{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://ansari.house.gov/media/press-releases/ansari-delivers-floor-speech-highlighting-contributions-of-arizonas-iranian-community-calls-for-temporary-protected-status", "Ansari Delivers Floor Speech Highlighting Contributions of Arizona\u2019s Iranian Community, Calls for Temporary Protected Status", "2026-06-10", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Yassamin Ansari", "A000381", "ansari.house.gov", "ansari", "https://ansari.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013Today, Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) delivered a speech on the House Floor in support of the Iranian Temporary Immigration Relief Act, legislation she introduced to provide Temporary Protected Status and work authorization to eligible Iranian nationals already living legally in the United States.\n\n\u201cOur bill is about fairness. It is about keeping a promise to people who followed the law, complied with every immigration requirement, and came to this country to study, research, innovate, and contribute,\u201d said Rep. Ansari. \u201cJust in Arizona, I\u2019ve heard from dozens of students, scientists, engineers, and researchers whose lives have been thrown into limbo by the chaos unleashed by the Trump Administration. These are real people contributing to America\u2019s future.\u201d\n\nWATCH\n\nBelow is a transcript of Rep. Ansari\u2019s full remarks as delivered on the House Floor:\n\nMister Speaker,\n\nI rise today in support of the Iranian Temporary Immigration Relief Act, legislation I introduced alongside Congressman Tom Suozzi to provide Temporary Protected Status and work authorization to eligible Iranian nationals already living legally in the United States.\n\nOur bill is about fairness.\n\nIt is about keeping a promise to people who followed the law, complied with every immigration requirement, and came to this country to study, research, innovate, and contribute. It is also personal to me. My father came to the United States as a student. Like so many others I\u2019ve met in Arizona, he came here legally, pursued his education, and built a life grounded in opportunity and hard work.\n\nThese stories are not unique. They are shared by thousands of Iranian students and researchers who now find themselves caught in uncertainty through no fault of their own.\n\nJust in Arizona, I\u2019ve heard from dozens of students, scientists, engineers, and researchers whose lives have been thrown into limbo by the chaos unleashed by the Trump Administration.\n\nThese are real people contributing to America\u2019s future.\n\nOne Arizona State University graduate earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, researching biomedical technologies for neurological diseases through NIH-funded projects. He secured a competitive position at Mayo Clinic to continue federally funded medical research, but because his employment authorization remains frozen, he has spent months unable to work, without income, and without health insurance.\n\nAnother researcher at ASU completed her Ph.D. studying how lighting and design affect migraine patients, older adults, and individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. She had a job offer waiting for her at a major architecture and design firm in Arizona. She did everything right. She filed every document on time. Yet she still cannot begin her work because her case remains stuck in administrative limbo created by the Trump Administration.\n\nI heard from a Ph.D. researcher working on artificial intelligence for power grid reliability\u2013crucial in my state. His research was recognized in a Department of Energy competition. And yet despite receiving job opportunities from American employers, he cannot legally begin contributing those skills.\n\nI heard from a biomedical researcher working on brain cancer drug development at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Her work has already contributed to projects that advanced into human clinical trials here in Arizona. She came to the United States to help sick people and advance science. Instead, she now faces the possibility of being forced to leave the country just as she nears completion of her doctorate.\n\nAnd I heard from an Iranian Ph.D. student in public health here in Arizona whose husband waited nearly two years in administrative processing for a dependent visa, only to ultimately be denied after chaotic Trump policies prevented him from getting the visa he was promised. After ten years of marriage, they are now separated indefinitely.\n\nThese individuals are not asking for special treatment.\n\nThey are asking for their lawful applications to be processed fairly, and they are asking not to be punished because of where they were born.\n\nThese students and researchers are conducting NIH-funded cancer research, developing biomedical technologies, strengthening artificial intelligence systems, improving public health, advancing clean energy reliability, and helping American universities and employers remain globally competitive.\n\nThe United States spent taxpayer dollars on training many of these individuals. American universities recruited them. Federal grants supported their research. And American hospitals and companies offered them jobs.\n\nAnd now, after years of education and contribution, we are telling them they may not be allowed to continue their work and could be forced to return to Iran amid a dire human rights crisis worsened by ongoing hostilities and increased repression by the Islamic Republic.\n\nMany Iranians residing in the U.S. have participated in anti-Islamic Republic and pro-democracy demonstrations in recent years, putting them at greater risk of persecution in Iran.\n\nMy bill grants Temporary Protected Status and work authorization to eligible Iranian nationals legally present in the United States while their immigration matters remain pending.\n\nImportantly, this legislation includes safeguards to ensure that individuals connected to the Islamic Republic are not eligible for relief.\n\nThis is targeted relief for ordinary civilians, students, researchers, scientists, families, and professionals who have complied with the law and built lives in our communities.\n\nAs the first Iranian American Democrat elected to Congress, I know personally how deeply these stories resonate across our communities. But this issue is larger than any one community. It is about whether America remains a country that rewards talent, values fairness, supports scientific innovation, and honors due process.\n\nIt is about whether we treat people with dignity when they have followed every rule we asked them to follow.\n\nI urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the Iranian Temporary Immigration Relief Act, and I yield back.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-11T06:38:38Z", "2026-06-11T06:41:07Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://ansari.house.gov/media/press-releases/ansari-delivers-floor-speech-highlighting-contributions-of-arizonas-iranian-community-calls-for-temporary-protected-status"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3274799566715956, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}