I understand that you were in the meeting yesterday with other Senators at the White House with President Trump to discuss immigration.  In the meeting Mr. Trump was reported to refer to some African countries as “shithole countries.”  Was this said?  Were you there?  According to reports, he said: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”

It’s very difficult to believe that I am writing to a United States Senator to ask whether our president uses racist words repeatedly in a conversation with other U.S. Senators.  As of now, Dick Durbin is the only Senator to affirm that the President used these vulgar and racist terms.

Many of my doctoral students at Georgia State University were from several African nations.  There were born and grew up in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote D’Ivoire.  After doing their university education in their respective nations, they legally immigrated to the United States, and pursued higher education at Georgia State University. I was major advisor for a number of these students, who’ve gone on to have successful careers in American higher education.

These nations are not “shitholes.”

Please tell your constituents if you heard Mr. Trump say the words “shithole countries,” when referring to some African nations, or at least reply to me.  Democrats and some Republicans in the Congress reacted with scorn over his comments.  What about you?