Sen. Schatz Denounces Anti-Refugee, Anti-Immigrant Bill

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced his support of legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) that would block President Donald Trump’s recent anti-refugee and anti-immigrant executive order.

The bill would withhold any funding to enforce the executive order and declares it illegal based on the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.

“I am pleased to support Sen. Murphy’s legislation to reverse the travel ban on people from Muslim-majority countries,” said Sen. Schatz. “This executive order is immoral and antithetical to our history and our values, and I will do everything that I can to try to reverse it.”

Sen. Schatz, an original cosponsor of Sen. Murphy’s bill, also took to the Senate floor today to speak out against the executive order.

“The world is watching. History is watching. And we have to ask ourselves—what do they see? Do they see Lady Liberty? Or do they see something darker? The choice is ours. We can fix this,” said Sen. Schatz. “Today, I call on every member of the U.S. Senate to stand against this ban and fight chaos and paranoia as official government policy.”