On Senate Floor, Shaheen Calls Trump’s “Destructive” Muslim Ban “Offensive to Our Nation’s Core Values and Ideals”
**SHAHEEN: “Trump’s ill-advised words and actions, including this Executive Order, have damaged America’s standing in the world and harmed our national security”
**Shaheen pointed to the story of Dr. Omid Moghimi, a U.S. citizen and an internist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, whose Iranian wife is awaiting an immigrant visa and who fears he will have to leave the U.S. to live with his wife**
(Washington, DC) — U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) spoke on the Senate floor today in opposition of President Trump’s “destructive” executive order closing the U.S. borders to residents of seven Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuttering the refugee program. Shaheen joined colleagues from both sides of the aisle in speaking out against the Muslim travel ban and the chaos that ensued, which Shaheen described as “a self-inflicted wound to our national security and to our reputation in the world.” This ban is “offensive to our nation’s core values and ideals” and should be repealed entirely, Shaheen said.
“By singling out Muslim-majority countries and banning their citizens’ entry to the United States, and by denying entry to all refugees, the President has gravely damaged America’s image across the world,” said Shaheen. “Perhaps worst of all, this Executive Order is a gift to ISIS, Al Qaeda, and every other radical jihadist group.” Shaheen cited concerns that this ban will endanger our troops and diplomats in the field and be used as a recruitment tool for terrorism by inciting “anti-American anger across the Islamic world.”
Shaheen went on to highlight the impact that this travel ban is having in New Hampshire. She cited a Union Leader story reporting that more than 700 refugees who settled in New Hampshire over the past decade are from the seven countries singled out in the Executive Order and would have been banned from entry. “These immigrants are not Iraqis, Somalis, Sudanese or Syrians; they are proud, loyal members of our diverse American family,” Shaheen said.
Shaheen also drew attention to the story of Dr. Omid Moghimi, an American citizen who is an internist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and shared a photo of Dr. Moghimi and his wife on the Senate floor. Dr. Moghimi’s Iranian wife had an appointment for her visa interview called off on Friday after months of vetting. Dr. Moghimi, now in his first year of a three-year residency, “fears that he will have to leave the United States in order to live with his wife, who volunteers at day care centers and an orphanage.”
“Trump’s ill-advised words and actions, including this Executive Order, have damaged America’s standing in the world and harmed our national security,” Shaheen stated. Shaheen urged the Senate to repeal the executive order and “send a clear message to the world that America does not support discrimination based on religion; we welcome appropriately vetted refugees from wars and violence; and we respect our Muslim allies, including our friends in Iraq who have sacrificed so much in our fight against ISIS.”
