pledge our sacred honor, to do all we can to tear this order down so that the truth of america can rise again. mr. president, i yield the there is a french farmer by the name of hector st. john decrevacore, and he emigrated to the united states from normandy in france in 1759 and he settled in the hudson valley. he married an american woman, and the astounding diversity of those that settled around him,

his fellow farmers, was shocking to him. he said this. he said it's a mixture of english, scotch, irish, french, dutch, germans and swedes. there is one family that he knew that had an english grandfather, a dutch grandmother, an anglo-saxon son, who had a french wife. his four sons all married women that were from different places, of different nationalities. and hector said, he said from this promiscuous breed, that race now called americans has arisen. he asked what then is the american, this new man, and this farmer, this farmer who came to america from normandy in 1759 wrote this. he said -- "he is an american

who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. the american is the new man who acts upon new principles. here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men." george washington told us that the bosom of america is open to the oppressed and the persecuted of all nations and religions, and that great american philosopher, alex de tocqueville, that observer of american life, said in a letter, imagine, dear friend, a society formed of all the nations of the world, people having different languages, beliefs, opinions.

in a word, a society without roots, without memories, without prejudices, without routines, without common ideas, without a national character, yet 100 times more happy than our own. i'm not sure if any of those are completely accurate scripgz of what an american was or is or whether those are commensurate with our understanding as to the foundations of this country, but they speak to this founding ideal of america, this place where you could come from any part of the world, with any set of beliefs, with any religion, with any skin color and become something that is uniquely new. now, there were people here before those who traveled from far far-off lands, but to be an american is in many ways an invention, an invention of the

amalgamation of faiths from people from all over the world. both hector and de tocqueville talk about the leaving behind of prejudices when you come to this new country. inherent in that idea is this belief of new americans that the description that they faced in other places could be washed away upon coming to a country, a land at that time, in which everyone was equal, everyone started from the same place. and, of course, that has to be true because this country was founded by individuals who were fleeing religious persecution, who thought that america was a place in which they could practice their religion freely, they could be who they knew themselves to be.

and the reason why you hear such anxiety and anger and sadness from many in this chamber and from many people we represent is because what happened on friday is an abandonment of american originalism. it is a walking back of the faith that we had held -- that we have held since the days in which scotch and irish and french and dutch and german and swede came to this country, believing they could leave behind prejudices. it feels as if we are shrinking as a country before our eyes. a young woman from stanford, connecticut, wrote me this beautiful letter, and i want to read some of it to you. she encapsulates in modern language what crevecoeur and

washington and de tocqueville were saying centuries ago. she says i'm the proud descendants ant of syrian immigrants. my great grandparents' sacrifices to resettle in the united states have shaped my entire life. i've grown up very close to my grandfather, the first generation of his family born in america, and i know what my ancestors did to be here and how far we've come from the time in which they were persecuted and subjected to religious violence in dam -- in damascus. i was able to grow up around syrian culture and appreciate how great grandparents made it possible for my entire life to be from where they are now. to give you an idea, my grandfather went on to receive a master's degree and was a high school teacher and a guidance counselor. he also relied -- he was heavily involved in the roman catholic church and quietly served communion in hospitals each sunday.

my father, second generation, also received a master's. he serves on hospital boards and he's had a successful career in human resources. with their encouragement, i have begun a career as a journalist, one that i have dreamed of since i was in high school. in 2012, on the 100th year anniversary of my family's arrival in the united states, i was the third generation of my family to graduate from high school and enroll in college. i tell you this because this moves me every day when i go to work. how amazing is it that my family has gone from being persecuted for their religion to being able to hold jobs protected by the first amendment. surely this is something that my great grandparents could have never dreamed of when they came here, and i embrace my career with the intention to honor their sacrifices. my heart broke at the executive orders to suspend the entry of

refugees specifically from syria. i have looked into this extensively and recently worked on a story as a journalist on the process. trump's order is nothing but xenophobic and racist. i was preparing to report on a family that was supposed to be coming to a community near me, but it now seems that family won't be coming now. how truly american it would have been for the descendant of syrian immigrants to welcome a new generation of syrians into this country. this is for many cataclysmic because everything they thought about this country seems to be disappearing in front of us. and i understand that president trump tries to sell this as something less than it is, that it isn't a ban on all muslims entering the united states. it's just a ban on muslims from a select set of countries.

but these are countries that encapsulate over 230 muslims. that's almost two-thirds the population of the united states of america. including some of the most populous muslim nations in the world, and it is directly targeted at people of muslim faith. it's just simply not credible to say that this isn't a ban on members of one religion from entering the united states because it selects countries that are majority muslim and then includes a caveat that if you are not of the majority religion, if you are of any religion that is not the majority religion, you can get around the ban and will be given priority to come to the united states. this is a muslim ban, a muslim band that applies to over 200 million muslims around the world. and it makes us smaller and weaker and less great as a

nation. but, mr. president, it also makes us weaker from a national security standpoint as well. let's step back for a second and just understand the context here. this country does face a threat, a serious threat. there are religious extremists around the world who have perverted the religion of islam and tried to turn it into a doctrine of violence, and they are attempting today to do great violence in the middle east and in other parts of the world, and they are trying to recruit attackers here on u.s. soil. but you are not likely to be killed in an act of terrorism in this country. in fact, on average, there have been about three americans killed every year by terrorism.

now, i'm not trying to underplay the threat. people feel fearful, and as a body, we need to respond to that fear. they see these awful things happening on tv. and they want us to make sure that it will not happen to them. but you are more likely to be killed in this country by lightning or by an elevator malfunction than you are by terrorism. and so if you really want to talk about securing this nation, about protecting americans, then the conversation has to be bigger than just banning individuals from one country, recognizing the real threats that are posed. and let me guarantee you this -- if this ban goes into effect, if president trump is successful

with support from the republican congress in sending a message to the world that america is at war with islam, then that number of three americans killed by terrorism every year, it will jump, it will skyrocket. more americans will be killed by terrorism. why? well, because today isis is on its heels, it is in retreat, it has substantially less territory than it ever has before, and that has robbed from it one of its primary rash analysis for existence, one of its primary arguments to those that it's trying to recruit into its fold. the idea that isis is forming a caliphate, an area of geographic control in the middle east, that argument doesn't work any longer because the supposed caliphate is shrinking. the amount of territory they control is getting smaller and smaller, and most folks can see the writing on the wall, that it is just a matter of time before the islamic state as a state is

gone. but they have this second rationale for existence, this second argument that they proffer to would-be recruits, and that is that there is a war between east and west, that this is really about a long-term struggle between islam and christianity. and that you need to sign up with us because they, the west, america, the christian world, is coming for us. now, we know that's not true and we have watched presidents of both parties make it very clear to the world that this is not the fight that we seek to engage in. famously, immediately following the 9/11 attacks, president bush said that the face of terror is not the true face of islam. he said that's not what islam is all about.

islam is peace. and yet the message that is being sent with this ban on muslims from these seven countries entering the united states is clear. the message is that the united states is at war with this religion, that we are at war with people of the muslim faith. and as we speak, these recruitment bulletin boards are lighting up with arguments being made as to the true nature of america's intent against the islamic people. one posting on one of these message boards said that trump's actions -- quote -- reveal the truth and harsh reality behind the american government and their hatred towards muslims. another posting on one of these extremist websites hailed trump as the best caller to islam.

and another message said that the leader of isis al baghdadi has the right -- banning muslims from america is a blessed ban. now that's a phrase with very meaningful connotations. to the extent that these messaging boards are calling this ban on muslims entering from seven countries a blessed ban, it's rooted in a different phrase, something called the blessed invasion. the u.s. invasion of iraq in 2003 became the starting point for the very insurgency that we are fighting today, and it was that invasion that was called by al qaeda, al qaeda in iraq and the affiliated extremist groups

that were drawn into the fight. it was they that called that invasion the blessed invasion. today on extremist websites, the ban on muslims entering the united states is being called the blessed ban. this order is making this country less safe hour by hour. it is giving a pathway to rebirth for the very terrorist organizations that we had made such progress in pushing back and fighting back. and in iran specifically, it will lead to this country and our allies in the middle east losing the fight against hardliners who pose a threat to the united states, to stability in the middle east, and to our sacred ally of israel. in iran, there is a contest

between moderates, and that's a relative term within the iranian political space, and hardliners who chant death to israel, who don't fear a world war or a conflict with the united states and with the signing of the iran nuclear agreement and the lifting of a handful of sanctions on iran, the moderates won a victory and the population of that country which is surprisingly pro-american and supported that nuclear agreement were ascended potentially foreshadowing a day in which that country would no longer be a provoke-- provocatur in the region and instead engage in conversations on how to bring stability to the middle east. now the hardliners have within hand -- have been handed a gift, a gift which proves that america

is an enemy not just of the iranian state but of the iranian people because remember when we think of actions that we take against governments that we don't like, we first try to start with actions that specifically identify individuals in government so that we make it clear that it's not about the people of that country but about their leaders. and if that isn't strong enough, then we go to sanctions against commercial interests, against the economy at large. yes, those sanctions do filter down and hurt real people but the sanctions are levy at the economy or against commercial actors. when you enact a specific ban on the people of a country being able to travel to the united states, you are levying that punishment directly on those individuals who by and large bear no ill will towards the united states. you're telling them that it's their fault and the iranian people will turn against the united states, will turn towards the hardliners based upon thx.

this ban makes us less safe. it will allow for terrorist groups to rebound. and that's not just me saying it. senatosenator mccain, senator gm have -- owe senator mccain, senator graham have said the same thing. and i guess tonight i think back to the moment in which i first heard that candidate donald trump was proposing a ban on all muslims entering the united states, and i remember the universal bipartisan derision that met that announcement. it was almost laughable at that point in time during the campaign, if you remember, candidate trump was flailing. he was weak. he needed to reassert himself. he needed to make news and so he

grabbed for the most controversial, most outlandish proposal he could make. and republicans and democrats here in congress condemned it. speaker ryan tweeted this. a religious test for entering our country is not reflective of america's fundamental values. i reject it. governor mike pence said calls to ban muslims from entering the united states are offensive and unconstitutional. a religious test for entering this country is not reflective of america's fundamental values. i reject it. calls to ban muslims from entering the united states are

offensive and unconstitutional. i give credit to a small handful of republicans here in the senate and a small handful of republicans in the house who have raised serious concerns about this ban with respect to what it says about american values or what it says about american national security. but there is utter silence from republican leadership. republican leadership who only months ago claimed that if there was a religious test for entering our country, they would reject it today are quiet. the idea that individuals could come to thi -- to this country without regard to their religion or national origin or set of beliefs, that has never been a

partisan issue. of all the things that divide us, that idea has been one that unifies us. and so, mr. president, my hope is that there is still a chance that both parties can come together and recapture the essence of american originalism and can put this country on firmer national security footi footing, can continue the relentless drive against extremist groups like isis who now find themselves at a point of potential rebirth. you've heard a lot of stories on the floor of the senate today, and, you know, it's interesting.

we have these incredibly compelling stories of real people who are caught today in the middle of this reckless, ill thought out ban. but there are 67,000 refugees that are currently in the pipeline to come to this country right now. this isn't about a hundred or 200 or 300 or 400. this is about tens of thousands of refugees who are fleeing persecution and terror and torture. of course this is about the 230 million muslims who live in those seven countries who have been told that they are lesser and frankly every other muslim in the world who believes that the message is being sent to them as well. so these stories that we tell

you are the tip of the iceberg isn't even accurate. this is a pinprick. fahti kazar and his family, here are his two girls, they left in 2011 due to the epic levels of violence that he was sure would kill his two little girls if he didn't leave. his family went to the u.a.e., the united arab emirates but the way in which it works is if you have a job you can stay but if you don't have a job, you leave. and when he lost his job, they were kicked out. and that began an epic journey

for fahti and his family. these girls actually were born in the u.a.e. as i understand so he was fleeing syria to protect his family and his future children. and yet they were kicked out of the country they went to and fahti then began a journey to try and find a home for he and his family. he tried to get to europe via tunisia but he was detained and sent back to turkey. he eventually flew to brazil. he made his way to the united states by crossing the border with mexico. upon entry he was detained. he was transferred to miami. he was released, eventually found his way to connecticut and he applied for asylum. it was granted in december of 2015. fahti's relatives in syria were

tortured, had been detained by the regime. his neighborhood was dangerous and deadly. fahti and his family were exactly the kind of people that this country historically has been able to rescue from war-torn countries, from terror, and from torture. his family had experienced torture. his children were they to return to syria would face potential death. and he went through all of the processes that we asked him to. he didn't go into the shadows. he didn't hide. he applied for asylum status. it was granted in 2015. he followed forms that would allow for his wife and two daughters to follow and those visas were issued last tuesday on january 24. originally they had a flight that was scheduled to bring his

wife and these two little girls to the united states today but last week when fahti learned of the potential for this executive order, he paid $1,000 to move their flight up to friday. and so his two little girls and his wife got on a flight from jordan to ukraine, eventually to the united states. their passports and visas were taken from them. they were sent to c.v.p. their visas were rejected and they were returned to jordan. they're back that their old apartment, these two little girls are, but they got rid of all their furniture. they got rid of all their clothes. their neighbors have temporarily given them mattresses to sleep on. they don't even know where their suitcases are.

and their father who is ready to greet them at the airport here in the united states may never see them. they are scared to death. i have two little boys who are the exact same age. i have an 8-year-old. and i have a 5-year-old. and i think about what these two little girls went through, getting ready to finally go see their dad, who had gone through an epic struggle to try to find someplace in this world where his two little girls could be safe. he found it. he found it in america. he found it in my state. -- of connecticut. he found it just like hundreds of thousands of other people who

fled war-ravaged europe, who fled the bombing in vietnam, who left albania and kosovo to come live a better life, just like they found. and he was ready to go to the airport to welcome his two little girls, and they were told that they're not leaving. you're not going to see your dad. you're going back to jordan and potentially eventually back to syria. imagine what those two little girls went through. and imagine millions of other little boys and girls like them who had in their mind this place called america, a place that would welcome them, who would rescue them from the disaster that had become their lives, and

imagine that dream that was literally hours away for these two little girls extinguishing for millions others like them all around this planet. it's up to us whether that light which flickered off on friday relights. it's up to us as to whether we rekindle the american dream, that idea of america from our founding. this is not irreversible. these two little girls, you could bring them here. we could choose to bring them here. it's up to us. there's legislation on the floor of the senate right now as we speak that would rescind this order. it's our decision, right? there's 100 of us here. there's only 430 down the hall.

there's only 535 of us. it's our decision whether these two little girls come to the united states or they go back to the war-ravaged home that their father left. it's up to us. it's not up to the president of the united states alone. he doesn't get to make these decisions by himself. democracy allowser us -- allows for us to make a decision. it's up to us. i believe that we can do it. i believe that we can bring these girls here. i believe that we can undo the damage that has been done to this country's security. i believe that we can get back on a path such that isis remains on its heels. i believe that we can recapture

that idea of that farmer who came to this country from a far-off land who looked in amazement at the amalgam of cultures and peoples and religions that was america. i know this sounds like hyperbole. a loflt people out there say, this is just temporary. it's only for a few months, it's only for a few countries, but people are listening in washington. which direction are we heading? do we really care about the things that we have always cared about? millions upon millions of people all across this country and all across this world are watching. what do we do? is this a partisan issue? or can we commit ourselves together to stand up for those basic ideas of america's founding? there are two little girls that are watching most closely, who

are watching to see if we can rise above partisanship and deliver to them the promise that is being made real for millions and millions of americans who call this place home. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: thank you. so, mr. president, we've had a number -- a large number of eloquent speeches about the president's executive order. and while they were going on, of course, we had a monday night massacre. salliates, a person -- sally yates, a person of great integrity, who follows the law, was fired by the president. she was fired because she would not enact,