Washington, DC – In response to President Trump’s proclamation expanding restrictions on the entry of individuals from foreign countries, including full restrictions and entry limitations on those holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, J Street Vice President and Chief of Staff Adina Vogel-Ayalon issued the following statement:
“J Street continues to strongly reject the Trump Administration’s blanket travel bans. These policies do not make Americans safer. Instead, they shut the door on immigrants seeking education, opportunity and a better life.
The administration selectively cites violence, instability and extremist activity to justify sweeping restrictions that treat entire communities as security threats, abandoning individualized, evidence-based vetting in favor of collective exclusion. Targeting people as a group erodes the values the United States claims to uphold. It diminishes our credibility abroad and undermines our ability to support human rights, civic engagement and democratic reform around the world.
At a time when the Trump Administration claims that it is working to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, its decision to bar Palestinian travel to the US is both deeply damaging and counterproductive. Rather than advancing stability, this policy further delegitimizes and weakens the Palestinian Authority at the very moment when US policy should be focused on strengthening its capacity to sideline Hamas, improve governance and help secure Gaza and the West Bank.
If the United States is serious about isolating extremists and advancing a viable path toward security and peace, it must stop pursuing policies that punish civilians and undermine the very partners necessary to achieve those goals.
We call on our Jewish community to stand united in the face of an administration that has repeatedly embraced hatred and demonized entire communities. As a community shaped by the immigrant experience, we know that true safety comes from inclusion, cooperation and empowering those ready to lead responsibly – not through exclusion.”