WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said today that they plan on introducing a censure resolution against President Trump for his reported comments about immigrants from certain countries.
The Washington Post reported that Trump made the comment during a Thursday Oval Office meeting with immigration negotiators. “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said, suggesting that more immigrants be brought into the country from places like Norway or Asia.
“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump reportedly said. “Take them out.”
Trump tweeted this morning, “The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!”
“Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said ‘take them out.’ Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings – unfortunately, no trust!” the president added.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recounted to reporters what he heard: “He said, ‘Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?’ And then he went on when we started to describe the immigration from Africa that was being protected in this bipartisan measure. That’s when he used these vile and vulgar comments, calling the nations they come from ‘shitholes.’ The exact word used by the president, not just once, but repeatedly.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) acknowledged that “following comments by the president, I said my piece directly to him yesterday.”
“The president and all those attending the meeting know what I said and how I feel,” he said.
CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said they will “be asking Republican leadership to bring our resolution of censure — which we plan to release next week, after the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday — up for swift consideration and approval.”
The two said they were “deeply disturbed and offended” by Trump’s reported remarks. “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,” Richmond and Nadler said in a statement.
The Senate censured President Andrew Jackson in 1834, while the House censured President James Polk in 1848. Nadler was among the lawmakers who introduced a censure resolution against Trump in August after the president said both sides were to blame for the violence at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
The newest censure resolution would “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,” Nadler and Richmond said. “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.”
The lawmakers added that “Congress must speak with one voice in condemning these offensive and anti-American remarks — there is no excuse for it.”
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