MIGRANTS FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

On 2025-03-03, Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-3) delivered a floor speech titled "MIGRANTS FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered taxes, foreign policy.

MIGRANTS FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 40 (Monday, March 3, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 40 (Monday, March 3, 2025)] [House] [Page H923] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] MIGRANTS FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Ansari) for 5 minutes. Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my outrage and strong opposition to the inhumane treatment of migrants fleeing religious persecution. Earlier this month, the Trump administration deported roughly 300 men, women, and children seeking refuge in the United States to Panama on U.S. military aircraft, locking them in hotel rooms without access to basic rights or counsel. This includes asylum seekers from Iran, China, and other countries known to persecute religious minorities. They have since been deported to detention camps in a remote jungle and are being forced to live in degrading and dangerous conditions with little to no access to the outside world. Among them is Artemis Ghasemzadeh, an Iranian woman who fled Iran after converting to Christianity, a crime punishable by death under the brutal Islamic regime. Artemis converted to Christianity in secret through a network of underground churches and online classes in Iran. Last December, she set out for the United States in search of a new life. In a haunting image, she was photographed from inside her detention room in Panama with the words ``help us'' written on the window in her red lipstick. Artemis is 1 of 10 Iranian Christians, including 3 children, who are detained in Panama. These people sought safety and refuge in the United States. Instead, they were rounded up, flown thousands of miles away, and imprisoned in detention camps in brutal conditions. They are afraid for their lives as they wait to be sent back to their home countries to face deadly consequences for their human right of religious freedom, what this country was founded on. The United States should never be responsible for sending people to face persecution, especially those who have risked everything to seek refuge right here. These actions not only violate our moral responsibilities and our shared humanity, but they are in direct conflict with the values upon which our Nation was founded. I am the proud daughter of immigrants from Iran. My parents came to the United States fleeing the brutal revolution that led to the current regime. This country welcomed them with open arms, allowed them to work hard and succeed, and in just one generation, they have witnessed their daughter make history as the first Iranian-American Democrat ever elected to Congress. Asylum seekers come to this country to escape violence and persecution. Turning these people away is cruel, fundamentally un- American, and does nothing to fix our broken immigration system. That is why I plan to introduce legislation that would halt expedited removal for individuals fleeing countries noted for persecuting religious minorities. We can have secure borders and also have an immigration system based in empathy and humanity. Mr. Speaker, I urge this administration to uphold our Nation's legacy as a beacon of hope and a defender of religious freedom, not a facilitator of suffering. ____________________