Supported by thousands of U.S. air
strikes, the eastern half of the city has been reclaimed by the forces
of the civilized world and efforts are underway to finish the job in
western Mosul. Madam Speaker, none of this could have been done without the help of
brave Iraqi interpreters who are essential to communicating all of the
pieces of these operations. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am proud that
from 2008 to 2016, we passed and repassed a special immigration visa
program to open the door of immigration to the U.S. for these
interpreters as a safe haven, and also as a reward for putting their
lives at risk and making sure that our troops can communicate safely
and effectively in their operations. Incredibly, on Friday, with one stroke of the pen, President Trump
slammed the door shut on that program because he canceled all visa
programs from Iraq. If anyone could imagine a more demoralizing way to undercut the anti-
ISIL alliance at such a critical time, Friday's order won the prize;
and we are hearing from military commanders who are over there in Iraq
talking about the blowback that is coming from our allies that were
literally underway in real operations in real time. We, in Congress, need to stop this order for the sake of our standing
in the world as a beacon of hope and freedom and, if for nothing else,
to support our troops and their allies in harm's way.
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immigration visa