Senator Lamar Alexander on Sunday released the following statement on the president’s executive order regarding refugees and immigrants:
"This vetting proposal itself needed more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards,’ and might turn away Iraqis, for example, who were translators and helped save lives of Americans troops and who could be killed if they stay in Iraq. And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”
Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said, “Keeping our country and its citizens safe will always be my top priority. The United States of America has a very proud tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees, however, we are living in an unprecedented time. Many foreign governments, like Syria, are falling apart. This is hindering our ability to properly vet those who wish to enter our country. President Trump’s Executive Order wisely presses pause on the process until we are confident about these individuals’ backgrounds. There have been some flaws in implementation, and it is my hope the Administration will work to fix them immediately.”
Senator David Perdue said, “We are at war with ISIS and our previous president refused to put a plan in place to deal with this threat. We know terrorist groups have identified our country’s refugee system as a weakness and have purposed to exploit this program to their advantage. The first responsibility of any American President is to protect American citizens. This temporary pause will allow DHS to ensure the vetting process is improved. America will always be a compassionate country, and President Trump is taking action to protect all of our citizens.
”This is a temporary suspension for 120 days to improve the refugee vetting process and 90-days on individuals coming from seven countries President Obama previously identified as national security concerns: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen."