Mo Farah Criticises Donald Trump's Muslim Refugee Ban

Sir Mo Farah was born in Somalia and has live in the US for six years.
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Sir Mo Farah has responded to Donald Trump’s “deeply troubling” Muslim refugee ban as the British Olympic champion faces the prospect of not being able to see his children who live in the US.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist, who has lived in Oregon for the last six years, is originally from Somalia.

Under Trump’s latest controversial executive order, which bans refugees entering the US from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, Farah faces the possibility of not being allowed home to see his family.

It is believed the athlete is currently training in Ethiopia.

Sir Mo Farah may not be allowed back into the US, where he has lived with his family for the last six years.
Sir Mo Farah may not be allowed back into the US, where he has lived with his family for the last six years.
Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

People from Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Syria have been temporarily barred from entering the US, as have all refugees.

Farah said on Sunday that the US President’s policy “comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice”.

He added: “Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome.”

Farah’s statement in full:

“On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.

“I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years - working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome. It’s deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that Daddy might not be able to come home - to explain why the President has introduced a policy that comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice.

“I was welcomed into Britain from Somalia at eight years old and given the chance to succeed and realise my dreams. I have been proud to represent my country, win medals for the British people and receive the greatest honour of a knighthood. My story is an example of what can happen when you follow polices of compassion and understanding, not hate and isolation.”

He accused the President’s new immigration rules of being “counterproductive” to his long-stated desire to defeat Islamic extremism, adding: “For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against. It’s demeaning. It’s sad.”

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