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An open letter to Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Matt Van Epps from Becky Marx of Clarksville:
President Trump wants to send Afghanis who supported our military mission in Afghanistan and their families either back to Afghanistan or to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the refugee camp where they’ve been living in Qatar. We promised to provide these people and their families safe refuge in the United States once they passed vetting procedures, they put their lives on the line to help us, and now President Trump wants to send them away to places where their lives would be in danger.
| MORE: US weighs plan to send Afghans who helped with war effort from Qatar to a third country
How can we lie to these people and betray their trust and then expect anyone whose help we need to believe our promises of safety in the future? Who would believe us? And why should they believe us? If we betray these people and send them into mortal danger, then we don’t deserve to be believed.
I am writing to insist that you demand that these Afghani heroes be allowed to go through the appropriate vetting procedures, that the procedures be conducted in an honorable way, and that the Afghanis who served us so bravely and so well who pass the vetting be allowed finally to come to the United States and begin the new lives that they have earned.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and thank you for insisting that our government do the right thing for the Afghanis and their families who risked their lives for us.
Becky Marx
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