Northwestern alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus criticizes Trump’s immigrant ban while accepting SAG award

Jake Holland, Assistant Campus Editor

Northwestern alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Communication ’83) denounced President Donald Trump’s executive order barring immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries during an acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday.

The “Veep” actress, who won the SAG award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series, spoke briefly about her family’s own history, saying she is the daughter of an immigrant. She said her father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France.

“I’m an American patriot, and I love this country,” she said. “And because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. This immigrant ban is a blemish and it is un-American.”

Louis-Dreyfus joins a growing number of other celebrities including Barbra Streisand and Rihanna who have denounced Trump’s executive order, which prohibits citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya from entering the United States for 90 days.

The suspension also prohibits all refugee admissions for 120 days, with the ban applying indefinitely to Syrian refugees.

After accepting the award, Louis-Dreyfus read part of a statement from the Writers Guild of America, which celebrated the role of immigrants in the United States.

“Our guilds are unions of storytellers, who have always welcomed those from nations and from various beliefs who wish to share their creativity with America, we are grateful for them,” she read. “We stand with them. And we will fight for them.”

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