February 07, 2017

With Final Court Ruling Pending, Duckworth Reiterates Call for Permanent End to Trump’s Travel Ban

 

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with members of Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), a coalition of 22 U.S.-based Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with expertise in our country's refugee resettlement program and the dangers refugees seeking asylum face in their countries. During the meeting, Senator Duckworth heard from the RCUSA leaders about the critical importance of welcoming refugees and discussed the need to permanently end President Trump's "travel ban," as a federal court determines its future. A photo is available online here.

"The America that I know is not a nation that turns its back on children and families fleeing barbarism or terror; that is an action of a scared nation-of a weak nation-and it does not make us safer, though it does place our troops serving abroad at greater risk," said Duckworth. "Our nation is at its best when we lead from a position of strength, not weakness, as organizations like the Refugee Council know well. While this weekend's court ruling that temporarily blocked implementation of the President's ill-conceived and misguided travel ban is a good signal, we must remember that this fight is not over. I will continue working every day to end this ban for good."

Following President Trump's "travel ban" executive order, Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) independent Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting an investigation into the Federal Government's chaotic and potentially illegal implementation of the ban. DHS OIG granted the Senators' request and launched an investigation. In addition, Duckworth called on U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to stand up to President Trump's executive order, noting it harms our national security and the safety of deployed troops.

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