Debbie Dingell

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) denounced the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump for his renewed calls for ban on Muslim immigration, following the terrorist attack in Orlando. 

“Donald Trump’s hateful speech today is further evidence that he is seeking to divide this country at a time when we must be united against evil,” Dingell said in a statement released Monday.

The Congresswoman drew a contrast between then-President George W. Bush’s unifying speech after the 9/11 attacks and Trump’s divisive approach. 

“We knew what it meant to be American and stood together proudly so no community would be targeted. Muslim members of my Michigan community are as American as any I know,” she said. “This weekend I spent significant time with the family of a young man of Muslim faith who lost his life in the Marines and only wanted to serve the country he loved.”

Dingell called Trump’s proposal a dangerous betrayal to American values. 

“Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and being a melting pot for multiple cultural and national backgrounds are fundamental principles on which this nation was founded,” she said.

Trump has come under sharp criticism for tweeting that he appreciates congratulations “for being right on radical Islamic terrorism” after the mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, which claimed 49 lives.