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Penn has also served President Barack Obama’s administration.
(This post was updated at 12.32 am, January 30, 2017)
Indian American actor Kal Penn has raised nearly $500,000 for Syrian refugees after a twitter user questioned his Indian origin and asked him to move out of the country, saying he did not belong to the United States.
In a tweet announcing the creation of a fundraising page, Penn wrote, “To the dude who said I don’t belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name.”
The fundraising page started by Penn on Crowdrise Saturday, titled “Donating To Syrian Refugees In The Name Of The Dude Who Said I Don’t Belong In America”, had an initial goal of raising $250,000. As of 12.25 am EST on Monday, it has raised $491,577 as donations, exceeding the initial goal of $250,000.
Penn received a hate tweet from one of the users who commented on a photo saying “because you don’t belong in this country you f***ing joke.”
According to Penn’s CrowdRise page, all the donations made will go to the International Rescue Committee.
In the brief story, Penn has written, “We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don’t belong in our own country, that America can’t be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigotry, along with the President’s, into love.”
In an update on the fundraising page, Penn thanked the donors on Sunday. “This is such a testament to how proud we are of our beautiful country and how fired up we are to #resist our new president’s dangerous policies with solidarity and love. Thank you! The donor page remains open, so keep it up!”
Penn’s move to support the Syrian refugees comes just a day after President Trump slapped a ban on people from 7 Muslims countries from entering the US, which includes Syrians. The ban is also extended to people with green cards and refugee status.
The same day Trump signed the executive order, many travelers from the seven Muslim countries were banned from entering the US and some being kept under detention.
Penn, born to Gujarati immigrant parents, has featured in many TV shows and films like Harold & Kumar and House.
He has also served President Barack Obama’s administration in a variety of roles such as an associate director and speechwriter under the former president.
To the dude who said I don’t belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017