Subject: This is who we are
From: Ann Kirkpatrick <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2015 18:25:42 +0000

John,

It saddens me to report that yesterday the House of Representatives approved a measure to effectively suspend all refugee resettlements from Syria and Iraq.
 
I voted against this measure because it betrays the core values upon which this country was founded. It's not who we are.
 
The United States has always been a beacon of hope to the "huddled masses, yearning to breathe free." From our earliest forefathers to those who passed by those words on their way to Ellis Island, our nation has long welcomed those fleeing persecution in their homelands.
 
We have all seen the heartbreaking reports from Syria - entire communities destroyed by fighting, teenage girls forced into sexual slavery, children forced to make their way alone after watching family members murdered by the butchers of ISIS. Yet now we have seen politicians driven by fear attempt to slam the door on those fleeing a terrifying enemy.
 
This legislation - which targets the victims of years of senseless violence for attempting escape the violence tearing apart their homeland - betrays our most cherished ideals. America must honor its heritage as the "shining city on the hill," the "magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness."
 
ISIS is an enemy to the United States, of the Syrian people, and all of the civilized world.  We must do more to defeat and destroy those who threaten our families. At home, the screening process for refugees must continue to be meticulous and painstaking - the safety and security of the American people is always our top priority. Every refugee will go through a lengthy vetting process involving the Department of Defense, Homeland Security as well as the FBI and the State Department, to ensure that any threat is stopped long before it can endanger our families.
 
America is a beacon of freedom and hope in the world. We will not succumb to fear and mistrust. We will not accept the false choice between our security and opening our hearts to those in need. That is not who we are.  
 
We are Americans. And we welcome those "yearning to breathe free."

Ann
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