Boulder Will Not Be Used to Justify Trump’s Cruel Travel Ban
In the wake of the tragic and horrifying June 1 attack in our own community, Boulder Progressives stand in mourning and in solidarity with the victims, their families, and all those impacted.
We also stand in firm opposition to the sweeping travel ban announced by President Trump, for which Trump used the tragic attack in Boulder as justification. This ban—targeting citizens from 19 predominantly non-white, low-income nations—is not a response to the tragedy in Boulder. It is a cynical attempt to exploit grief and fear to revive one of the most regressive policies of Trump’s first term.
Let us be clear: there is no evidence connecting the attacker in Boulder to any of the countries listed in the travel ban. To invoke this tragedy as justification for a xenophobic policy is not only dishonest—it is deeply disrespectful to the victims and to the Boulder community.
Using terror to justify collective punishment of entire nations, many of which are already struggling with poverty, war, and authoritarian rule, is a political tactic—not a security measure. It will not make us safer. It will, however, make it harder for students, refugees, and families to travel, to seek safety, to study, to pursue opportunity, and to reunite families.
Boulder is a community that values compassion, human rights, and international solidarity. The response to the June 1 attack must be rooted in those values—not in fear, not in racism, and not in opportunism that divides us.
We also reject the broader opportunism we’ve seen in the days since the attack: organizations and political figures using this moment to spread hate, to conflate Jewish identity with the policies of other governments, and to scapegoat the vulnerable while ignoring root causes. We affirm the right to critique injustice and violence without reinforcing dangerous stereotypes, and to distinguish critique of governments and their policies from hate speech like antisemitism.
We call on our elected officials at every level to speak out against this ban and to fight for policies that keep our communities safe by embracing progressive principles. The people of Boulder will not be used to justify cruelty.
