On the recordFebruary 2, 2017
I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) and the gentlewoman from Washington State (Ms. Jayapal) for the Progressive Caucus' Special Order hour. I was on the floor earlier today talking about my concerns very specifically around this, as it relates to the countries that were selected and the fact that these were not countries that were selected for any reason other than the fact that they are Muslim countries and that Mr. Trump has decided that they should be included. What I want to talk about tonight is my district and how this affects it. We saw the crowds in New York, California, Chicago, Boston, and other big cities that have international airports and the activities this weekend; but in Madison, Wisconsin, we have had a very direct impact. We have 115 faculty, students, and staff, right now, impacted by this decision. In fact, there is one joint national Canadian-Iranian student who is in Brazil who has been advised not to come back. What I want to do is read into the Record this statement. We are working on a case of someone who is an Iraqi national, and this is a letter written by someone who served with him in the military. I want to read this very quickly: I am contacting you regarding John, an Iraqi national who earned a special immigration visa for his work with the U.S. Army over two different 3-year periods in Baghdad and another region of Iraq.…
