Today, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the House Judiciary Committee – led by CBC Chairman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02) and Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10) respectively – introduced a resolution to censure President Trump for the racist “shithole” comments he made about Haiti and African countries during a bipartisan January 11, 2018, meeting on American immigration policy. The resolution currently has nearly 150 Democratic co-sponsors.
Specifically, the resolution censures President Trump for the following:
- Questioning whether Haitians needed to be included in the compromise. “Haitians, why do we need more Haitians? Take them out,” President Trump said.
- Referring to African countries as “shitholes” or “shithouses;” and
- Suggesting that instead of accepting immigrants from predominately black Haiti and African countries, the United States should instead allow more immigration from predominately white countries like Norway.
Joint Statement from CBC Chairman Richmond and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Nadler:
“We were deeply disturbed and offended by President Trump’s remarks regarding Haiti and African countries. The countries he called ‘shitholes’ produce immigrants that are remarkable and make significant contributions to our country. A high percentage of those immigrants have college degrees and when they get here they create businesses and jobs.
“These remarks have compelled us to prepare a resolution of censure with our colleagues, to condemn President Trump for his racist statements. This censure resolution is important because America is a beacon of hope. We have to show the world that this president does not represent the real feelings of most of the American people which is part of the reason why he lost the popular vote.
“The President’s bigoted fearmongering is not acceptable and his remarks completely warrant total condemnation and censure from Congress. American immigration policy cannot and should not be guided in any way, shape or form by racism.
“We will be asking Republican Leadership to bring our resolution of censure up for swift consideration and approval. Congress must speak with one voice in condemning these offensive and anti-American remarks. There is no excuse for it.”
In addition to Chairman Richmond and Ranking Member Nadler, co-sponsors include House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn, House Democratic Chairman Joe Crowley, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Constituents can become “community co-sponsors” of the resolution by clicking here.
Rep. Nadler delivered the following remarks during the press conference to introduce the resolution :
“Donald Trump’s history of divisive, bigoted, and racist remarks is nothing new – goes back a long way, from his discrimination towards minority tenants in New York City in the early 1970s, to his racist comments in a full page ad against the innocent Central Park 5 in the late 1980s.
“What makes this more dangerous now is that as President, Trump’s views and comments guide U.S. policy, and we MUST step up and speak out to prevent Trump’s racism and despicable rhetoric from defining who we are as a country, the way we deal with each other, and how we interact with the world.
“He knowingly and willingly associates and plays to extremist and divisive figures and rhetoric – seen throughout the campaign at his rallies, and in his appointment of people like Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller, who help him appease the nationalist, alt-Right elements in his base and in our society.
“After Charlottesville and Trump’s comments failing to condemn the white supremacist neo-Nazi rally, blaming “both sides” for the violence, I introduced the first resolution of censure with House Judiciary Member Pramila Jayapal and CBC Member Bonnie Watson Coleman. Congressman Meeks and I moved to censure Trump in November after the President re-tweeted a British ultra-nationalist propaganda video encouraging anti-immigrant hatred. And now, after Trump’s latest remarks regarding American immigration policy towards Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries, Congress again is compelled to formally censure Donald Trump for his comments and to make clear that this is not the sanctioned policy or official position of the United States government.
“We need to be clear on what President Trump is doing here. He uses remarks like this to stir up peoples’ emotions; to play to his minority base of extremist supporters (i.e. Anne Coulter) who don’t want any solution for Dreamers and support the most nationalist, xenophobic and bigoted policies; and he wants to turn the subject away from other issues that show he is losing control as investigators close in, his influence diminishes, and his popularity continues to plummet.
“We are here today to fulfill Congress’s duty to officially condemn and separate itself and the U.S. government from President Trump’s racist remarks, and I am proud to be standing here with Chairman Richmond, the Congressional Black Caucus, every single Democratic Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and more than 130 of my colleagues to show that we will not stand quietly by and let this Administration continue to unravel our values and divide this country.”
In August, a majority of the CBC and House Judiciary Democrats co-sponsored a resolution to censure President Trump for his “both sides” response to the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville. That resolution was led by Ranking Member Nadler, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), a House Judiciary Committee member, and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), a CBC member.
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