A dissent cable from State Department diplomats opposing President Donald Trump’s order suspending the refugee program and barring travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries reached 1,000 signatures by Tuesday afternoon, according to the New York Times.
State Department officials told the Times that the cable was being sent to management and that more diplomats have expressed interest in signing the cable. The cable has the more signatures than any other recent cable, per the Times.
The dissent channel was created for diplomats in the 1970s during the Vietnam War as a way to express opposition to policy internally. Several diplomats signed a dissent cable last year opposing President Obama’s Syria policy.
The cable circulated this week argues that Trump’s order barring immigrants from certain countries does not actually make the U.S. safer.
Asked about the cable during a briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that State Department officials should either back Trump’s policy or leave.
“I think that they should get with the program or they can go,” he told reporters.
