Statement

FCNL submitted the following statement to the Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship and Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ahead of their joint hearing on President Trump’s Muslim ban. This is the first congressional oversight hearing on this ban since the first one was issued in January 2017.

On August 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted the Secure and Protect Act of 2019 (S. 1494) out of committee. The bill, introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), would expand family immigrant family detention, erode the U.S. asylum system, and make it harder for families to seek protection. In a statement, FCNL urged members of Congress to oppose this legislation and work instead to protect vulnerable migrants and uphold U.S. asylum law.

As the country reels from three mass shootings in one week, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) urges policymakers to take every available step to reduce the harm and loss of life caused by guns.

On July 25, Attorney General William Barr announced that the federal government will start carrying out death sentences for the first time in nearly two decades by ordering the executions of five inmates. FCNL opposes this action and believes the death penalty should be abolished in all jurisdictions.

Recently, FCNL joined Senators, House members, and many other faith groups at a rally calling for legislation to prevent unauthorized war with Iran, an issue FCNL has been working hard on for months, if not years.

The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) has kept the United States and much of the world in a perpetual state of war for nearly 18 years. On May 22, members of Congress and advocates participated in a press conference to call on Congress to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), prevent war with Iran, and reassert Congress’s constitutional authority on matters of war and peace.

The House Judiciary Committee is marking up legislation outlining a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS recipients, and DED holders, all of whom are at risk of deportation pending cancellation of their protections.

FCNL joined faith groups at rally to demand an end to CIA drone strikes and a commitment from General Atomics, the company which builds the Predator and Reaper drones, not to develop lethal autonomous weapons systems.

On April 25, 2019, the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service hosted a public hearing on policy options related to selected service.

We share the inconsolable grief of our Muslim neighbors whose family members were killed or injured while at Friday prayers at two mosques in New Zealand.