Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, has come out in support of President Donald Trump's ban on the entry of all refugees and on the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries into the United States.
In a lengthy statement posted on his Facebook page, Lamborn said the president's executive order -- which caused chaos and protests at airports around the country and resulted in the deportation of people with valid documents to enter the U.S. -- was a necessary step to keep Americans safe.
However, he did say that legal permanent residents shouldn't be denied entry, as many were over the weekend.
Here is the full statement:
The safety and security of America is a primary constitutional function of the federal government. President Trump's recent Executive Order is consistent with H.R 4038, a bipartisan bill that passed the House in the last Congress and called for a temporary halt of refugees from nations torn apart by terrorism until the implementation of increased security and screening measures. By taking steps to temporarily stop refugee admittance from nations that are hotbeds of terrorist activity, the President is taking prudent action to ensure that his national security and law enforcement teams have the strategies and systems in place that they will need to protect and defend America.
While I do not support the broad, misinformed, and inflammatory criticisms of the Executive Order, it is important that the privileges of law-abiding Green Card holders are not abridged. I appreciate the White House Chief of Staff clarifying this point over the weekend.
Rather than being influenced by one-sided media narratives, it is important to remember that President Obama also implemented temporary refugee and visa restrictions for national security purposes. Now is not a time for division fueled by dishonesty and partisan politics, now is a time for our nation to come together and work diligently to find lasting and sustainable solutions to the national security challenges of the 21st century.
On that last point, what about Obama? How similar were his actions to restrict the entry of refugees? The Washington Post gives the claim "three Pinocchios" in a lengthy fact check published Sunday.
The short version is that the Obama administration implemented much more extensive screening procedures for Iraqis after authorities learned from an informant that an Iraqi man who had been granted asylum in the U.S. had previously built IEDs that targeted U.S. troops. These measures did cause disruptions and delays for Iraqi refugees, including for translators who had helped U.S. troops. However, the changes were much more narrowly focused and didn't suspend the processing of applications, according to the Washington Post.
I recommend you read the whole thing to understand the similarities and differences and decide for yourself.
