[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 15 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PRESIDENT TRUMP'S EXECUTIVE ORDER SHOULD BE OVERTURNED

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons people across the 
country are outraged by the executive order issued by the 
administration this weekend is the impact it has on people who worked 
for the United States, putting their lives at risk. I spent 10 years on 
a bipartisan effort for the Special Immigrant Visa program, and with a 
stroke of the pen, these people have been denied.
  On page A10 of The Washington Post, there is detailed the Sharef 
family where the husband had worked as an interpreter for United States 
soldiers. His life is at risk in Iraq. He worked 2 years to be able to 
get the visa. He sold his business, sold his home. His family was on a 
plane ready to come, and they were turned back to Iraq, turned back to 
danger. And we are turning our back on people who risk their lives to 
help Americans.
  It is outrageous, it is immoral, and it is going to hurt America in 
the future. Who is going to help us overseas in the future if we are 
not dependable allies?
  This outrageous order should be overturned and everyone, Republican 
and Democrat alike, should raise their voice in outrage.

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