As chaos unfolded at airports across the country on Saturday, it quickly became clear that officials ranging from frontline border patrol agents to high-ranking members of the administration were unprepared for President Donald Trump's travel ban. In Washington, that turmoil translated to a group of state and federal leaders unable to find answers to questions as basic as how many people were being detained at Sea-Tac International Airport. Now, two Seattle-area Congresswomen want answers from f...
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Washington politicians are demanding answers after the weekend scuffle over immigration at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Suzan DelBene, governor Jay Inslee, and other officials were quick to denounce president Donald Trump’s immigration ban from seven Muslim-majority countries after two men—from Yemen and Sudan—were detained at the airport on Saturday. The men, who had arrived in the U.S. with visitor visas, were released Sunday after U.S. District Court ...
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Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today wrote to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seeking an explanation for why so little information was communicated to members of Congress during her visit to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) on Saturday. DelBene went to the airport on Jan. 28, after learning individuals traveling to Washington with visas were detained at the airport and denied entry into the United States as a result of President Trump’s executive order. Click here to ...
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Sea-Tac officials are expecting another wave of protests Sunday night, following massive crowds on Saturday. A rally is planned for Westlake Park on Sunday, from 5 to 8 p.m., against the president's ban on refugees and immigrants from select Muslim countries. A few thousand are expect to gather in downtown Seattle Sunday evening, but some believe that people will also be gathering at the airport again. There are tentative plans for a march following the Westlake rally, which organizers expect to...
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Congresswoman Suzan DelBene glanced around the table on Tuesday afternoon at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) and told the eight interfaith leaders that these are challenging times. DelBene, a Democrat who represents Washington’s First Congressional District, was glad to be connecting with the leaders at the Redmond mosque, but wished it was under more pleasant circumstances. She noted that she has reintroduced the No Religious Registry Act (H.R. 489) to ensure individuals of all fai...
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A new House bill would prevent the incoming government from forcing tech companies to build a so-called Muslim registry. The bill, dubbed the No Religious Registry Act, is set to be reintroduced by Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA, 1st) after it failed just days after now president-elect Donald Trump won the election. It comes after the Republican candidate made repeated calls for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the US during his campaign. But it's not a new idea. The Bush administrati...
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Yep, this is what it's come to: Washington State's Senator Patty Murray and a coalition of other Senate Democrats have introduced a bill to block the creation of a federal registry based on religion, ethnicity, race, age, gender, national origin, nationality, or citizenship. The "Protect American Families Act" would block draconian actions from the president-elect should Trump's transition team make good on their proposal to register and monitor immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. Washing...
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Dear Friend, President Obama just signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2017, which contained my bill to ensure National Guard members retain health coverage when responding to state emergencies, such as landslides or earthquakes. After the tragic Oso landslide in 2014, my office was contacted by members of our state’s National Guard who were aiding in search-and-rescue and decontamination efforts. They told me their families would lose health insurance if they decide...
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President Obama today signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2017, which included Congresswoman Suzan DelBene’s (WA-01) National Guard Family Protection Act (H.R. 4554) to ensure National Guard members retain health coverage when responding to state emergencies, such as landslides or earthquakes. The bill also included a DelBene measure easing the burden of relocation on our nation’s military families. “National Guard members should never be forced to choose between h...
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Members of the bipartisan encryption working group – established in March 2016 by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) – today released a year-end report laying out key observations and next steps. For nearly a year, the Encryption Working Group has held numerous meetings with a variety of federal, state, and local government e...
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