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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 16, 2015 04:08 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jordan A. Harris |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Resolution Condemning Remarks Made by Donald Trump Regarding Muslims and Immigration |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce a resolution condemning a recent proposal made by 2016 presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. At a campaign rally in South Carolina, Mr. Trump called for a ban on Muslims seeking to immigrate to the U.S, advocating a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” according to a written campaign statement. While such a ban is unlikely to be implemented in a country based on religious freedom, the cheers that followed Mr. Trump’s announcement are troubling. Mr. Trump is free to believe what he wants to believe, but it is incumbent upon responsible leaders across party-lines to speak out and remind those we represent that this country was founded on the principle of religious freedom. The First Amendment guarantees the protection of that freedom since its ratification and has helped make a “more perfect Union”. Mr. Trump’s proposal builds a bridge back to the 1920s when Congress set immigration limits based on race or national origin. Today those are considered “suspect classes,” as a reason for distinguishing people legally. Congress repealed racial quotas in 1952, and eliminated quotas based on national origin, which had been in force since the 1920s, in 1965. Essentially, Mr. Trump’s call to insert religious discrimination back into national immigration policy would harken back to policies discarded and tossed away many decades ago, policies that should never return to a tolerant and free society. I hope you will join me in supporting this important resolution. |