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Some Top Republicans in Congress Criticize Trump’s Refugee Policy Growing Number of G.O.P. Lawmakers Criticize Trump’s Refugee Policy
(about 9 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Some top Republicans stepped up their criticism of President Trump’s newly enacted refugee policy on Sunday even as party leaders in Congress continued to show restraint. WASHINGTON — A growing group of Republican lawmakers criticized President Trump’s refugee policy on Sunday even as party leaders in Congress continued to show restraint.
Mr. Trump’s executive order, which targets Syrian refugees and all travelers from several predominantly Muslim nations, had drawn little dissent from Republicans initially even as Democrats denounced it and protests erupted around the country and the world. The executive order Mr. Trump issued on Friday, which targets Syrian refugees and all travelers from several predominantly Muslim nations, had drawn little dissent from Republicans initially even as Democrats denounced it and protests erupted around the country and the world.
But on Sunday, several members of Mr. Trump’s party said that the process, while initiated with the right intention, had been too hastily enacted and could backfire against U.S. interests. But on Sunday, several members of Mr. Trump’s party said that the process, while initiated with the right intention, had been too hastily enacted and warned that it could backfire against United States interests.
Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina issued a statement that said Mr. Trump’s order was not properly vetted and could be seen as the United States turning its back on Muslims who had risked their lives to serve as interpreters for United States military and diplomats. Two Republican senators, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, led the criticism, saying in a statement that Mr. Trump’s order was not properly vetted and that it could be seen as the United States turning its back on Muslims who had risked their lives to serve as interpreters for the country’s military and diplomats.
“Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism,” they said, adding “That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.” “Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism,” they said, adding, “That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.”
Mr. McCain also said the plan was carried out without proper consultation of American allies and that mistakenly lumped together the country’s adversaries, like Iran, with allies, like Iraq. Mr. McCain also said the plan was carried out without proper consultation of United States allies and that it mistakenly lumped together the country’s adversaries, like Iran, with allies, like Iraq.
Republicans have largely supported Mr. Trump’s aggressive agenda on other matters, but in his first major decision on national security, he is finding uncharacteristic opposition from his party in the blush of his early days in office. Republicans have largely supported Mr. Trump’s aggressive agenda, but in his first major decision on national security, he is finding uncharacteristic opposition from his party in the blush of his early days in office.
Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, likewise questioned the hastiness of the order’s rollout and called for a re-evaluation of the White House’s unilateral effort. Mr. Trump did not take well to the input, singling out Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham on Twitter as “sadly weak on immigration.”
“You have an extreme vetting proposal that did not get the vetting it should have had,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that Congress should be part of finding a solution. But as they day went on, they were not alone in their criticisms. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that while he supported stronger screening, the order had been “poorly implemented,” especially for green card holders. “The administration should immediately make appropriate revisions, and it is my hope that following a thorough review and implementation of security enhancements that many of these programs will be improved and reinstated,” Mr. Corker said.
“In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security and again for this notion that America has always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants,” he said. Indeed, the administration moved to ease some of those concerns late Sunday, when the Department of Homeland Security announced that lawful permanent residents would be exempt from the ban.
A handful of Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, had offered similarly cautious criticism of the measure on Saturday. Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, likewise said the order was “overly broad” and that the blanket travel ban “goes to far.” Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee seemed to echo those criticisms, adding that “while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one, which is inconsistent with our American character.”
But if further frustration was felt, it was not widely publicized. The Republican leadership has been more circumspect about the order, which resembles a bill passed by the House last year with widespread Republican support. Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, went further, questioning the hastiness of the order’s rollout and calling for a re-evaluation of the White House’s unilateral effort. “In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security and again for this notion that America has always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants,” Mr. Portman said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Speaker Paul D. Ryan released a statement on Friday praising the order by Mr. Trump, even as he signaled support for the United States refugee resettlement program. The president, he wrote, “is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country.” He did not comment further. Similar concerns were voiced by some Republicans in the House. Most prominent among them was Representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who said that “it was clear” that adjustments were needed to the order, but defended it in principle. Representative Will Hurd of Texas, a former undercover C.I.A. officer, called the measure “the ultimate display of mistrust” that would “erode our allies’ willingness to fight with us” and put Americans at risk.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, did not criticize the order itself but said the country needed to “be careful” with how it is carried out when he weighed in for the first time on Sunday. A handful of other Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, also offered criticism, though more cautious, on Saturday.
“I don’t want to criticize them for improving vetting,” Mr. McConnell said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think we need to be careful. We don’t have religious tests in this country.” The Republican leadership — and senior members of the House — have either supported Mr. Trump or been largely silent about the order. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said that the United States did not make policy based on religion, though his criticism was muted compared with his colleagues’.
He added, “It’s hopefully going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far.” Speaker Paul D. Ryan released a statement on Friday praising the order, but his aides repeatedly declined requests for further comment.
Still, Mr. Trump’s actions are also likely to be the topic of debate on Capitol Hill this week. And the measure could add pressure to Mr. Trump’s nominees to lead the Justice and State Departments, who will probably be asked to offer their positions on the ban. Mr. McConnell cautioned against vilifying Muslims who are key allies in the American war on terror. The country, he said, needed to “be careful” with how the order is carried out. “I don’t want to criticize them for improving vetting,” Mr. McConnell said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think we need to be careful. We don’t have religious tests in this country.”
Mr. Trump’s order, which was enacted on Friday, halted the entry into the United States of all refugees for 120 days, barred the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely and suspended for 90 days the entry of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — all predominantly Muslim countries. As tensions mount, Mr. Trump’s actions will be debated on Capitol Hill this week. Democrats pledged on Sunday to introduce legislation undoing them and limiting Mr. Trump’s executive authority. And the measure could add pressure to Mr. Trump’s nominees to lead the Justice and State Departments, who will probably be asked to offer their positions on the ban.
It prompted chaos across the globe as the United States’ borders were sealed off to the affected groups and Department of Homeland Security rushed to apply an uneven enforcement. By Saturday night, judges in at least two states had issued stays preventing the government from deporting certain arrivals caught in the rollout of the order. Some Republicans compared the order to a measure that overwhelmingly passed the House in 2015 not long after the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris. But that bill was far less broad than Mr. Trump’s order, focusing narrowly on the screening process for Syrians and Iraqis who entered the United States as refugees. That bill was blocked by Democrats in the Senate, who argued that it too closely mirrored Mr. Trump’s campaign talk of a Muslim ban, and congressional Republicans largely put off the issue during the rest of the campaign.
Democrats were nearly united in their condemnation of Mr. Trump’s policy, with several of them rushing to airports to speak out in defense of people who had been detained and even those representing states Mr. Trump won voicing dissent. Mr. Trump’s order, which was enacted on Friday, halted the entry into the United States of all refugees for 120 days, barred the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely and suspended for 90 days the entry of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — all predominantly Muslim countries. It prompted chaos across the globe as the United States’ borders were sealed off to the affected groups and the Department of Homeland Security rushed to apply uneven enforcement. By Saturday night, judges in at least two states had issued stays preventing the government from deporting certain arrivals caught in the rollout of the order.
Democrats were nearly united in their condemnation of Mr. Trump’s policy, with several of them rushing to airports to speak out in defense of people who had been detained and even those representing states that Mr. Trump won voicing dissent.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, called on Mr. Trump to immediately reverse the action on Sunday, saying it made the country “less humanitarian, less safe, less American.”Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, called on Mr. Trump to immediately reverse the action on Sunday, saying it made the country “less humanitarian, less safe, less American.”
“It must be reversed immediately, and Democrats are going to introduce legislation to overturn it,” Mr. Schumer told reporters gathered for a news conference in New York.“It must be reversed immediately, and Democrats are going to introduce legislation to overturn it,” Mr. Schumer told reporters gathered for a news conference in New York.
Republicans who spoke out were far more measured, directing their criticism at the planning for the policy and its carrying out, though their disagreement with Mr. Trump was still clear. Republicans who spoke out were more measured, directing their criticism at the planning for the policy and its carrying out, though their disagreement with Mr. Trump was still clear. Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, wrote on the website Medium that the president “and his administration are right to be concerned about national security, but it’s unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry.”
Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona and a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, wrote on the website Medium that the president “and his administration are right to be concerned about national security, but it’s unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry.” Mr. Sasse said Mr. Trump was right to focus on border security but disagreed with how he was carrying out the policy.
Mr. Sasse said that Mr. Trump was right to focus on border security but disagreed with how he was carrying out the policy. And Representative Barbara Comstock, a Republican whose Northern Virginia district includes a large Muslim population, said that Mr. Trump’s action had gone “beyond the increased vetting actions the Congress has supported.”
“There are two ways to lose our generational battle against jihadism by losing touch with reality,” Mr. Sasse said in a statement. “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.”
And Representative Barbara Comstock, a Republican whose Northern Virginia district includes a large Muslim population, said that Mr. Trump’s action had gone “beyond the increased vetting actions the Congress has supported” and called for the White House to quickly exempt holders of green cards from the order.
Mr. Trump and his aides on Sunday dismissed criticism as out of proportion with the effects of the ban and that the impact on families of those affected was a small price to pay for increased safety.