[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   RESTORE VISA IMMIGRATION PROGRAMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, as we stand in the House Chamber today, 
over 4,000 U.S. military personnel are bringing the fight to ISIL 
terrorists in Iraq. Navy and Air Force pilots, Special Forces, and 
advisers are working hand in hand with Iraqis and Kurds to eject ISIL 
from Mosul, the city they declared 3 years ago as the capital of their 
caliphate.
  Great progress has been made. Supported by thousands of U.S. air 
strikes, the eastern half of the city has been reclaimed by the forces 
of the civilized world and efforts are underway to finish the job in 
western Mosul.
  Madam Speaker, none of this could have been done without the help of 
brave Iraqi interpreters who are essential to communicating all of the 
pieces of these operations.
  As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am proud that 
from 2008 to 2016, we passed and repassed a special immigration visa 
program to open the door of immigration to the U.S. for these 
interpreters as a safe haven, and also as a reward for putting their 
lives at risk and making sure that our troops can communicate safely 
and effectively in their operations.
  Incredibly, on Friday, with one stroke of the pen, President Trump 
slammed the door shut on that program because he canceled all visa 
programs from Iraq.
  If anyone could imagine a more demoralizing way to undercut the anti-
ISIL alliance at such a critical time, Friday's order won the prize; 
and we are hearing from military commanders who are over there in Iraq 
talking about the blowback that is coming from our allies that were 
literally underway in real operations in real time.
  We, in Congress, need to stop this order for the sake of our standing 
in the world as a beacon of hope and freedom and, if for nothing else, 
to support our troops and their allies in harm's way.

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