Durbin: Inflammatory, Hateful Rhetoric Does Not Reflect Who We Are as Americans

Statement

Amid statements and inflammatory rhetoric that unfairly vilify billions of Muslims, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate Floor today to call for thoughtfulness and tolerance that reflect the "fundamental values of this country." Today, Durbin was also joined by Bishop Sally Dyck of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church at a press conference to speak out against inflammatory rhetoric directed at refugees and Muslims.

"I've met some of these refugees in the City of Chicago. Some of them waited up to two years after they were being investigated and interviewed and fingerprinted before they could come to the United States. They come here simply to start a new life in a safe place and to raise their children. It really is what motivated people across the span of history to come to this great nation, and these refugees are no different," Durbin said.

"The fact that the Republicans would start by excluding refugees and now Mr. Trump is taking it to the extreme of excluding people of a religious faith -- the Muslim religion -- is an indication of a conversation in American politics which needs to stop. We need to reflect once again on the fundamental principles of this question and the fundamental values of this country as well."

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