Donald M. Payne: “As Americans, we mourn for the lives lost in the act of terrorism in New York last week. But New Yorkers are resilient.…”

“As Americans, we mourn for the lives lost in the act of terrorism in New York last week. But New Yorkers are resilient. Violence will never break their spirit, and in the Northeast corridor, business has continued as usual. Sadly, there are folks who want to use last week's terrorist attack for their cynical political reasons. They don't want to treat the root causes of extremism, whether based on racial resentment, twisted interpretations of religion, or political ideology. They do want to stoke fear in order to advance an anti-immigrant agenda, and they are trying to blame the Diversity Visa program for the violence. Americans are smarter than that. The Diversity Visa program strengthens the Nation by allowing people from places like Africa and the Caribbean to lawfully immigrate to the United States, where they help fill major shortages in the workforce and drive positive changes in their communities. We need them, and they need us. Let's not sacrifice our national principles because of a trumped up fear of immigrants. ____________________”