In his first post-presidency statement, Barack Obama is showing his support for the millions of citizens protesting the new immigration policy implemented by Donald Trump.
“Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake,” says Obama’s post-presidency spokesperson, Kevin Lewis.
“With regard to comparisons to President Obama’s foreign policy decisions, as we’ve heard before, the president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.” Lewis also noted that Obama is “heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country,”
In a statement regarding his executive order, Trump wrote that the new policy, which calls for the extreme vetting of Muslim people hoping to enter the U.S. from seven primarily- Muslim countries, is what Obama did in 2011.
“My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months,” it read. The Chicago Tribune notes that in 2011, Obama did not announce a ban on visa applications, and he did not prevent every citizen of the country, including those with green-cards, from being admitted into the U.S.