[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2685]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MUSLIM AND REFUGEE BAN

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I want to read a letter from a Syrian refugee 
to the interfaith coalition sponsoring his family, which settled in 
Bloomfield, New Jersey, last month.
  Muhammad is a father of four. His family was one of the last to 
arrive prior to the signing of President Trump's ban.
  Muhammad wrote:

       I feel ashamed when I repeat the words: Thank you.
       I feel it's very few and very weak in front of your 
     interest and your generosity.
       The first thing I want to learn in the English language is 
     how I can thank you more and more.
       America is beautiful because you live in it.

  These are the kind of families the Trump administration wants to turn 
away. They are the oppressed and the persecuted, the kind of people 
this country was founded for.
  I understand the need to vet people coming to our country, and the 
importance of protecting our Nation's security. No one questions that 
at all.
  But we cannot close our country to refugees like Muhammad and his 
family. We cannot sacrifice what it means to be American.
  Muhammad is right, America is beautiful, and we can keep it that way 
by remaining a beacon of freedom and hope.

                          ____________________