[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1314-1315]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORT OF SHORT-TERM PROGRAM BANNING IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Higgins) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, the rhetoric coming from my 
colleagues across the aisle and the liberal media regarding President 
Trump's executive order to strengthen American's immigration policy is 
harmful to our country and is placing law enforcement professionals at 
risk due to incited protests.
  The fact is that President Trump is protecting America by 
strengthening our vetting procedures. The details of his order clearly 
state that the allowed level of immigrants from the affected foreign 
nations is essentially the average rate of the 15 years before 
President Obama's dangerous expansion of the program in 2016.
  President Trump's executive order has simply restored sanity to 
America's immigration policy. It was President Obama who, against all 
reasonable consideration, put the American citizenry at risk in 2016 by 
his massive expansion of immigration from nations that are known to 
produce radical Islamic terrorists. Thank God that President Trump has 
upheld his oath to protect American lives.
  This order puts a temporary pause on immigration from seven 
countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. The 
governments in these countries are either hostile to the United States, 
or presently in great turmoil.
  As a professional law enforcement officer for the last 13 years, I 
paid very close attention to the insane policies that put American 
citizens and American police at risk. I have watched carefully and 
prayerfully as terror attack after terror attack has shed American 
blood on American soil, and I have been privy to many jihadist plots 
that were stopped because of the dedicated courage and skilled law 
enforcement investigators; the same cops that have been for years 
maligned, attacked, and murdered across our Nation by Americans incited 
to violence by dangerously irresponsible rhetoric from the left.
  It is clear to me that the status quo immigration policy will not 
control the threat, and I am thankful that President Trump is using his 
office to reverse the madness that preceded him.
  America's war against terror should never invoke partisan revolt. We, 
as members of the people's House, must recognize that the American 
people are not willing to accept radical Islamic terror within our 
borders--from immigrants or anyone else--as a fact of American life.
  President Trump's executive order for a short-term ban on entry from 
countries that are known to foster jihadists, combined with a 
systematic review of our immigration and vetting procedures is both 
necessary and reasonable.
  Madam Speaker, the time for weakness has passed. Now is the time for 
strength and courage. Now is the time to reform our border control and 
immigration policies.
  President Trump's order is not a betrayal of American values. His 
actions inspire hope to the millions of Americans who have watched our 
Nation decline over the past decade, watched helplessly, as radical 
Islamic horror has gripped the world and, unbelievably, been allowed 
into our own Nation with wanton disregard.
  Now is the time for America to embrace its rightful place as leader 
of the free world. The President's executive order to strengthen our 
immigration policies are reflective of the timeless wisdom of peace 
through strength. It protects the American citizenry, preserves 
American values, reassures America's allies, and ensures America's 
future.

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