[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              REFUGEE BAN

  (Mr. SCHNEIDER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, the recent executive order signed by 
President Trump to ban refugees and other individuals from certain 
Muslim-majority nations is a shameful attempt to create a religious 
test for entry into our country. Rather than making our Nation safer, 
it discredits our heritage and undermines our shared values.
  The American people demonstrate these values every single day. One 
example: just last Friday, Synagogue Am Shalom, in the 10th District, 
welcomed a refugee family who fled the violence in Syria. There were 22 
members of the congregation who met the family at O'Hare International 
Airport and greeted them with flowers, toys, and well wishes. 
Volunteers then brought the family to their new apartment that was full 
of donated furniture, clothing, and food to help them start their new 
life here at home. This refugee family was one of the last to arrive 
before President Trump slammed the door shut.
  Madam Speaker, I am the grandson and great-grandson of immigrants who 
fled the persecution of Jews in Russia a century ago in order to build 
a better life here for themselves and future generations. That is the 
American Dream. We must not allow fear to turn us inward or bar the 
gates to innocent refugees who seek a safe home and a better future 
here in America.

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