A Republican lawmaker whose district has one of the largest Syrian refugee populations in the country on Saturday called for a halt on President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries from entering the U.S.
“I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated,” Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) told The New York Times’ Jonathan Martin.
News: @RepCharlieDent, a PA Republican who reps a large Syrian comm tells me:
“I urge the admin to halt enforcement of this order…” (1/
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) January 28, 2017
“…until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated” (2/2)
Dent has constituents w family who were turned back at PHL this am
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) January 28, 2017
Trump’s Friday executive order banned all refugees from entering the country for 120 days, and prohibited the entry of people from Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, Sudan and Libya for 90 days, even if they held U.S. green cards. Refugees, graduate students, Google employees and others caught unawares by the immediate implementation of the order were left stranded abroad or detained at points of entry across the U.S.
A six-person Christian family arriving from Syria emailed Dent on Saturday morning to tell him that they had been detained at Philadelphia International Airport, according to the Times. The family said they had legal paperwork, green cards, and visas needed to enter the country.
Dent has expressed concern for Syrian refugees in the past, saying Americans must have “compassion” for displaced people “escaping a desperate situation.” But, like Trump, Dent has also warned that some people processed as refugees may actually be terrorists.
At a GOP policy retreat in Philadelphia this week, Dent told Bloomberg said he would “be anxious if there’s a restriction on all refugees from Syria,” noting that many refugees are Christian. Dent added that most of the Syrians who live in his district are also Christian.
Most Republican leaders have kept quiet about the order. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told the Washington Post Saturday that the order, which exclusively affects majority-Muslim countries, does not amount to a Muslim ban. Ryan said last year that he would “reject” such a ban as it “is not reflective of America’s fundamental values.”
Democratic lawmakers have condemned the order as a cover for religious discrimination that would endanger the lives of tens of thousands displaced by war and terrorism.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the order “backwards and nasty.” Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), an Iraq War veteran, implicated congressional Republicans for going along with Trump’s agenda, saying, “I hope you are proud of yourselves.”
…or to put it in language the Donald will understand, the degree of ugliness he has unleashed in the land is a one.
Edit: Petition to the Vice President and Cabinet Department Heads of the United States: Whereas the 25th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America (below) calls upon you to remove a President who is of unsound mind or “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” we the undersigned respectfully request you carry out your duty and by written declaration state that President Donald J. Trump is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
I hope Stevie doesn’t run out of paper for the “enemies” folder —
“I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated."
Or you can introduce legislation to overturn the executive order.
Can WE yEt puT thE muslimS that are hErE alreaDy inTo the FEMA camps ThaT HitlarY and ohBUmmer were prepaRing foR conservaTiveS beFore the LibTards lost THe ele ctioN?
HoW aBouT GitMo?