Elizabeth Warren uses the Senate Floor to condemn Trump's travel ban

Democratic Senator Warren addressed President Trump's executive order on migrants by using her time on the Senate Floor to recount the experiences of would-be US residents caught up in the sudden ban.

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren delivers heartfelt speech to Senate Floor Source: CNN Facebook

During a lengthy speech in the US Senate, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren used the personal experiences of people caught up in President Donald Trump's travel ban to condemn the executive order as "trying to make Islamaphobia a norm".

She recounted the experiences of migrants, travellers and students who had obtained visas legally before the executive order banning travel from seven majority-Muslim countries was issued, and at the end of each anecdote said: "this is who Donald Trump is trying to keep out of the country."

"The President had said that the goal of this order was dealing with illegal immigration - do any of these people sound like illegal immigrants?" Senator Warren said.

"This will not secure the borders from terrorism and illegal immigrants, it will only increase racism in the American society.

"The President is trying to make Islamaphobia a norm and a policy by which he wants to lead the country."

Senator Warren also pointed out during her speech that of the seven countries covered by the executive order, no-one from those countries had ever committed an act of terror in the United States.
President Trump signed the executive order on Friday, banning citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen entry into the United States for 90 days.

It also suspends America’s refugee program for 120 days and blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the ban, saying it had been "blown way out of proportion."

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2 min read
Published 31 January 2017 4:45pm
By Shami Sivasubramanian


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