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White House ballroom architect speaks out against Trump immigration policies
trump was wrong to tear down the East Wing and our country does not need a ball room. I hope that any such ball room is demolished after trump is dead or out of office
Shalom Baranes, a Libyan refugee and chief architect for President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project, described the president's immigration policies as "heartbreaking" in a recent interview, The New York Times reported Saturday.
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-03-21T22:00:13Z
https://www.rawstory.com/white-house-ballroom-2676524073
Shalom Baranes, a Libyan refugee and chief architect for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, described the president’s immigration policies as “heartbreaking” in a recent interview, The New York Times reported Saturday.
“What’s happening now is heartbreaking,” Baranes said of the Trump administration’s immigration policy in an interview last week, his first since accepting the role to head Trump’s ballroom project last year, the Times reported. “I do hope there’s a realization at some point that this country depends on immigration. We have to normalize our policies.”....
At $400 million, Trump’s ballroom project is a proposed 90,000 square-foot addition to the White House that required the demolition of the East Wing. The project began behind schedule and was reportedly designed in a “hurried process,” with the East Wing’s demolition so controversial that the Treasury Department instructed staff not to share photos of its destruction.
The Times noted that Baranes – who arrived in the United States from Libya at 6 years old as a refugee – “would likely not be admitted into the United States under the Trump administration restrictions of today,” perhaps giving reason for his blunt remarks on the administration’s immigration policy.
An overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to Trump’s White House ballroom, with just 28% in a recent Economist/YouGov poll
“What’s happening now is heartbreaking,” Baranes said of the Trump administration’s immigration policy in an interview last week, his first since accepting the role to head Trump’s ballroom project last year, the Times reported. “I do hope there’s a realization at some point that this country depends on immigration. We have to normalize our policies.”....
At $400 million, Trump’s ballroom project is a proposed 90,000 square-foot addition to the White House that required the demolition of the East Wing. The project began behind schedule and was reportedly designed in a “hurried process,” with the East Wing’s demolition so controversial that the Treasury Department instructed staff not to share photos of its destruction.
The Times noted that Baranes – who arrived in the United States from Libya at 6 years old as a refugee – “would likely not be admitted into the United States under the Trump administration restrictions of today,” perhaps giving reason for his blunt remarks on the administration’s immigration policy.
An overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to Trump’s White House ballroom, with just 28% in a recent Economist/YouGov poll
7 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
😀. 
