Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) expressed her support for the bill to freeze the admission of Syrian refugees, and that “if you’ve got a situation where you have an orphan, or a child, or a single mom who is bringing her kids…they would probably be vetted very easily” on Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
Gabbard said she would the bill to freeze the admission of Syrian refugees, adding, “there has been a lot of talk in the media about what it does or doesn’t do, but it’s actually a very short and simple bill for those who have actually read it. It just requires one thing. As you mentioned, it requires that through the current vetting process, that refugees need to go through, that the agencies responsible for that vetting will certify that the refugees who are being allowed to come here, do not pose a threat to the American people or the United States.”
After host Andrea Mitchell said that DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, FBI Director James Comey, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, would spend “all of their time going over, individually, each Syrian refugee.” Gabbard responded, “I would hope that they would place this level of importance on this program, as they’ve been saying that they have full faith and confidence in the vetting process, that it would not allow terrorists or those who would pose a threat to the United States to sneak into our country through this refugee program. So, they’ve got a lot of people who work for them that they can work with to get through this process, but it’s an important one. And having their certification simply places a vote of confidence with the American people saying that they believe in their vetting process, and that those who pose a threat to the United States would not be able to get here through that program.”
She concluded, “I’m going to vote for it, and I imagine many of my colleagues, many of my Democratic colleagues, are going to be voting for this in the next few minutes here, because our first and foremost concern is the safety of the American people, and doing the right thing. You know, if you’ve got a situation where you have an orphan, or a child, or a single mom who is bringing her kids, the most vulnerable in these refugee populations, as they go through this vetting process, you can imagine, they would probably be vetted very easily, and would be certified, and would be able to come here through the refugee program.”
Gabbard then added that the visa waiver program is a “more gaping hole” than the refugee program.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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