DeLauro to Host Fadi Kassar for Trump’s Address to Congress
WASHINGTON, DC (February 27, 2017) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today announced that she is hosting Fadi Kassar as her guest for President Trump's first address to a Joint Session of Congress. Earlier this month, DeLauro worked to reunite Fadi and his family after his wife and two daughters were stopped from entering the United States due to President Trump's executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries.
"President Trump's executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim majority countries is not just unconstitutional, it is anti-American. And while the President continues to spread harmful rhetoric about refugees and stoke xenophobic emotions, his words and actions have a very real impact on people's lives," said DeLauro. "Earlier this year, Fadi Kassar experienced firsthand the devastating effects of President Trump's ban on Muslim immigrants and refugees. When his wife and two daughters were stopped from traveling to the U.S., Fadi fought relentlessly for them to be reunited on American soil.
"When President Trump steps in the House chamber to deliver his address, I want him to know that Fadi and countless other people like him are striving to live the American Dream," continued DeLauro. "Fadi, like so many refugees before him, came to the U.S. to give his children the opportunity to grow up in a free and safe society. As the President considers a new executive order on immigrants and refugees, I hope that he will recognize the struggles that many refugees face and the ways in which families like the Kassars make our nation a richer place."
Earlier this month, DeLauro and her staff worked diligently to reunite the Kassar family on American soil, which included working with the Kassar family's attorney, the National Visa Center, the United States Embassy in Amman, Jordan, the Customs and Border Patrol offices in Washington, DC and New York, and the U.S. Department State. DeLauro has repeatedly called on President Trump to end his attacks on immigrants and refugees.