[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 171 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5120-H5121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                AMERICA CAN AGAIN BE A WELCOMING NATION

  (Mr. HIGGINS of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, one of the first actions of 
this administration was to shut down our Nation's doors to families, 
women, and children around the world fleeing violence and seeking 
refuge within our borders.
  These bans showed a lack of decency and empathy, and they ignored the 
lessons of history. Immigrants built America, and they helped sustain 
and expand all that is good in a just and free society.
  The President's ignorance of this history is perhaps the point of his 
policy, one that he uses to exploit and divide. Reports now show that 
the country intends to admit only 15,000 refugees this year, down from 
nearly 100,000 4 years ago.
  The refugee community in western New York has helped revitalize 
entire neighborhoods, bringing diversity, culture, and new economic 
opportunity.
  The organizations that support refugees, like the International 
Institute of Buffalo, Journey's End, Jewish Family Services, and 
others, continue to do their work with dwindling Federal support, but 
still they continue to do their good work.
  I believe that we can once again be a generous and welcoming nation 
to the world's most vulnerable. It is imperative for our future that we 
do so.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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