Pramila Jayapal said "For hours at Sea-Tac International Airport on Saturday, I worked with colleagues from the Port of Seattle, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the ACLU, and our Governor to get people who were being held to be released because of President Trump's Muslim ban. In the utter chaos, I found a gentleman who had come from Somalia to be reunited with his wife. He had all of his legal papers; but, instead, he was blindly turned away without any due process. We were able to get two other individuals released--one from Yemen and one from Sudan--after a brutal and determined effort to literally stop the plane that they had been boarded onto in order for them to be deported. This wasn't just in Seattle, Madam Speaker. This happened at airports across the Nation. Our office has been contacted by dozens of people who are absolutely terrified. These are students, legal permanent residents, and businesspeople who do not know anymore what their place in this country is. Simply put, this is un-American and unconstitutional. I, myself, immigrated when I was 16 years old, and it took me 19 years to become a citizen. I am intimately familiar with the barriers that people face in our immigration system, and I hope that all of the Members of this Chamber will welcome immigrants the way we always have. ___________________

On the recordJanuary 31, 2017

For hours at Sea-Tac International Airport on Saturday, I worked with colleagues from the Port of Seattle, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the ACLU, and our Governor to get people who were being held to be released because of President Trump's Muslim ban. In the utter chaos, I found a gentleman who had come from Somalia to be reunited with his wife. He had all of his legal papers; but, instead, he was blindly turned away without any due process. We were able to get two other individuals released--one from Yemen and one from Sudan--after a brutal and determined effort to literally stop the plane that they had been boarded onto in order for them to be deported. This wasn't just in Seattle, Madam Speaker. This happened at airports across the Nation. Our office has been contacted by dozens of people who are absolutely terrified. These are students, legal permanent residents, and businesspeople who do not know anymore what their place in this country is. Simply put, this is un-American and unconstitutional. I, myself, immigrated when I was 16 years old, and it took me 19 years to become a citizen. I am intimately familiar with the barriers that people face in our immigration system, and I hope that all of the Members of this Chamber will welcome immigrants the way we always have. ____________________

Said by

Pramila Jayapal

Democratic · Washington

Source

govinfo.gov

Jan 31, 2017