Ayanna Pressley brushes off Trump's tweets -- but not his treatment of refugees

“We must not lose sight of the fact that because of the racist and xenophobic rhetoric of this administration, we are criminalizing and vilifying migrants, families, that are fleeing extreme violence and poverty and coming here,” she said. “Because this is what America has been to the world — a beacon of light, and hope, and a place of refuge. And it is a legal human right to seek asylum. So what we need is to change the laws, to create a system that works, that supports families staying together and to settle into communities while awaiting review of their cases.”

Pressley is rightly unapologetic about refusing to support legislation that, in her view, won’t do anything to help curb the human-rights abuses she has witnessed. Or for standing with others whose values and beliefs led them to cast the same vote.

And she rejects the notion that she is part of a group of four renegades operating on the margins of respectability. She said they have plenty of company on Capitol Hill in pushing back against Trump.

“ ‘The Squad’ is big,” she said. “If you share the values and believe in working for a more equitable and just world, you are part of ‘The Squad.’ ”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/07/14/pressley-brushes-off-trump-twitter-rant-but-not-his-treatment-refugees/y23EtPLNjcSP7eNkm1LxHM/story.html