[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 40 (Monday, March 3, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MIGRANTS FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Arizona (Ms. Ansari) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my outrage and strong 
opposition to the inhumane treatment of migrants fleeing religious 
persecution.
  Earlier this month, the Trump administration deported roughly 300 
men, women, and children seeking refuge in the United States to Panama 
on U.S. military aircraft, locking them in hotel rooms without access 
to basic rights or counsel.
  This includes asylum seekers from Iran, China, and other countries 
known to persecute religious minorities. They have since been deported 
to detention camps in a remote jungle and are being forced to live in 
degrading and dangerous conditions with little to no access to the 
outside world.
  Among them is Artemis Ghasemzadeh, an Iranian woman who fled Iran 
after converting to Christianity, a crime punishable by death under the 
brutal Islamic regime.
  Artemis converted to Christianity in secret through a network of 
underground churches and online classes in Iran. Last December, she set 
out for the United States in search of a new life. In a haunting image, 
she was photographed from inside her detention room in Panama with the 
words ``help us'' written on the window in her red lipstick.
  Artemis is 1 of 10 Iranian Christians, including 3 children, who are 
detained in Panama. These people sought safety and refuge in the United 
States. Instead, they were rounded up, flown thousands of miles away, 
and imprisoned in detention camps in brutal conditions. They are afraid 
for their lives as they wait to be sent back to their home countries to 
face deadly consequences for their human right of religious freedom, 
what this country was founded on.
  The United States should never be responsible for sending people to 
face persecution, especially those who have risked everything to seek 
refuge right here. These actions not only violate our moral 
responsibilities and our shared humanity, but they are in direct 
conflict with the values upon which our Nation was founded.
  I am the proud daughter of immigrants from Iran. My parents came to 
the United States fleeing the brutal revolution that led to the current 
regime. This country welcomed them with open arms, allowed them to work 
hard and succeed, and in just one generation, they have witnessed their 
daughter make history as the first Iranian-American Democrat ever 
elected to Congress.
  Asylum seekers come to this country to escape violence and 
persecution. Turning these people away is cruel, fundamentally un-
American, and does nothing to fix our broken immigration system. That 
is why I plan to introduce legislation that would halt expedited 
removal for individuals fleeing countries noted for persecuting 
religious minorities. We can have secure borders and also have an 
immigration system based in empathy and humanity.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this administration to uphold our Nation's legacy 
as a beacon of hope and a defender of religious freedom, not a 
facilitator of suffering.

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