Are you not alarmed?

I was away from home on election eve, and found myself in a hotel room with my 5-month old son asleep in his pack and play as I shifted quickly between texting friends, flipping on the news, curling under the covers, and then revisiting the text stream again. Around 11pm on Tuesday, November 8th I realized today was coming. My stomach dropped and I felt immediate shock when I finally acknowledged that Trump was going to be our President. And when I began re-mapping and reworking all of my expectations - trying to think what will he do first? -- tears came quickly because I knew he could do this, take swift executive action and close our doors to the vulnerable. I knew he would bank on lying and fear to turn our country's back on the tired, the weary, the hungry, the refugee. I texted my friends as much "%$^* guys -- imagine what this means... he'll shut down the resettlement of Syrian refugees..."

Knowing this was coming makes it no less painful or shameful.

Friends, let me continue to plea and remind you -- Donald Trump, and any other Republican or Democratic Congressperson who tells you refugees are not vetted and screened is lying to you.

I've worked in the refugee resettlement field. I've watched my coworkers attend the allocation meetings, process flights, coordinate with local offices to prepare for arrivals. I've visited World Relief offices all over the country and spoken with staff, who work alongside local churches to furnish apartments, arrive at the airport, welcome these families. We all know, from our experience - firsthand accounts from refugees, and our coordination with the US government, that refugees are thoroughly vetted and spend 12-30 months undergoing screening and clearance checks.

I've also personally met families, from Iraq, Somalia, and the DRC. I've heard stories of life in refugee camp. (I took one family to the grocery store for the first time as a volunteer; the parents of the family had been in a refugee camp for seventeen years prior to their arrival.) A family I volunteered with from Iraq had assisted the US government in their home country, which put their own livelihoods at risk prior to being resettled. I've driven a bright-eyed, kind, fifteen-year-old girl from Myanmar to doctor's appointments because she had a serious medical illness and needed care that was only available here in the US. Each refugee has a powerful story, of waiting to come, of great opportunity and gratitude in their arrival.

What Donald Trump is about to do, with the flick of a pen, will have an impact on thousands of lives, of families that have been waiting in desperation for a new hope. His entire justification for his action is built on lies and fear.

I went back this morning and revisited the visceral, emotional reactions I felt on election night to try and re-focus my own attention on what is in front of us. I've known this was coming, but I haven't made enough calls to my representative, haven't sent enough letters, haven't protested enough, haven't engaged in potentially uncomfortable conversations to make my case to others who may think differently.

I beg of you to do likewise. Take yourself back to wherever you were on September 3, 2015. Remind yourself of what and how you felt when you saw the pictures of Aylan Kurdi wash up on the shores of Turkey. Know that our government will now be shutting our doors to his friends, sisters, brothers, and countrymen, who are no less desperate for a safe haven. Know that Donald Trump is lying to you when he says that accepting refugees is a threat to our national security.

We should all be alarmed.

We should all be ashamed.

We should all take immediate action to raise our voices against what will happen today.