The Vermont senator is on the floor of the Senate now, debating the Kyl amendments on the omnibus appropriations bill. One of them bars Palestinian refugees of Gaza from resettling here, because they come from a "terrorist" land, as Leahy characterized the legislation. The senator then compared the Palestinian experience to his own ancestors in Ireland. They too were called terrorists once, because they were "fighting to keep their land," fighting for their votes and freedom, religion and language. And "hunted" for doing so– "hunted because they had fought to practice their own religion… hunted because they wanted to keep their land…
"Thank goodness the United States had open arms for them." The amendment, Leahy says, "goes against everything we stand for."
