Republican Senator Ben Sasse Says Trump’s Refugee Order Is ‘Too Broad’
Republican Senator Ben Sasse on Saturday said that Donald Trump’s executive order ban of refugees and people from majority-Muslim countries from entering into the United States was “too broad” and that it risks serving as a recruitment tool for terrorist groups.
“While not technically a Muslim ban, this order is too broad,” Sasse said in a statement. Sasse also said that, Trump’s ban on refugees tells “the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis.”
Sasse said that “if we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion,” we will lose the battle against “jihadism.”
Here is the full statement from Senator Ben Sasse:
Sasse Statement on Border Security and Muslim Nations
January 28, 2017
U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement regarding border security and America’s ongoing battle with jihadism.
“The President is right to focus attention on the obvious fact that borders matter. At the same time, while not technically a Muslim ban, this order is too broad. There are two ways to lose our generational battle against jihadism by losing touch with reality. The first is to keep pretending that jihadi terrorism has no connection to Islam or to certain countries. That’s been a disaster. And here’s the second way to fail: If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion. Both approaches are wrong, and both will make us less safe. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom.”
