Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to use their guest pass to undercut Trump’s speech
Here's who they're bringing.
Update: This post was updated Tuesday to include the guests of Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Jim McGovern.
As President Donald Trump outlines his administration’s goals and priorities in a speech Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, some Democratic lawmakers are hoping to visually undermine his message of right-wing populism.
Rhode Island Rep. Jim Langevin is spearheading an effort to have his Democratic colleagues use their guest passes to fill the House chamber with a diverse group of Americans that could be affected by Trump’s policies.
“It’s my hope that gallery is going to look like America,” Langevin — who will reportedly be joined by Dr. Ehsun Mirza, a Muslim-American and Rhode Island resident born in Pakistan — recently told Politico.
A number of Massachusetts’s all-Democrat delegation are also getting in on the effort to undercut the new Republican president during his 9 p.m. speech (which is not a State of the Union address). Here’s who they’re bringing:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Massachusetts’s senior senator is bringing Tiba Faraj, an Iraqi refugee, who moved with her parents and siblings to Massachusetts in 2010 and is currently studying at UMass Dartmouth.
According to Warren’s office, Faraj’s father was shot and left permanently disabled in 2006, while working for an American-backed development organization in Iraq. Shortly thereafter, the family fled to Jordan, where they began the lengthy process of applying for refugee status. In 2010, they were granted admission and settled in Lynn. The Faraj family now lives in Boston.
“Tiba’s courage, resilience and optimism embody the very best of the American spirit,” Warren said in a statement, referring to Faraj’s volunteer service and academic success. “Our strength as a country is rooted in our diversity, and Tiba’s many contributions have made us that much stronger.”
Trump reportedly plans to sign a new version of his immigration order Wednesday. The original order, which was rejected by federal courts, temporarily banned all refugees from entering the United States.
Sen. Ed Markey
The other half of Massachusetts’s representation in the Senate is also bringing an American who arrived in Massachusetts as a refugee.
Said Ahmed came to Boston having fled war-torn Somalia at the age of 12, according to Markey’s office. After attending high school at Boston English, Ahmed went on to become a four-time All-American middle-distance runner at the University of Arkansas and a member of the U.S. national track and field team.
“I came to the United States with hope, to find peace and security, and promise for a new beginning and endless opportunities,” Ahmed said in a statement released by Markey’s office. “I found those opportunities because of all the great things United State of America represents.”
The 34-year-old is a now a Boston Public Schools teacher; founder of United Somali Youth, a nonprofit aimed at empowering young Somali refugees in Boston; and a member of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, according to Markey’s office.
“As a father, Boston Public School teacher, coach and counselor, I work hard to help others integrate into society,” Ahmed said in his statement. “I pray that the doors remain open to others like us.”
In a statement, Markey said he was honored to have Ahmed as his guest and that he expects the rewritten version of Trump’s order to “meet the same fate” as the first and be deemed unconstitutional.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III
With Trump set to provide details Tuesday about his plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kennedy wants to make sure Republicans understand the law “is not just a line item budget issue.”
The Newton Democrat is bringing Jen Fox, an intern in his Washington, D.C., office, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and was only able to retain health care coverage due the health care law.
“As she would tell you, the Affordable Care Act saved her life,” Kennedy said in a brief interview Monday.
As a 19-year-old in college, Fox lost her student insurance because she couldn’t attend class full-time due to her chemotherapy treatments, Kennedy said. Only because of the Affordable Care Act provision allowing children to stay on their parents’ plans was she able to stay insured.
Upon relapsing in 2012, Fox was again able to obtain life-saving treatment due provisions in the law, Kennedy said, which saved her from hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills — if not more. The Boston Globe also chronicled Fox’s story Monday.
Kennedy says that Fox — now attending school at George Washington University — gained an interest in public policy due to the impact the law had on her life and subsequently applied to be an intern for the congressman.
“I couldn’t think of a better person to accompany me to the speech this year,” Kennedy said Monday.
Trump has pledged to “repeal and replace” the law and told a group of Republican governors Sunday that we would speak “very specifically” about it in Tuesday’s address.
Rep. Katherine Clark
The Melrose Democrat, who has gained a bit of a reputation for her protests, is bringing Veronica Serrato, the executive director of the Boston-based Project Citizenship, to the president’s speech Tuesday night.
“I want Trump to know that he’s not just addressing Congress; he’s addressing families at home who are hurt by his divisive policies,” Clark said in a statement Tuesday.
According the group’s website, Project Citizenship is an initiative that partners with other local groups to increase naturalization rates among legal permanent residents in Massachusetts.
Serrato says they has received “an unprecedented number of calls” from immigrants anxiously seeking citizenship following Trump’s inauguration and recent immigration order.
“We are unapologetically pro-immigrant because we recognize the value and diversity immigrants add to this nation, a nation that was built by immigrants,” Serrato, who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who became naturalized citizens, said in a statement.
“Veronica’s leadership has been critically needed as Trump’s dangerous, anti-immigrant promises are pushing families, including victims of abuse and other crimes, deeper into the shadows,” Clark said. “Her life’s work exemplifies our proud history and the generous nature of those who call the Commonwealth home.”
Rep. Niki Tsongas
Like Kennedy, Tsongas is using her guest pass to put a spotlight on the impact of repealing the Affordable Care Act. In a press release, the Lowell Democrat announced she will bring Lowell Community Health Center CEO Susan Levine.
Tsongas said she felt it was important for someone like Levine, a local health care expert with “strong concerns” about the law’s potential repeal, to hear firsthand from the president.
“It is also just as important for Susan … to be in attendance to show President Trump that his irresponsible actions have widespread consequences, and that they will not go unnoticed or be met with silence,” the congresswoman added.
Tsongas, who has vigorously opposed efforts to repeal the healthcare law, said that wiping the Affordable Care Act from the books without a viable replacement would increase premiums and put coverage for many citizens at risk.
“Simply tossing aside the ACA is unwise and irresponsible,” she said.
Rep. Jim McGovern
In a press release Tuesday, McGovern announced he would bring as his guest Dr. Babak Movahedi, a nationally-ranked transplant surgeon at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Movahedi is also a former refugee.
According to McGovern’s office, Movahedi escaped Iran during the country’s war with Iraq. The then-14-year-old refugee and his family were ultimately granted asylum in Belgium, where Movahedi went on to complete medical school.
In 2008, Movahedi, his Belgian-born wife, and their two kids arrived in Massachusetts so that Movahedi could work in the field of transplant surgery at several local hospitals. Since 2012, he has also taught at UMass Medical School. Movahedi’s wife and children have since become American citizens.
“My message to President Trump tonight is that it is not where you are born that defines you, but what you do with the opportunities you are given,” the surgeon said in a statement. “That is why I love this country.”
McGovern said that Movahedi — a green-card holder who intends to pursue citizenship when the five-year wait period is up — is now afraid to visit his Iranian-born family back in Belgium because he worries he could be denied re-entry upon his return. Trump’s original immigration order temporarily banned Iranians, as well as citizens of six other majority-Muslim countries, from entering the United States.
“America is stronger because of our diversity and tonight I will proudly stand with Dr. Movahedi to deliver that message to President Trump,” the Worcester Democrat said.
