Dear Governor Deal,

At the base of the Statue of Liberty, there is a plaque inscribed with the words of "The New Colossus," by poet Emma Lazarus. Words once celebrated by immigrants coming to the New World, the poem reads:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

As I heard about your executive order to halt efforts to resettle Syrian refugees, I couldn't help but remember these words that I encountered in my elementary school history textbook. My teachers spent weeks teaching us about Ellis Island and our nation's history as a melting pot. Now, as a Public Policy student at Georgia Tech, I want to know what changed.

When did the Golden Door close?

The events in Paris last week were frightening. ISIS is a powerful force in the modern world, and they proved this with the violent attacks on France. The Syrian refugees are not ISIS. They are not violent simply because of their faith. I urge you to heed the words of Mayor Reed. In an interview with the AJC, he said, "I do not tie events to faith. I tie events to horrible people who are soulless and engaging in awful acts." The people involved in the attacks should not represent the 10,000 innocent Syrians entering into our country.

Within those 10,000 Syrians are men, women, and children yearning to breathe free. Within those 10,000 Syrians are doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, musicians, and students – tired, poor, homeless. Within the huddling mass of 10,000, Governor Deal, there are humans.

I urge you to repeal the executive order and allow state agencies to offer services to resettled refugees. I beg you to remember that, at one time, we were all immigrants. It is time to lift the lamp. Georgia must open its arms and accept the oppressed.