Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the chairman for his leadership, and I thank Congresswoman Judy Chu for her leadership. Madam Speaker, I rise…”

“I thank the chairman for his leadership, and I thank Congresswoman Judy Chu for her leadership. Madam Speaker, I rise with great enthusiasm for the National Origin- Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act, and that is the NO BAN Act. I proclaim a breath of fresh air, and that was the election of 2020 and the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who made it very clear what our position is as it relates to those who come to this country. First of all, they did not turn a blind eye to the Statue of Liberty, which acknowledges the fact that we are a refuge for those who are fleeing persecution. They also understood that we are not a country that discriminates against individuals simply because of their religion. That is what the NO BAN Act represented. It had nothing to do with terrorism. I wonder why President Trump never said anything about domestic terrorists? Why didn't they have a structure to ban them, the very terrorists that jumped this Capitol on January 6th? I am reminded of a little 15-year-old on the day that the ban was issued. When I was flying in from Washington, I went straight over to the international terminal because my staff had called me and others had called me. This little boy, innocent, with legal documents, a tourist visa, coming to visit his family, innocently indicated who he was. And, of course, by law, those CBP officers had to detain him. {time} 1300 Do you know what was worse?…”