Courtney Condemns Executive Orders 'Slamming The Door Shut' On Iraqis Who Assisted In The Fight Against ISIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Moments ago, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, spoke on the House floor to condemn executive orders issued by President Donald Trump as undercutting actions to defeat the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) by prohibiting Iraqis who have worked with the collation military forces from traveling or immigrating to the United States.
Watch Courtney's full floor speech from earlier today
"As we stand in the House chamber today, over 4,000 US Military personnel are bringing the fight to ISIL- ISIL terrorists- in Iraq. Navy and Air Force pilots, Special Forces, and advisors are working hand in hand with Iraqis and Kurds to eject ISIL from Mosul, the city they declared three years ago as the capital of their Caliphate," said Courtney. "Great progress has been made. Supported by thousands of U.S. air strikes, the eastern half of the city has been reclaimed by the forces of the civilized world, and efforts are underway to finish the job in western Mosul.
"None of this could have been done without the help of brave Iraqi interpreters, who are essential to communicating all the pieces of these operations. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am proud that from 2008 to 2016 we passed and re-passed a special immigrant visa program to open the door of immigration the US for these interpreters as a safe haven and also as a reward for putting their lives at risk and making sure that our troops can communicate safely and effectively in their operations.
"Incredibly, on Friday, with one stroke of the pen, President Trump slammed the door shut on that program because he cancelled all visa programs from Iraq. If anyone could imagine a more demoralizing way to undercut the anti-ISIL alliance at such a critical time, Friday's order won the prize and we are hearing from military commanders who are over there in Iraq talking about the blowback that's come from our allies that were literally underway in real operations in real time. We in Congress need to stop this order for the sake of our standing in the world as a beacon of hope and freedom, and if for nothing else, to support our troops and our allies in harm's way."
Courtney has been a member of the House Armed Service Committee (HASC) for ten years.
In 2008, HASC led the effort to broaden an existing special immigrants program to include those who had worked for any part of the U.S. government in Iraq or Afghanistan, and expanded the cap from 50 to 500 with numerical limits carrying over if they were not met in a given year.
Through the end of FY2015, more than 37,000 individuals had been issued special immigrant visas abroad, or been adjusted to U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs)status in the United States, under the special immigrant classifications. Principal applicants accounted for about 15,000 of the total; the others were dependent spouses and children.
The 2016 NDAA passed in December of 2016, made some minor adjustments to the program, increasing the numerical limits, eliminating the sunset provisions, and implementing certain reporting requirements.
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