On December 7, 2015, more than eighty members of Congress joined a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan opposing anti-refugee riders in the omnibus spending bill. The letter was led by Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO), Janice Hahn (D-CA), and Scott Peters (D-CA).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Yasmine Taeb
Yasmine@fcnl.org
202-465-7564

On December 7, 2015, more than eighty members of Congress joined a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan opposing anti-refugee riders in the omnibus spending bill. The letter was led by Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO), Janice Hahn (D-CA), and Scott Peters (D-CA).

The United States has a moral imperative to be a safe-haven for those seeking refuge from violence abroad.

“The United States has a moral imperative to be a safe-haven for those seeking refuge from violence abroad. As the civil war in Syria reaches its fifth year, and ISIS attempts to gain a foothold through its systemic practice of persecution and extreme violence, millions of innocent Syrians have been forced to leave their home country … The United States, as the world’s lone superpower, has the obligation to do its part,” the House members wrote.

More than half of the 47 Democrats (28 of 47) who voted for a measure in the House last month that would halt the resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees signed on to this letter to Speaker Ryan rejecting anti-refugee riders in the omnibus spending bill. Some key members include, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rep. Brad Ashford (D-NE), and Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT).

FCNL’s lobbyist on Human Rights and Civil Liberties Yasmine Taeb made the following statement:

“The members who signed this letter were sending a strong message to Speaker Ryan that this is no time for the U.S. and Congress to turn its back on a vulnerable population of refugees.

“The strong level of support, especially from the Democrats who initially supported a measure in the House that would dismantle and halt the resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, should send a clear message to Speaker Ryan that these members will reject any riders to the omnibus spending bill that would jeopardize our refugee resettlement program.”

Text of Letter

Dear Speaker Ryan,

The United States has a moral imperative to be a safe-haven for those seeking refuge from violence abroad. As the civil war in Syria reaches its fifth year, and ISIS attempts to gain a foothold through its systemic practice of persecution and extreme violence, millions of innocent Syrians have been forced to leave their home country. The challenge to take in these refugees is global in scale. The United States, as the world’s lone superpower, has the obligation to do its part. 

Given this responsibility, we respectfully urge you to reject attempts to use critical year-end spending legislation to block the acceptance of refugees, including attempts to defund critical accounts or efforts to make it harder for refugees of a certain religion to seek sanctuary in the United States. Rather, we believe that funds available for the vetting and placement of refugees should be increased to ensure a thorough and expeditious process. 

We should all agree that inserting wholesale changes to refugee admission policies into a year-end spending bill – where they cannot be properly debated or amended – is not the appropriate way to consider these issues. 

Congress should not attempt to strong-arm the President into turning his back on Syrian families desperately seeking refuge from violence and persecution by threatening to shut down the government unless he acquiesces to their demands.

Sincerely,

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)
Rep. Brad Ashford (D-NE)
Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA)
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA)
Rep. John Carney (D-DE)
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) 
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)
Rep. John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT)
Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL)
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. William Keating (D-MA)
Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI)
Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WA)
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ)
Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA)
Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL)
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN)
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) 
Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA)
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)
Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ)
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA)
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX)
Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

See signed letter in PDF form.