--- description: Kal Penn started a fundraising page for Syrian refugees after he was trolled on Twitter and told "you don't belong here" title: Actor Kal Penn Raises More Than $300,000 for Refugees image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7db7242e81e42d2/6988b7c0524fc0a0f4dfae77/kale28094pen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Refugees](/tag/refugees/) ## Refugees Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Actor Kal Penn Raises More Than $300,000 for Refugees Being Told 'You Don’t Belong Here' by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 11:20 PM CUTPublished: Jan 29, 2017 8:40 PM CUT  Kal Penn speaks at a conference on diversity in Washington on April 15, 2016. Kal Penn speaks at a conference on diversity in Washington on April 15, 2016.Kris Connor—Getty Images by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 11:20 PM CUTPublished: Jan 29, 2017 8:40 PM CUT Attention all Twitter trolls: Don’t mess with Kal Penn. After President Donald Trump signed an executive order over the weekend that [bans immigrants](http://time.com/4652877/donald-trump-immigration-ban-muslim/ "undefined") from seven [Muslim-majority](http://time.com/4652746/donald-trump-immigration-ban-family-detained/ "undefined") countries, a troll took to Twitter and targeted the Indian-American _Designated Survivor_ actor — tweeting that “you don’t belong here you f—ing joke,” according to [Entertainment Weekly](http://ew.com/news/2017/01/29/kal-penn-refugee-donations/ "undefined"). Penn, who worked in the Obama White House’s Office of Public Engagement, tweeted back shortly after, writing: “To the dude who said I don’t belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name.” > [](https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/825421281461936128) [The CrowdRise donation page](https://www.crowdrise.com/donating-to-syrian-refugees-in-the-name-of-the-dude-who-said-i-dont-belong-in-america/fundraiser/kalpenn "undefined") had raised more than $300,000 as of Sunday afternooon, with all proceeds going toward the International Rescue Committee. “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,” a statement on the page reads. “We will turn their bigotry, along with the President’s, into love.” Penn spoke out after Trump signed the order Saturday, [tweeting](https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/825137896894128129 "undefined") that “Our president just did the very mean-spirited, un-American thing of not welcoming refugees to our incredible country for at least 120 days.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4652906/kal-penn-crowdrise-refugee-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4652906/kal-penn-crowdrise-refugee-twitter/"},"headline":"Actor Kal Penn Raises More Than $300,000 for Refugees Being Told 'You Don’t Belong Here'","datePublished":"2017-01-29T20:40:21.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T23:20:20.000Z","description":"\"To the dude who said I don’t belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name\"","url":"https://time.com/4652906/kal-penn-crowdrise-refugee-twitter/","keywords":["Refugees","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7db7242e81e42d2/6988b7c0524fc0a0f4dfae77/kale28094pen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeline Farber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7db7242e81e42d2/6988b7c0524fc0a0f4dfae77/kale28094pen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2016 Conference On Diversity In International Affairs","caption":"WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 15: Actor and former White House Office of Public Engagement Associate Director Kal Penn speaks during the \" 2016 Conference On Diversity In International Affairs\" at the Council on Foreign Relations on April 15, 2016 in Washington","creditText":"Kris Connor—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/refugees/","name":"Refugees"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4652906/kal-penn-crowdrise-refugee-twitter/","name":"Actor Kal Penn Raises More Than $300,000 for Refugees Being Told 'You Don’t Belong Here'"}}]}] ```