Sheila Jackson Lee: “As a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee and as a member of the Congressional Refugee Caucus, I rise in…”

“As a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee and as a member of the Congressional Refugee Caucus, I rise in strong support of H.R. 390, the ``Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act of 2017.'' This legislation makes clear that it is the policy of the United States to ensure that assistance for humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs is directed toward those individuals and communities with the greatest need, including those individuals from communities of religious and ethnic minorities, and communities of religious and ethnic minorities, that have been identified as being at risk of persecution, forced migration, acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a timely and important response to acts of genocide and other war crimes committed by ISIS in a its continuing effort to subjugate the Yazidi religious minority in Syria and Iraq. ISIS has targeted and continues to target Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Christians, Yazidis and its reprehensible actions are reminiscent of what we have seen in some of the darkest periods of human history. For example, according to reports of human rights watchgroups, Shiite Muslims have been killed by ongoing waves of ISIS bombings of Shiite neighborhoods, and Shiite members of Iraq's security forces have been victims of mass ISIS executions.…”