[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1500]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    STOP THE MUSLIM AND REFUGEE BAN

  (Ms. PINGREE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, just hours before President Trump's 
inauguration, I met a young woman in my district from Djibouti who was 
named Fozia. Fozia had worked with our military as an interpreter. She 
came to the United States for the freedom and safety she could not find 
in her home country; but as a Muslim and immigrant, the rhetoric she 
heard during the election had made her question whether she was welcome 
here.
  Since President Trump has issued his backdoor ban on Muslim 
immigrants and a halt on all refugees, I have thought of Fozia often as 
well as thousands of other refugees and asylees who have undergone 
arduous journeys and thorough vetting to make Maine their home.
  These good people have enriched our State in many ways--raising 
families and filling a vital need in our aging workforce. They live in 
New England cities with French names that were built by Irish laborers, 
reminders of the many generations of immigrants who came here for a 
better life and who helped make our country great.
  President Trump's order is likely unconstitutional, but without a 
doubt, it is un-American. This Congress is guilty of the same sin if we 
don't do everything in our power to stop it.

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