• Press Release

Trump Australia Call Shows Need for Congress to Act

February 2, 2017

CONTACT: Mandy Simon, [email protected]

(NEW YORK, NY) – Following reports of a tense phone call between President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Turnbull centered on refugees and subsequent comments by the president, Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA executive director, released the following statement:

“Shutting down the United States’ borders during a humanitarian crisis in unconscionable. President Trump’s reckless and misguided remarks reflect his administration’s cruel and dangerous approach to those fleeing violence and persecution. As we've seen with his Muslim ban, President Trump’s hostile, callous and irrational approach to the refugee crisis is untenable. Congress must intervene swiftly to end this ban and protect the human rights of the people in the U.S. and around the world.”

Amnesty International has done extensive research and advocacy on the refugees detained on Nauru. Its findings conclude that the Australian government is subjecting refugees and asylum seekers to an elaborate and cruel system of abuse – brazenly flouting international law – just to keep them away from its shores.

To read Amnesty’s most recent report on Nauru, go here: https://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/australia-s-regime-of-cruelty-has-turned-nauru-into-an-open-air-prison