letter on behalf of Utah Indivisible in response to your back-to-school drive for refugees. You can expect our donations at your Salt Lake office Friday; we organized a last-minute fundraiser so our members could easily contribute. We care about refugee children. Do you?
You, Rep. Stewart, have publicly supported every iteration of President Trump’s travel ban. In 2015 you voted to extend the already lengthy background check process for refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq.
Given this record, I can’t help but see your back-to-school drive as a political stunt somewhere in the overlap between insecure, hypocritical and manipulative. Now, when you Google “Chris Stewart refugees” the first result is a story about you giving out school supplies to people you don’t think should be allowed in the country.
So if you actually support refugees, Rep. Stewart, do it where it counts. Oppose the travel ban. Publicly support increasing the number of refugees the United States accepts. Vote against HR2826, the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2017, when it comes to the floor in a couple weeks. The best way to help refugees is to let them in.
Rebecca Kramer
Salt Lake City