Cruz and his fellow candidate, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, distinguished themselves by declaring that the US should accept refugees from Syria – but only if they are Christian.
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“Let’s have a debate on Syrian refugees right now”, Cruz said, directing his remarks to Obama.
Cruz did not say how he would determine that refugees were Christian or Muslim.
Obama says there has not been enough pushback by Muslim leaders against extremism.
“Well, see that’s why it’s important to define what it is we’re fighting”, Cruz replied. When candidates allege we can not admit Three-year-old orphans, in that is political posturing.
“There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror”. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday panned the idea of favoring Christian refugees from Syria over Muslims, delivering a rebuttal to Sen. Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that he’s looking into legislation that would halt the Administration’s refugee program.
Prior to the exchange, anchor David Muir hyped there was a “fiery debate” in the USA with a “backlash against refugees as authorities grow more convinced that one of the attackers posed as a refugee using this passport” as House Speaker Paul Ryan opposed “the President’s plan to welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S”.
At a press conference in Turkey on Monday, President Obama called Cruz’s statements “shameful”. “You can’t let only Christians into the U.S”. That’s offensive and contrary to American values.
In the period since World War II, the United States has typically taken in about half the world’s aggregate refugee population.
I had a lot of disagreements with George W. Bush on policy, but I was very proud after 9/11 when he was adamant and clear about the fact that this is not a war on Islam.
When the GOP presidential hopeful noted that Syrian Muslims are also being persecuted by Islamic State militants, Bash asked whether they too should be allowed into the United States. According to Ann-Elizabeth Moutet of Newsweek, “This is the ideology of young French Muslims from immigrant backgrounds…these are the same people who torch synagogues”. “And the notion that a few of those who have taken on leadership in his party would ignore all of that, that is not who we are”. On this they should follow his example. It was the right impulse.
Conservative leaders have been training their followers to assume the worst of Muslims for years, and the Washington Post has a few truly depressing quotes from Trump supporters: “I think they’re wolves in sheep’s clothing”, and “I do not want them here – we don’t know who they are, we don’t know their history… And either they win, or we win”. And we are – it is good to remember that the United States does not have a religious test, and we are a nation of many peoples of different faiths, which means that we show compassion to everybody.
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Today, we face new challenges as we answer the Gospel call to welcome the stranger and care for the vulnerable.
