Political Quotes

“In 2007, I introduced the first legislation to help the Iraqi and Afghan nationals that helped Americans in those countries to get them to safety in the United States. These are the people who were interpreters, guides, and drivers--people who performed countless tasks without which our military, diplomatic, and redevelopment efforts would have been impossible. There was an implicit promise that, as they risked their lives to help us, we would work to protect them when the American presence was scaled down. Thousands of these people are now threatened on a daily basis by people with very long memories. It would seem as though this shouldn't be an impossible task. After all, these are people who risked their lives to protect and serve Americans. If they had wanted to harm us, they had countless opportunities to lead people down the wrong path, attack, assault, and mislead; but, by all accounts, thousands of these people performed critical tasks faithfully, if not flawlessly. What has not been flawless is how the State Department and Homeland Security have managed the Special Immigrant Visa program we fought so hard to establish. It takes incredible effort to fight bureaucracy, delays, and the procedural hurdles, which too often end in frustration. Approvals have been just a trickle, and there is no sign of improvement. Instead, the program could disappear. The authorization for the Iraqi Immigrant Visa expires in 4 days.…”