Jenna Bush Hager Condemns Immigration Travel Ban: 'This Is Not America I Know'

By Julie Brown Patton
Jenna Welch Bush Hager
Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush, shared a public letter on Twitter about huge concerns related to the current immigration travel ban. She called for teaching "acceptance," and cited George W. Bush's 2001 speech at Islamic Center of Washington. Reuters

Former first daughter Jenna Welch Bush Hager shared her thoughts on President Donald Trump's controversial immigration ban on Tuesday, saying the face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. "That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war."

She did not directly reference President Trump's recent suspension of a refugee program and temporarily barring visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries. But her statement is being received as reflecting some of the current arguments about the executive action, as well as a tragic shooting at a mosque in Canada.

Bush Hager, 35, an NBC News correspondent, said in the letter she shared via Twitter about recent immigration policy changes, "This is not the America I know."

Using some words originally voiced by her father, Bush Hager posted an excerpt on Twitter from a 2001 speech her father, a fellow Republican, gave at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. following the 9/11 attacks. Her father said, "Islam is peace" in his remarks. He added that Muslims "make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country" and called for them to be "treated with respect."

Trump administrators stand by the ban they claimed they put in place "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States," reports AOL News.

Her full letter shared publicly follows, as published in People:

"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war. When we think of Islam we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace. And that's made brothers and sisters out of every race - out of every race. America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect. Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their own homes. Moms who wear cover must not be intimidated in America. That's not the America I know. That's not the America I value. I've been told that some fear to leave; some don't want to go shopping for their families; some don't want to go about their ordinary daily routines because, by wearing cover, they're afraid they'll be intimidated. That should not and that will not stand in America. Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior."

In August 2009, NBC hired Hager as a news correspondent for the morning television show Today. Her role is to contribute stories about once a month on issues, such as education. She also helps out with NBC News's Education Nation segments on all platforms of NBC and fills in as co-anchor and "Orange Room anchor" on Today. She is also a contributor and a substitute anchor on NBC Nightly News. She's also editor-at-Large for Southern Living, founder of The Novo Project, and Chair of UNICEF's Next Generation.

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