{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399994", "<span class =\"kicker\">NJ.com Article on Smith Trip to Iraq, ISIS Victims</span>'Christian refugees escaping ISIS get visit from N.J. Rep. Chris Smith'", "2016-12-21", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BY JONATHAN SALANT OF STAR LEDGER/NJ.COM -   \r\n\"To my shock, they have not gotten support from the administration,\"\u00a0said Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. \"They need help.\"\r\nIraqi troops are trying to repel the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, from the territory they control. The Islamic State has massacred Christians and others under their rule. The Christian community in the region dates back\u00a0almost 2,000 years.\r\nLast week, President Barack Obama signed Smith-sponsored legislation to provide new training and resources for the U.S.\u00a0State Department to respond to attacks on religious minorities.\r\n\"Ancient Christian communities in Iraq and Syria are on the verge of extinction and other religious minorities in the Middle East face a constant assault from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,\" Smith said after Obama signed\u00a0the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, named for a former Virginia congressman.\u00a0\"The freedom to practice a religion without persecution is a precious right for everyone, of whatever race, sex, or location on earth.\"\u00a0Thousands of Christians fleeing Islamic State-held territory in Iraq got a visit this week from Rep. Chris Smith.\r\nAt the invitation of the Syriac Orthodox archbishop of Mosul, Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, himself a refugee, Smith (R-4th Dist.) toured a 6,000-person refugee camp among other stops in the Kurdish region of Iraq. In all, about 75,000 Christians have forced to leave their homes and now live in the Erbil area, Smith said.\r\n\"In plain sight, they've been neglected,\" Smith said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Iraq shortly before he prepared to leave the country.\r\n\r\nOTHER SMITH NEWS: Obama signs Smith's Gold Star families bill\r\nThe measure was sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.)\r\nSmith said he planned to hold hearings once Congress reconvenes next month to attention on the problem and encourage the White House to help.\u00a0\r\nMany of the refugees would like to return home when it is safe to do so, he said. In the interim, they need support from the U.S.This article was published Dec. 2, 2016 at:\r\nhttp://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/christian_refugees_escaping_isis_get_visit_from_nj.html", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399994"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.751744955778122, "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"}