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Dennis A. Ross 15th District, Florida Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets & Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee on Housing & Insurance |
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Washington, DC 229 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-1252 Fax: (202) 226-0585 Lakeland 170 Fitzgerald Road, Suite 1 Lakeland, FL 33813 Phone: (863) 644-8215 Fax: (863) 648-0749 http://dennisross.house.gov |
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| February 9, 2017 | |||
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Mr. Gordon W. Watts 821 Alicia Rd Lakeland, FL 33801-2113 Dear Mr. Watts: Thank you for contacting my office regarding President Trump's recent action to strengthen our national security and temporarily review our visa procedures for countries identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns on this important matter, and I welcome the opportunity to respond. As you may know, President Trump's Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States was released on January 27, 2017 and temporarily suspends the entry into the U.S foreigners from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days. Additionally, the Executive order suspends the entry of refugees from countries other than Syria for 120 days. Finally, this Executive Order suspends the entry of refugees from Syria until President Trump has determined that sufficient changes are made to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. This order is to ensure our national security and safety by reevaluating and strengthening the visa vetting process. Unfortunately, a lot of misinformation is being circulated regarding this Executive Order. First, there is no "Muslim ban" despite some efforts to frame it as such. Specifically, the words "Muslim" or "Islam" do not appear once in the Executive Order signed by President Trump. Additionally, the media is failing to report some important facts about refugee resettlement in this country. In 2011, President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton banned all Iraqi refugees for six months from entering the United States in the name of protecting our homeland. Furthermore, President Carter invalidated Iranian Visas in 1980. Most recently, in his final week in office, President Obama ended the so-called "wet-foot/dry-foot" policy, as well as several other immigration policies, for Cubans who sought American asylum in an attempt to escape the brutal oppression of the Castro regime. President Obama permanently cut off this lifeline to oppressed Cubans in an effort to appease the Castro regime, and in response, the media and others were silent. Just as President Obama and Secretary Clinton believed - and with ISIS in all corners of the globe - President Trump believes today that the same common sense security measures to protect the American people remain in order. President Trump is fulfilling his promise to re-evaluate our outdated visa vetting process based on intelligence gathered by the Obama Administration, and he is right to do all he can to ensure the safety and security of the American people until a system is in place to make certain those seeking to destroy our freedoms are not allowed in our country. It is an honor and privilege to represent constituents like you of the 15th District of Florida. To learn more on how I may serve you, please visit http://dennisross.house.gov. Please feel free to continue to contact me in the future. |
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P.S. Thank you again for contacting me. I am constantly looking for ways to help Central Floridians. If you have a minute, I'd love to hear your thoughts on your experience. Click here to take a brief constituent satisfaction survey so I can learn how to better serve you. DR/MR |
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