In Bipartisan Letter, Tillis Urges Secretary Mattis to Consider Refugee Executive Order's Impact on Iraqis who Support U.S. Mission in Iraq | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Yesterday, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis following President Trump's executive order suspending immigration from seven countries for 90 days and the refugee assistance program for 120 days to express concern about the harmful impact that this policy has on Iraqis who provided essential support to the U.S. mission in Iraq.

    "Given your strong support for programs that offer refuge to vetted Iraqis and Afghans whose lives are in danger because of the critical assistance they provide to our soldiers and diplomats, we want to raise one specific example of the danger the Executive Order poses to our national security," the senators wrote. "Over the weekend, two Iraqis who supported the U.S. armed forces and who, after years of vetting, received special immigrant visas to enter the U.S. were detained at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport after the executive order was put into place."

    "This situation is unacceptable, and we fear the United States will pay significant moral and strategic costs if it continues, particularly in terms of our ability to obtain necessary local support for U.S. military missions abroad," the senators wrote. "As such, we respectfully request that you encourage the President to immediately ensure that properly vetted Iraqis who supported the U.S. mission in their country can continue to enter the U.S."

    The senators mention Sec. Mattis' support of the special immigrant visa (SIV) program, which came up in his confirmation hearings earlier this month, and Mattis' pledge to "work to ensure that these programs have sufficient visas that those who provided critical support and whose lives are threatened are not left behind."

    "We recognize that much of the responsibility for implementing this Executive Order falls outside of your official duties as Secretary," the senators wrote. "However, given that you understand the strategic and moral importance of standing with, and when necessary providing refuge to, those foreigners who supported our soldiers and diplomats, we urge you to intercede with the President and we support any efforts you make toward that end. Properly vetted individuals who supported the U.S. missions overseas and face threats as a result must continue to be allowed entry to the United States."

• Contact: Daniel Keylin
•     daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov