Senator Schumer
Standing with refugees, one an Iraqi who served the U.S. Army for 10 years, and just made it to America before the Trump order fell, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer made a new push to overturn President Trump’s executive orders banning certain individuals from entering the U.S.
In making the push, Schumer explained why the Trump executive orders are so wrong and demand that the President immediately rescind the executive orders.
Schumer told the stories of the refugees he stood with and explained how these people would have been stranded or faced death had this order come sooner.
“We are here today to deliver a vociferous ‘no’ to both the President and these misguided executive orders that undermine American security, put our soldiers and intelligence community in harm’s way and pervert core American values,” Schumer said. “We are saying ‘no’ to the misguided executive orders because they are bad for America, bad for our national security and because they are so un-American. They go so much against what America has always been about. These orders make us less safe and less American. This ham-handed directive sews chaos and feeds extremism and makes lone wolves more likely, not less.”
Schumer highlighted two refugees who stood with him today and explained how they just made it out of harm’s way in time.
One of the refugees arrived in the U.S. just a few weeks ago with his wife and two small children. He used his language skills to help the U.S. Army for 10 years—from 2003 to 2013. After enduring years of death threats, this refugee started the resettlement process more than two years ago.
Another refugee, of Syrian descent, arrived with her husband and four children about a month ago but her journey to American started five years ago.
Schumer used these examples to highlight the fact that prior to President Trump’s executive order, refugees were vetted using an already-in-place rigorous but fair screening process that takes years to navigate, in many cases.
The vast majority of these refugees are women and children fleeing persecution. Throughout the process, pending applications were regularly checked against terrorist databases and if there were ever a doubt about whether an applicant posed a security risk, they would not be admitted.
U.S. security agencies, including the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, DHS and State Department would thoroughly screen each candidate. Upon arrival, all refugees must apply for a green card within a year of their arrival which triggers another set of security procedures.
“Anyone who knows how the refugee vetting process works knows the weakest link in American security is not via this process,” Schumer said.
“This executive order is mean-spirited and un-American, and it was implemented in an incompetent way that has caused chaos and confusion across the country. It will only serve to embolden and inspire those around the globe who would do us harm.”
The Senator also said he, along with Senate democratic colleagues, would introduce legislation in an effort to overturn the orders.
“Senate Democrats are going to introduce legislation to overturn this order,” he said.
