US film guilds denounce Trump’s immigration ban

Los Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and SAG-AFTRA have denounced US President Donald Trumps executive order barring people hailing from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the country.

The guilds issued statements on Tuesday in reaction to the January 27 order to suspend entry of refugees into the US for 120 days and impose an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria, reports variety.com.

A 90-day ban was also placed on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries.

The DGA, which has 16,000 members, said: "The DGA strongly believes that artists -- regardless of their national origin, faith, or gender -- should be able to come to the United States to showcase their work. Policies that prevent this, without due consideration, should be of concern to all who care about art and cinema."

"The open exchange of art is core to who we are, it's what motion pictures and television are increasingly about -- drawing humanity together, transcending borders and cultures. The DGA will continue to support the ability of artists to work and share their art in the US."

Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which represents more than 160,000 performers, said: "SAG-AFTRA's membership includes creative professionals from all over the world. This union values equality of opportunity regardless of race, gender, creed, disability, sexual orientation or country of birth.

"Any public policy that enacts discrimination based on religious or national background runs absolutely counter to those values and will be vigorously resisted. This immigration policy is misguided and we will support our fellow artists every step of the way."

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