For the second time in 13 months Columbia
Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle has publicly blasted the Trump administration
for its immigration policies.
In recent speeches and tweets, Trump has fiercely attacked
four members of Congress, all of whom are liberal
Democrats and women of color. One of the four, Rep. Ilhan Omar of
Minnesota, is a Somali immigrant. The three others were born in the
United States. Trump’s attack prompted a Charlotte, N.C. crowd last week to begin chanting “Send her back, Send her back”.
“I
saw the news that the President of the United States had been using
Twitter to tell some members of Congress to go back to the countries
they are “from” Boyle wrote. “That kind of taunting
language is far more extreme than the refusal to process a routine visa
application, but there is a theme through both that should be
unacceptable in any organization and certainly at the top of our
government.”
Boyle reminded his
staffers that Columbia exists today as one of the state’s largest
private companies only because his mother, Gert Boyle, found refuge and
welcome after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1937.
“We understand, from personal experience, what it means when government
leaders demonize any group as being inferior, unworthy, and
fundamentally unwelcome to be a part of a country,” Boyle wrote. “We
were incredibly fortunate to be able to move to the great state of
Oregon. The ideals in the U.S., while not perfectly executed, supported
the notion that we would have the same opportunities as others, and we
feel strongly about paying that forward.”
“Telling any citizen to “go back home” is offensive,” he wrote. “This is home."
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