Speaker, the President's executive order of Friday
violates the law, it violates the Constitution, and it violates good
sense. How does it violate the law? Section 202(a)(1) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act specifically prohibits nationality-based discrimination
in the issuance of immigrant visas and other visas. That is what this
order did. Now, the law is clear that individuals who pose a threat to the
United States can--and I should add, should be--barred from the United
States; but you can't just legally make a blanket objection based on
nationality and, I would add, based on religion. That is what the
President's order does. It suspends refugee admission completely for
months. Who are these refugees? Most of the refugees admitted last year were
from Burma and the Congo, not from Syria. They are people who have been
vetted for years, many of whom are fleeing for their lives and will
continue to live in fear. It does something else.
Keywords matched
Immigration refugee visas immigrant refugees