Karen Bass: “I thank the gentleman for his leadership tonight, and also Representative Plaskett. Let me share with you, especially…”

“I thank the gentleman for his leadership tonight, and also Representative Plaskett. Let me share with you, especially Representative Plaskett, that on my first day here 7 years ago, one of the first things that happened was a motion on the floor to further deny the right to vote for Representatives from the territories. And I have to tell you that I think, for myself, as well as the majority of people in our country, we don't realize that you only have democracy 50 percent. So I am glad that you raised it tonight, and I think it is very important that we continue to fight so that people from the territories will have the full representation of their country. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the travesty that is taking place in our country, a travesty that has resulted in innocent people, students, grandparents, mothers, fathers, and children being unable to travel and enter the United States. People are caught in a web of suspicion and hatred as a result of the recent executive order which is nothing less than a religious ban. So today, I speak for the Africans that are caught in that ban. Let me give you an example of who has been caught up by the Muslim ban--a brilliant Stanford student, Ms. Nisrin Omer, studying anthropology. She is a graduate of Harvard who is from Sudan and has lived in this country since 1993. She has a green card and is a legal resident who was returning to the U.S. from research in Sudan.…”