Political Quotes

“today I am reintroducing the Librarian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by Senators Whitehouse, Durbin, Klobuchar, Smith, Cardin, and Van Hollen. In 1989, a seven-year civil war broke out in Liberia that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, displaced over half of the Liberian population, halted food production, and destroyed the country's infrastructure and economy. A second civil war then followed from 1999 to 2003, further destabilizing the country and creating more turmoil and hardship for its people. Then from 2014 to 2016, Liberia faced an Ebola virus outbreak that devastated the country's fragile health system and killed nearly 5,000 people. As a result of these tragedies, thousands of Liberians sought refuge in the United States, living and working here under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) systems, extended under both Republican and Democratic administrations beginning in 1991. The reality is that for more than a quarter of a century, the United States has been home to law-abiding and taxpaying Liberians. They fled violence, turmoil, and disease to come here. Many now have children who are American citizens, some of whom serve in the Armed Forces. They have worked hard, played by the rules, paid their dues, and submitted to rigorous vetting.…”